Page 12 of Her Beast of a Duke

The only response he got was a huff from the Duke, and then another growl reverberated across the balcony.

“Truly, Your Grace,” Lord Peregrine said, sounding slightly breathless. “Lady Isabella and I… we were just talking, were we not?”

He looked at her then, as did the Duke. Isabella didn’t wither beneath the weight of Lord Peregrine’s stare, but she did straighten her spine beneath the duke’s. She couldfeelthe intensity of his gaze. It held a weight she had not encountered before.

Isabella locked eyes with the Duke and communicated her wishes. She wanted to be away from Lord Peregrine and his eager hands, yes, but not… not from this new savior.

A savior, she thought to herself, as if she were a damsel in one of the books Sibyl liked to read.

Still trying to catch her breath, Isabella considered the situation. Perhaps she was a damsel in distress, and she needed the beastly Duke to rescue her.

“See?” Lord Peregrine casually moved closer to Isabella, and she stiffened again. “A friendly chat. Come, Lady Isabella, we shall resume our?—”

“I told you to stay away from her,” the Duke said through gritted teeth.

Before Peregrine could get too close, the Duke’s arm snapped out as he sent a fist flying right at her attacker. Peregrine crashed into the balustrade, crumpling almost to his knees. He staggered, gripping the stone boundary, cursing and clutching his jaw.

“Youbeast!” Lord Peregrine roared. “You ravingbastardof a?—”

He broke into a deep, agonized howl, yet Isabella could not bring herself to feel sorry for him.

All she could see was the gathering crowd coming toward the balcony doors, more peering looks, more whispers, and further speculation.

She wished to sink into the shadows and become invisible. As a lady who had grown up being theton’sdiamond, she wished she were nothing but coal in that moment.

“Did you not all see?” Lord Peregrine shouted to the crowd.

He swayed as he tried to get to his feet. Isabella curled her lip, noticing how it became an act.

“See how he lives up to his true name!” He sent a fierce, hateful glare at the duke. “The Beast of Rochdale.You are not welcome here. You ought never to have shown your hideous face. Howdareyou enact such violence in civil society!”

Despite his intentions, His Lordship’s wild movements only had him drawing attention to Isabella’s dress, and she couldn’t move away from him fast enough to stop him from catching the tear.

More gasps came from the open doorway into the ballroom.

“The beast,” the ladies whispered. “What has he done?”

“It really is true,” the lords murmured in response. “He has tried to defile Lady Isabella!”

“Enough,” the Duke growled, stepping forward, voice low but commanding, his presence radiating danger. “Silence this at once, Peregrine.”

Isabella shouted, drawing more attention. “The Duke is faultless. It was Lord Peregrine. He?—”

“Attacked and accused,” Lord Peregrine cried, standing to his full height. With a sneer, he wiped blood from his nose. Isabella didn’t know when he had been hit there, but it flashed red in the scant light.

He spread his arms, calling to his rapt crowd that only grew. “I merely wandered out here for a moment alone, but I caught His Grace and Lady Isabella in a most compromising position!” He took a heavy breath as if terribly upset by what he had witnessed. “And for my trouble in saving Lady Isabella, I was attacked by the beast himself!”

The Duke’s fists clenched, and he stepped closer, every inch the alpha, every muscle taut. “Close your mouth, Peregrine, or I will?—”

“I will not be silenced!” Peregrine snapped, leaning forward, his defiance flaring. “Thetonmust know what occurred!”

More murmurs rippled through the crowd, but the ringing in Isabella’s ears was too great. The shadows loomed around her; the balcony shrank in size, yet all she could do was stare at the man half-hidden in darkness. He did not appear to cower, only to be where he felt comfortable.

Before more wails could come from Lord Peregrine, the crowd parted abruptly, and the tall, lean figure of Lord Harcross emerged. His dark brows were furrowed. Immediately, he scanned the shadows, grim tightness pressing his lips together.

Sweeping a hand through his auburn hair, he said, voice low and dangerous: “Lord Peregrine, remove yourself from my home immediately.”

“Lord Harcross, I am an upstanding?—”