Page 24

Chapter Nineteen

“ W hy, thank you, Magnus.” Selina took his hand as he helped her down from the carriage.

He took her elbow to guide her toward the estate. This was the third outing they had been on, and it was by far her favorite. Magnus had taken her to the gardens, an idea given by his sister, Charlotte.

She gave him a smile as they approached the grand steps, noting that her mother hung close by. She was never far, of course, but it was the other figure, stony and full of darkness, that made Selina’s spine tingle. Hugh had accompanied them as an additional chaperone.

Something he had done since the very beginning.

Bridget, of course, had no issue with Magnus courting her, and she had attempted to shoo the Duke off to carry on his business, but Hugh was invested in “seeing how this all played out.”

Still, her mother was downright thrilled by the prospect of Selina marrying a duke who had been a friend of theirs for so long. Magnus’ steely but acceptable demeanor was well recorded, and it, of course, would put Selina back in the good graces of the Duke, of Hugh .

Her mother was not aware of the machinations in the background; however, the way being around Hugh did things to Selina that even now, as resolved as she was to marry Magnus, still affected her.

So, it was of no surprise that her mother had offered to chaperone them with as much excitement as a sugar-laden hummingbird.

“Remember, darling,” she had said, “you hold all the power here to refuse anything that might not suit you. However, I cannot imagine that will be necessary. Magnus is a fine young man, and you will be well off and taken care of. I might actually live to see you bear your own children as well.”

The words had chilled Selina to the bone. She did not wish for children with Magnus although she knew it was her wifely duty to provide him with an heir. Still, she held out great hope that he would be firm in his seeing this as an arrangement, not a courtship.

Magnus needed a mother for Kitty, of that Selina was certain. She could provide that for him, and she prayed that his requirements of her would end there.

“It was a wonderful morning, Your Grace.” Selina stopped as she stepped foot into the foyer, glancing up a Magnus, who had taken to using her title again now that they were courting.

“I do so hope that I might be able to call on you the day after tomorrow when you are at home. There is a play being held, or perhaps you would wish to join me for a promenade during the earlier hours.”

It took so much more than she expected to smile at Magnus and nod. She was to accept any idea he put forth, for if she refused even one, the courting would be seen as failing. This was her only chance for a marriage that might serve her independence, and Selina could not let the offer go sour.

And yet, she felt such hesitation.

“Of course, that would be lovely. A play sounds magnificent.” It would also provide a quiet place to sit for a moment, where Selina could gather herself. “We shall be at home that afternoon, and I will make sure to wear a lovely new gown for the theater.”

Magnus nodded, his smile not reaching his eyes. As she ducked her head to offer a soft curtsy, Selina couldn’t stop herself from looking over toward Hugh, who stood in the corner of the room like a grim specter.

“I shall see you then, Your Grace. Have a lovely evening with your family.”

Selina smiled, yanking her attention away from Hugh, and tried to be as cheery as possible as she met Magnus’ eyes.

“I look forward to it, Your Grace.” She nodded her head once more. “Lionel will show you to your carriage.”

Gesturing forward, Magnus offered a stiff nod as the butler came up next to him and walked him to the door.

It wasn’t odd by any means. He was also that sort of tightly wound fellow, and Selina wondered dimly if there was something that bothered him regularly as Hugh bothered her.

Wouldn’t that be such a twist of fate? To have him hung up on someone while she, too, was fighting her body’s reaction to another?

Fate makes fools of us all, it seems.

But for now, she would play her role. She would do what was best for her family and keep herself safe from the consequences of tangling with the Duke. And in two days’ time, she would go to the theater as expected.

The afternoon of the theater arrived, and although Selina had had several hours to refocus herself and put distance between Hugh and herself, she’d hardly been successful.

Hugh had taken to spending most of his time cooped up in the study, but he still took dinner with them all, and it had been nearly impossible to keep her eyes from finding his across the table.

As she readied herself for Magnus’ carriage to arrive, her mother stood nearby, ready as always to act as chaperone. Hugh also stood near, still insisting that he accompany her.

“You truly do not have to join us. I am sure you have much work to attend to, and my mother will be present at the theater.”

Selina spoke in a hushed whisper, not looking back at Hugh, who stood just behind her left side.

She could feel the weight of his presence, and her heart fluttered against her ribs.

This was madness. She should be well able to keep herself from being distracted by him, but if the past few days had taught her anything, it was that she could not.

“I wish to keep an eye on my investment. After all, this arrangement is also for Soulden, and I maintain a tight grip on anything that might affect my standing.”

Fighting the urge to scoff or glower at him, Selina silently cursed Hugh’s name just as Lionel opened the door.

The carriage had arrived, and Magnus descended from it as her mother and the Duke escorted her down the front steps to where it stood.

Selina smiled graciously at Magnus as he offered his hand for her to step inside the coach, and then Bridget and Hugh joined them.

To the theater, then.

They’d enjoyed polite conversation in the salon area just outside the theater while they all waited to take their seats.

Selina had thoroughly lost herself in the discussion of the play, one that she had never seen before and was actually quite excited about.

One of Jane Austen’s novels had been adapted for the stage, Pride and Prejudice .

It was apparently a raving success, and Selina had immensely enjoyed the book.

Though now that her life had become something of a strange affair, it didn’t sit quite the same way as it always had. She forced herself to breathe steadily as she felt Hugh’s presence looming over her again, and while they were out here, she simply would not look at him.

I say Jane’s situation and even Elizabeth’s seems a trifle compared to my own circumstances .

The doors to the theater opened, and Selina followed behind Magnus and her mother as they entered with the crowd that had been milling about. Hugh took up the rear of the group, and it was impossible not to feel the daggers of his stare as they met the back of her head.

Still, she followed as she should, walking carefully through the aisle until they arrived at their seats, and everyone began to sit down.

Magnus was on the other side of her mother, and Hugh was to Selina’s left.

It left her positioned in the center of the group between the two chaperones, but Hugh was hardly a protective presence as he should have been.

Breathe Selina. Focus on the play. Do not look in his direction. Do nothing but ? —

Hugh’s arm brushed against hers on the rest. He did not pull it back, and she would be damned if she gave it up just because he made her feel so uncomfortable.

He was like this whenever they went out with Magnus during the courtship.

He’d test these boundaries, poking at the edges of her proper presentation, which infuriated her.

What precisely was Hugh looking to do? Did he truly wish to cause a scandal?

To make Selina look so horrible in front of a would-be match and damage her reputation beyond repair?

He does this whenever he can get away with it. Ugh, that man is…

Selina’s blood hummed at just the gentle touch of Hugh’s arm, her entire body heating and yearning for something. She would not break. She couldn’t. But just as every other time, Selina found that her defiant nature was used against her.

As the lights lowered, making the area around them nearly pitch-black, Hugh slid his hand under her arm, smoothing his thumb against the delicate flesh of her wrist. It was exhilarating, and it truly shouldn’t be.

This was wrong, but no matter what she did, it seemed that some part of Selina would always be drawn to Hugh, unable to escape the way he made her feel.

Confusion and fear and want tumbled through her, too much to process. How was she supposed to maintain herself like this? Hugh was a terrible tease and torturer for doing this to her, and still, Selina did not pull her arm away.

Why couldn’t she pull her arm away?

At once, clapping began, and Selina finally yanked herself away from Hugh and gave applause to the actors as they took their places on stage.

When she lowered her hands, Selina kept them planted in her lap.

Lines and humor filled the theater, and for a moment, she was lost in the enjoyment of seeing one of her favorite books acted out on stage.

She had not been to a theater that got quite so dark as the players performed. It was a bit of a shock to be so surrounded by black, but it did lend itself well to the notion of focusing on the scene in front of her. And indeed, most people did. Most people.

Hugh’s hand found hers in the dark, and Selina stifled a gasp.

Worse, his fingers wound beneath her palms to where they covered the juncture of her legs.

Heat burned in her cheeks as he tested her resolve, and though Selina could not bring herself to look at him, she cast a sideways glance at her mother to her right.

The woman was none the wiser, utterly enraptured by the performance as Selina should be. So, she pretended nothing was amiss, pinning her eyes to the stage even as her mind reeled against the reality of Hugh’s touch teasing her right where he’d touched her that night in the hallway.

He was not pulling back, and she was not stopping him.

This was the farthest they had taken things at this point.

Each time previously, either one of the both of them would stop things before they went too far.

But in this quiet dark, with everyone’s attention somewhere else, Selina couldn’t find it within herself to stop Hugh.

His touches grew more insistent, and though there was fabric between them, he still managed to stimulate the nerves that responded to his touch with such effortless ease. Selina’s head spun, and she tried desperately to keep her breathing even.

Dammit. Damn him .

It was nearly impossible for her not to exhale in ragged succession as the arousal pooled between her thighs, Hugh’s touches driving her mad, anger and need warring for dominance.

It built and built under his touch, and still, she could not look at Hugh.

Her hands still shielded her lap uselessly, and she dug her fingernails into the top of his hand as he continued to torment her.

She was nearing the peak of that mountain she’d only begun to recognize.

Selina chewed on her lip until it burned, and when the release hit, she fought every urge inside her that demanded she scream out.

A tear prickled at her eye, and she let it drip down her cheek as the feelings backed off and Hugh retrieved his hand.

Before long, it was intermission, and Selina stood with the rest of the people there, pretending that nothing was amiss. Thank goodness she had been so familiar with the book, or she would not have been able to make conversation.