Page 9 of Ravished by the Beastly Duke (Regency Beasts #1)

CHAPTER 9

W illiam returned to the safety of his study after leaving Eveline in the library. He had been right to shelter himself behind these doors since they got married. Their interaction had elicited the strangest reactions from him. He frowne, remembering how badly he had wanted to kiss her when she had fallen into his arms with that wide-eyed look.

Then, he remembered how tempting her lips looked when they were set in that stubborn pout.

He sat and he frowned again as his body reacted to the memory.

It wasn’t as though he were an untried lad, so it made no sense for him to be so attracted to an innocent.

“I wonder why a newlywed gentleman would have such a dark look on his face,” Theo said from the door to the study, startling him out of his thoughts. “Is your new wife not taking proper care of you?”

William scoffed at the teasing look on his friend’s face, frowning when the man sauntered across his carpets and sat in the chair opposite his desk without invitation.

Not that he needed it.

Theo did whatever he wanted without concern for propriety. It was a marvel that William remained friends with the pig-headed man, but he couldn’t deny that he benefited from their friendship. Theo’s cheerful personality had broken through the storm clouds of his grief more often than he would ever admit to him.

Even as he prepared to mask his displeasure at seeing him, the damned man placed his feet on William’s desk without a care for the carefully arranged documents on it.

“I would thank you to take your feet off my desk, Emerton,” William complained, swiping his ledgers off his path of destruction.

“What else can I do to improve your mood if not distract you?” Theo asked smugly.

“My mood has not improved,” William said, pulling a pile of correspondence from under his feet. “If anything, you have interrupted an important train of thought.”

And he had.

William had intended to analyze the interaction between him and his wife and formulate a plan for how he would endure dinner with her. She would no doubt expect conversation, and he didn’t think any of his interests would be good enough for polite conversation.

He couldn’t trust himself to be around her, especially not after he had held his breath every time he heard her move around her chambers. His imagination had run wild, trying to picture her state of dress or undress. It was even worse when he heard the splash of water, which alerted him that she was bathing. The thought of her wet and naked had left him tossing and turning in bed with raging need.

He had headed to the library to find a poetry book for recreation and had been shocked to see her balanced so precariously on the ladder, covered in dust and dressed like a servant. He had a vision of her falling over, and he was grateful he had arrived in time to stop her foolishness.

Her falling into his arms had not been in his plans, and he had been unprepared for the feel of her pressed against his body or the beautiful flush that coated her cheeks.

His wife was beautiful. He wasn’t too stubborn to deny that fact. Even covered in dust and wrapped in old linen like a maid, she shone brightly.

“I can see that,” Theo teased. “Is your new wife giving you trouble yet?”

William rolled his eyes. “Is that the reason for your visit?” he asked. “To inquire about the state of my marriage? You need a new hobby, Emerton.”

“I only came to see how my good friend is faring, since he hasn’t deigned to invite us to his home since he wed,” Theo said with a pout. “Your deflecting only proves that I am correct in my assumptions.”

“On the contrary,” William answered with a smug half-smile. “She has been performing her duties excellently.”

Theo’s eyebrows rose in surprise, before a naughty smile spread across his face. He moved his feet off the table and leaned closer.

“Is that so?” he asked. “How excellently, might I ask?”

William could only guess at the lewd thoughts filling his friend’s head.

“Why are you here, Emerton?” he asked, sighing.

“You’re no fun.” Theo pouted, falling back into his chair. “I was bored in my estate and decided to visit you.”

“Is that all?” William probed, unconvinced.

“I also wanted to see your wife.” Theo smiled. “You forbade us from attending the wedding.”

“Only because I knew you would spare no details of my embarrassing past.”

And William wasn’t ready to bring a wife he did not know into his world. His friends were his escape from life’s troubles, and if marriage to her turned out to be a grievous error in judgment, he needed a place to escape to.

“I would not have done so, but now that you mention it, perhaps I would go and search for your mystery Duchess myself.” Theo smirked, rising from his seat. “There are some stories she needs to hear about her dear Duke. Who knows? She might leave you for me.”

“Don’t you dare, Emerton,” William warned. “Leave my?—”

The door opened suddenly to reveal Eveline with a frown on her face, looking like a vision in the deep green dress she had chosen. Her eyes widened as she looked between William and Theo, the frown slipping off her face in surprise.

“Eveline,” William said, quickly rising from his seat. “Is anything the matter?”

Eveline had never come to his study before, and for her to do so now meant there had to be an emergency she could not solve on her own.

“N-No,” she stuttered, not meeting his eyes. “I did not know you had a guest. I am sorry to have interrupted.”

“You should not apologize, Duchess,” Theo told her, rising from his seat with a bright smile. “I was just asking your husband to introduce us. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Eveline turned to William with a questioning look. Then, a hint of pity flickered in her eyes, which confused him, but it quickly disappeared.

He frowned, dreading introducing her to Theo. The man was charming and only had to smile at a woman to get her to forget propriety. He did not want to imagine Eveline so lacking in character or his friend stooping so low, but there was a sliver of fear in his heart.

“Eveline, this is my friend Theo, the Duke of Emerton,” he announced. “Theo, may I present my Duchess.”

Theo walked over to Eveline, who still had not moved away from the door, taking her hand in his to place a kiss on it.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” he said, smiling. “I wanted to see the woman who captured my stoic friend’s attention. You are more beautiful than I had imagined.”

William frowned when Eveline flushed, dipping her head the way she did with him. He narrowed his eyes at her hand still in Theo’s, and his ire flared.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Eveline replied.

“What is the purpose of your visit, Eveline?” William asked sharply.

His tone was colder than he had intended, and he was pained to see her flinch, but it achieved the desired result of separating her hand from Theo’s.

“I…” Eveline lowered her head. “I was coming to remind you about our arrangement.”

He straightened as he remembered that he had indeed promised to have dinner with her.

Damn.

“I—”

“It is all right,” she said. “I shall leave you with your friend.”

She turned to leave, and guilt hit him heavier than anything he had ever felt. She had complained about her loneliness, and he had a major hand in it, taking her away from her home, where she at least had her sisters to keep her company. He knew his servants would refrain from forming a closer relationship with her for fear of insulting him.

“I will only be a moment,” he spoke up quickly before she left. “I am sorry to have made you wait.”

She turned back, her eyes bright and hopeful. “We can always have dinner tomorrow. I do not want to?—”

“It is not a bother, Eveline,” he assured her. “Theo was just leaving.”

“All right. I shall wait for?—”

Theo guffawed loudly, drawing their eyes to him. He was bent over in his amusement, slapping his thigh with no intention of stopping soon.

William and Eveline shared an amused look across the room, and he noted that it was the second time she smiled at him. The feeling excited him more than he thought possible, but he quickly tamped it down, clearing his throat.

“I am sorry, Mayfield, but I believe I have seen the most unbelievable thing,” Theo gasped, wiping the corners of his eyes. “Blackmore and Gillingham are never going to believe me when I tell them.”

“And what do you intend to tell them, if I might ask?” William asked, folding his arms.

“That I have witnessed an unforgettable event.” Theo smiled, walking over to take Eveline’s arm. “You never apologize, Mayfield, and your darling wife just made you apologize without asking you to.”

William frowned. “I apologize when necessary.”

He felt heat around his ears at Eveline witnessing such a vulnerable moment.

He wasn’t yet comfortable with her knowing him as anything other than the proper Duke she had married, even if he had not been as proper as he would have preferred with her.

“What about when you punched me for no reason in camp?” Theo asked.

“There was a very good reason,” William scoffed. “You kept cheating at cards and stealing my drink rations.”

“Those are not very good reasons,” Theo sneered.

“Magnus and Edwin seemed to think so.”

“You…”

Eveline’s laugh interrupted their bickering, and they both turned to stare at her with wide eyes. William had thought her beautiful, but now, as she laughed freely, he couldn’t help but think her radiant . Awe bloomed in his heart as he watched her, and all he wanted to do was make her laugh every day like she was doing now.

“I am sorry,” she hiccuped, placing a hand on her belly. “I did not mean to laugh.”

“Do not apologize, fair lady,” Theo joked. “That is the only natural reaction around me.”

She laughed again, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. A pang of jealousy hit William again as he watched their interaction. He trusted his friend, but could he trust her not to stray?

“I should return to the dining room.” She smiled at him. “Enjoy your visit.”

“Why do you have to leave so quickly, Duchess?” Theo asked, stepping closer to her. “I am only just now discovering that you have a sense of humor, which I appreciate. Surely, you must stay. Your husband and I were about to have drinks. You must join us.”

“Drinks before dinner?” she asked incredulously. “That is improper.”

“Propriety is terribly dull,” Theo drawled. “When you are as powerful as we are, you are allowed a modicum of impropriety.”

“That is utterly scandalous to imagine,” she said with a smile. “You are a terrible influence.”

“I only aim to please, Your Grace.” Theo executed a mock bow. “You should have a drink with us.”

“Oh no, I truly cannot,” Eveline insisted.

“Mayfield would not mind… would he?” Theo asked with a pointed look at William.

He had been observing William as he interacted with his wife and noticed how silent his friend had become. It was obvious that jealousy was simmering in the man’s blood, but he would say nothing.

“I would, actually,” William answered at the teasing look in Theo’s eyes. “She has duties to attend to.”

William ignored how Eveline’s face fell, even though it hurt him to see her unhappy. He needed to keep her away from Theo and his charming tongue before she fell for him.

“She always has duties to attend to, Mayfield,” Theo retorted, rolling his eyes. “Come, Duchess. You need some enjoyment in your life. Sit with us, and I will tell you stories about your husband.”

Eveline eyed William as she took the indicated seat, soundly ignoring his protests. Theo was overjoyed at the discord he had caused and rushed to pour her a drink, before plopping down into the seat opposite her.

“Where do I begin?” he intoned. “Oh yes. The story of your husband’s first day in camp.”

“Don’t you dare, Emerton!” William protested.

Of course, his protest fell on deaf ears.

“It is as hilarious as you can possibly imagine, but it is not a story you should hear until you had at least one drink.” Theo smiled.

Eveline eyed the glass in her hand warily and then sniffed it, wrinkling her small nose.

“This doesn’t smell at all like anything I would enjoy,” she complained.

“You will,” Theo said encouragingly. “Trust me.”

She shrugged and eyed the glass warily before taking a sip… and spitting it out immediately. She coughed and rubbed at her chest, her eyes watering. William squeezed his fists tightly, fighting the urge to rush over to her, as it would give Theo even more fodder with which to tease him.

“Why do people drink this?” she groaned. “This tastes horrible.” She coughed, her face contorting with displeasure. “I shall never trust your judgment again.”

“I’ll have you know that I have refined taste,” Theo complained. “That is very fine whiskey.”

“Indeed?” she asked with wide eyes, looking at William.

He nodded. “Indeed, but it is not for everybody.”

“Did you never sneak out to imbibe as a child?” Theo asked.

She shook her head. “I never thought to.”

“You really were a proper child,” he mused, rolling his eyes. “You’re almost as boring as Mayfield now. You two are well suited for each other."

Eveline giggled into her hands, while William shook his head.

“Nonetheless, I will tell you the story of William’s first day.” Theo smiled. “He was a scrawny thing back then, but in his little body, he held so much anger and made himself a target for my pranks.”

“Oh God,” Eveline gasped, laughing softly. “What did you do?”

“I stole his breeches at night and had him lumber around camp the next day in his smalls, with a storm cloud over him,” Theo finished.

William turned his head away as a loud laugh tore out of Eveline’s mouth. She was bent over, placing a hand on her stomach as though the action hurt her—which he suspected it did, considering corsets were built to restrict all sorts of movement.

“You are absolutely horrid.” She giggled.

“We became fast friends when I finally confessed,” Theo continued with a wink. “I couldn’t improve his dour personality, but he did prove himself a worthy friend. He saved my life, and now I save him from his dark moods. I should say we are a good pair.”

When Eveline smiled at Theo so brightly, William frowned deeply. The wave of jealousy he had felt earlier burned even hotter in his veins the longer he watched them talk. Soon, it was a boiling pot that had him rising quickly to his feet.

“It is past the respectable hour for a visit, Emerton,” he announced. “You must leave now, so my wife and I can have dinner.”

Theo and Eveline rose to their feet, her with a surprised look and him with a smug smile.

“Why are you chasing me away so suddenly?” Theo asked. “You usually enjoy my company.”

“Not tonight.”

“I shall leave now, but I shall visit again as soon as possible,” he said with a smile. “I happen to enjoy your wife’s company immensely.”

“Next time you do, ensure you have your wife with you.”

“That was beneath you.” Theo feigned hurt. “But I shall do my best to secure one on such short notice. It has been a pleasure to meet you, Duchess.”

“Likewise.” Eveline smiled. “Thank you for the stories.”

“It has been my pleasure. I shall share even more when we meet again.” He bowed. “Have a good evening.”

William watched his friend leave after giving him a pointed look.

Now that he was alone with Eveline, he suddenly felt very vulnerable. He had promised to spend time with her, but she would want to have a conversation, and he couldn’t imagine what they could speak about. He could hardly tell stories as well as Theo did, and he had not traveled enough to have tales from other lands as Magnus did.

What could he discuss with her?

“Shall we go to the dining room, Your Grace?” she asked softly.