Page 22

Chapter Seventeen

T he estate seemed especially quiet that morning.

After a breakfast of no words whatsoever, Hugh excused himself to the study.

He remained there uninterrupted for at least two hours, sulking in the silence.

He hadn’t accomplished nearly as much work as he had hoped, and if he was honest with himself, it was because at any sound beyond the door, he would look up, hoping to see Selina.

It was ridiculous, utterly preposterous.

They had both gotten carried away last night, but that was all it was.

A silly mistake. He’d allowed his libido to run the show, and it had been unwise.

Incredibly pleasurable but unwise. If his time with Selina had taught him anything—those lessons drilled into his mind—it was that existing in the aristocracy was not about enjoying oneself.

It was putting on a show, presenting the image you wished for others to see, and it appeared they had both forgotten that last night. Still, he would not let himself get so carried away again.

Of course. You… Last night was… It was nothing. It was nothing but a lapse in judgment. Nothing to be carrying on over.

He dove back into his work, content to focus on nothing more for the rest of the day.

Shipments and trading, contracts that he needed to go over with his solicitor, would be the items he would focus on.

Hugh was comfortable amongst them, and he would maintain this distance from the object that had been holding his attention so rapt. This was excellent. He would?—

Knock, knock, knock.

Hugh sighed, his shoulders drooping. It had been hardly any time at all, and he was already being interrupted. Standing from his seat, he crossed the study to the door and pulled it open.

“Yes, what is it. I am quite?—”

Selina stood before him, her hand still held aloft as if she might knock again, but this time on his chest. Her brows were up to her hairline. It was apparent that she didn’t think he would answer so quickly.

“Your Grace.” Selina kept her voice level, but he could see the thread of tension in her posture, in the way she narrowed her eyes at him ever so slightly.

“I wished to inform you that I will be taking my sisters and mother into town. There is another event of the Season approaching, and we require attire.”

She’d come all this way to tell me that she was spending more of the estate’s money? Hugh bit back a groan, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, and instead he simply nodded at her.

“Very well. See that you all find something appropriate for the event.”

The rigid set of Selina’s spine stiffened all the more, and the look she gave him slowly melted from merely steely to downright upset.

They had not spoken about last night, nor had they spoken about any of the times they had acted foolishly, and if he didn’t know better, Hugh would have said that Selina was angry with him about it.

He returned her glare. “Are you quite well, Selina? Is there more that you require for your outing?”

The Dowager’s lessons had paid off, and Hugh conducted himself as neutrally as she had instructed. His expression was calm, and he did not raise his voice. If it weren’t for the fact that they were both staring daggers at each other, it could have passed for a friendly exchange.

“That is all. That is all you wish to say to me.”

So much for civility.

Smirking, Hugh sighed and turned his back on Selina, crossing the room back toward his desk.

“I had not thought there was more to discuss.” When he reached the wooden expanse that held his papers, Hugh spun around once more, leaning back on the edge. “Though I also would have thought you would have been in a better mood, considering that you were treated to a rather pleasurable evening.”

Selina shot forward into the room but not without closing the door behind her. The pretenses were gone as she approached him, her anger plain on her face.

“How dare you.” Her eyes blazed. “Yes, I am upset. You stole me out of that ball and?—”

“And what? Gave you a release? Allowed you to reach a climax which had likely been the first of your life? There is no reason to be up in arms about it, Selina. Calm yourself.”

“Ugh!” she scoffed at him, her eyes wide as she reeled back. “You stole me from an interaction and seduced me into that hallway. And then you just left! I stood alone in that hallway, terrified of returning to the ball.”

He had left her there. Hugh knew this all too well. But he couldn’t remain. He had threatened her standing by taking her like that, and as much as it pained him to admit, Hugh didn’t wish to tarnish Selina’s reputation. In fact, the thought of doing so nearly brought him to his knees.

Get out of this, Hugh. Do not let her see. Get Selina to leave.

“Oh, come now. It was a bit of fun. Nothing to be overly serious about. And honestly, barging in here like this. I should punish you. After all, I have so much more leverage against you now, don’t I?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Hugh regretted them. He had intended to come across as teasing. He had intended to distance himself from her simply. Selina could not be sullied by his own actions, but it was all wrong, and the utter shock and hurt on her face told him he was right.

“I…” Hugh could see Selina fight back a sob, her eyes glassy as she stared at him unblinking. “I am done with this. You cannot treat me this way. Like I am so insignificant with no care for my standing, my dignity, or my feelings.”

As much as he should have, Hugh did not expect the words, and they lanced across his skin like a slap. A defensive need rushed forward in him, his pride wounded by Selina’s words.

“When—” He had to swallow to ease the tightness of his throat. “When have ‘treated you so insignificantly’ ?”

“Have you lost your mind?” Selina returned, her brows pinched together and low over her eyes.

“That is all you have done. You have pulled me in only to push me away again. You interact with me as if I were just some item to be used for your entertainment or personal gain. You issue ultimatums before we have even met and then enforce them with malice when we have finally spoken. You make threats against my honor and reputation regarding crimes that you are most certainly guilty of yourself. I—I cannot. I am done.”

Hugh’s stomach clenched, revolting at the notion of keeping his breakfast within it. Every nerve in his body screamed silently, and a terrible pinch set up shop beneath his ribs. Had he not known that he was as fit as a horse, he would have worried about apoplexy.

But it was not that. He did not know what it was, only that it hurt. Terribly.

Moreover, Hugh knew at this moment that his first instinct had been right. He needed to have the women in this house out from under his control and responsibility as quickly as possible. It would not serve them to be under his care, not in the slightest.

He thought of the command he’d given Selina to find a match.

“I am doing all this for your own good. I assure you.”

Selina scoffed at him, rolling her eyes, which only served to allow a tear to slide free.

“Was pulling me from a potential match and dragging me down a hallway into the shadows for my own good? Was touching me in secret in the middle of a ball put on by my friends for my own good?”

Defensive anger pulled at him again. She had not been so innocent in that exchange. Selina had not protested once.

“You had provoked me during that ball, Selina. You knew exactly what you were doing when you came up to the Viscount and flirted with him.”

“I was trying to find a husband as you demanded!”

He stepped forward, closing the distance as he verbally sparred with her.

“You were provoking a reaction, and you are only upset that it worked.” The words came out on a growl, and Selina bristled further, glowering at him as she reeled backward.

“And you are doing the same now. Coming to me to announce your plan to spend more money instead of simply leaving and doing so.”

The expression that took hold of Selina’s face was one he had never seen her make before. She was furious, as angry as she could ever be, and she let out a tiny scream of frustration.

“If my coming to speak with you provokes such a reaction, is it not I who needs to evaluate my strength? Are you so weak to my words that a simple conversation is enough to incite madness?”

“Watch. Your. Tone,” Hugh growled, “ Selina .”

The furious, wicked smirk that crossed Selina’s face sent shivers down Hugh’s spine.

“Or what? You arrogant jolterhead!”

A volcano of emotion erupted from within him, and Hugh saw red. Hell, he saw white and purple as well. He’d been insulted to his face. Selina had screamed at him, coming to him when he was minding his own business in the study, and sought to bait him again .

Without thinking, because all rational thought had evaporated in a flash, Hugh snatched Selina by the arms. He yanked her against him, crashing his lips down on hers, making her yelp.

The feel of her mouth on his, the sensation of her slight form pressed up against his, it was all too much and not enough.

Hugh was a rudderless ship, tossed about in a violent storm to which he had no defense. Being around this woman rattled him so much that it made it impossible to think straight or even breathe properly.

His tongue slid against Selina’s as he entwined them, his shaft aching with the need to claim her as it had so many times before.

She was laudanum, opium, some ensorcelled drug forced into his veins by the Fair Folk, and he was no match for it.

Hugh could not tell up from down when Selina had him riled so his entire being burned.

What am I doing? This is madness. Selina was right. I… Dammit.

But she had not pulled herself away. She had not shoved his chest. The small fingers wound through the fabric of his shirt, and her kiss demanded as much from him as his did from her.

How could they both still fall prey to these feelings? What would it take to splinter them apart?

Hugh moaned against Selina’s lips, the sound vibrating them. Circling his hand around her waist, he pulled her against him, needing the feeling of her brushing against the desperate ache trapped beneath the fall of his trousers.

Knock, knock, knock.

Selina sprang back from him, tearing herself from his grasp. Hugh struggled to breathe evenly, his eyes going to the door of the study. He’d been interrupted again, and this interruption was far less forgivable.

“Your Grace,” the butler called out, “a guest has arrived to speak with both you and the Dowager.”

Hugh cursed under his breath, struggling to catch it and right his clothing. He needed to smooth himself down so that he was presentable. But who the hell was here?

“Who is it?” Hugh called out, eyeing Selina hard. She glared at him, but it was obvious she was shaken.

“The Duke of Aldworth, Your Grace. He wishes to speak with the Dowager.”