Page 21 of Seven Nights with the Wicked Duke (Regency Beasts #3)

M agnus, like most older brothers, could be insufferable and authoritative to the point of frustration, but that trait did not in any way detract from the love and care he had for her as his younger sister.

Over the weekend following their last big fight, he had been finding covert ways to make her feel better without apologizing, as she did not think his ego would survive it.

So far in the last few days, he had asked the cook to make her favorite meals, ordered more dresses from her favorite modiste and taken care that everything was to her liking.

These gestures, sweet as they were, brought smiles to her lips, but she was not quite ready to stop giving him the cold shoulder.

She pretended to be asleep when he knocked on her door, did her best to be out and about when she knew he would be home.

While all these were unnecessary and felt silly, she wanted Magnus to feel the impact of her anger even if she had long forgiven him.

Her little cold war abruptly came to an end when she was having breakfast one morning and her brother walked in. She had been so surprised, she had almost choked on her food. Magnus immediately rushed to pound on her back.

She had not been expecting him back by that time, he was usually out on his morning ride at such early hours of the morning, but he must have decided against it if he was home that early.

"Take your fists off me, you brute," she said between coughs.

"I was only trying to keep you from choking," he said with a sheepish smile, going around the table to take a seat opposite her.

He was dressed in outdoor clothes in his usual severe style, very well starched cravat and perfectly tailored waistcoat and trousers in his preferred shade of black.

The ensemble was only missing his usual aristocratic demeanor, but instead today, that look that she had come to attribute as second nature to him was absent.

He was softer somehow, a tad bit unsure, as if some parts of his internal walls were collapsing faster than he could control.

"Well, you did not have to pound my back so hard. You could have broken my bones before I survived the choking."

"Trust me, you will survive," he said, smiling at her before proceeding to take a bite from the meat on her plate.

Cecilia let him, she was much too occupied studying the strange creature that sat across her that bore uncanny resemblance to her brother.

Magnus did not smile. He brooded, he frowned, he could even glower but smile? No, he did not.

"Are you unwell?" she asked him, eyeing him with concern.

"No," he replied, looking up at her with confusion while he slowly chewed the meat in his mouth. "Why?"

"You seem odd."

"I do not know about that. I would never had guessed that you cared about my welfare. You have been avoiding me, Cee."

"There is a good reason for that."

"I guessed as much, we will talk about that later. I am expecting a guest this morning."

"Do not let me keep you."

"The guest is for you Cecilia," he said slowly, causing Cecilia's head to jerk up in surprise.

She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could produce a sound of disagreement, he disarmed her with a single word.

"Please," he said, his eyes tender and apologetic. "I promise you will not regret meeting this individual."

Cecilia simply nodded, swallowing the last morsel of her food, draining her cup of tea, she patted her lips dry and stood up.

"I am ready. Let's go." She decided against arguing with him.

While his good mood was odd, she didn't want to ruin it by arguing with him.

Magnus immediately stood up and led the way to the drawing room. When they arrived, a young lord was seated in one of the settees that lined the room. Immediately when he saw them, he performed a perfect bow.

"My lady," he greeted with a wide smile. She saw that he was blonde, the combination of his hair color, powder blue eyes and an aristocratic nose set off by firm lips, made him a stunning aristocrat that would have many a debutante swooning at his feet.

She wondered how she had never noticed him before in any of the parties she had attended. More importantly she wanted to know what such a fine specimen of a man was doing in her home.

"Lord Hickling," Magnus greeted the young lord from beside her. Turning to her, he made the introductions.

"May I present my sister, Lady Cecilia Wellard. Cecilia, meet Hector, Lord Hickling."

Cecilia immediately curtseyed just as the viscount before her bowed.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, my lady," he said in a rich baritone, smiling at her with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He planted a kiss on her hand, his hands lingering on hers for a moment too long before he released her.

This one was a charmer. It was also suspicious that Magnus had not scolded him for that action like he had scolded Lord Hightown just a few days ago.

She turned to throw an askance glance at her brother, but he was distracted as he offered the viscount a seat on one of the settees.

"I will go order refreshments," he said excusing himself.

There was no need for him to leave the room to summon the servants, since he could always use the bell pull. It was obvious that this young lord was a potential suitor and he was trying to give them privacy to converse while doing his doing his best to avoid meeting her gaze.

With a sigh, Cecilia came to sit on the settee just as Magnus left the room, adjusting her skirts around her before lifting her gaze to look at the viscount.

"It seems, my lord, you have been conspicuously absent in the previous seasons. There is a reason for that, yes?"

"Certainly, my lady," her guest replied with that charming smile that she had come to associate with him. "I have been away from London. Studying "

Oh another scholar. She would never have guessed, with that mischievous smile that could only belong to rake.

"In Edinburgh, I presume?"

" Yes, my lady."

"I presume you are done with your studies, hence the reason why you have returned to London."

"Yes I have. It has been nigh on three years since I left the hallowed walls of school," he said in a theatrical whisper that brought a smile of amusement to her lips.

He smiled back obviously happy to have amused her.

Then switching back to his normal volume, he continued, "I have been traveling ever since then.

I only returned to England since I received a missive that my father has died. "

"Please accept my condolences," she offered in a somber tone.

"Thank you, my lady," he said with a rueful smile. "Unfortunately his death means that I have to take on the dreary duty of continuing the family name, something I had never thought that I would have to do."

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head inquisitively. "You are his heir, are you not?"

"That might be true, but that does not mean that my old man - God rest his soul - approved of me as his heir.

You see I am a bit of a wild one. While I might be scholarly, I do enjoy the outdoors, traveling and sampling all that life has to offer.

Not good traits for an heir, I reckon. He preferred my cousin.

I always planned to take the name solely when required, but allow my cousin to manage the estate and responsibilities that came with it and allow the title to pass to him, or his heirs, on my death.

That's no longer possible. I heard he died of gout last year,"

That explained it, the rakish aura. He definitely did not fit into the box of the normal English nobility heir. Somehow that touch of eccentricity was attractive to her.

"I became friends with your brother when I returned. He invited me to his town house to meet his young sister. Of course there is nothing childish about you now, my lady. You are an exquisite beauty."

Despite herself, Cecilia could feel herself blushing. This gentleman was certainly charming.

"Why, thank you, my lord," she replied graciously.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady. I am happy that I took His Grace up on his invitation to come visit him."

For the next few hours, Cecilia conversed with the charming Viscount Hickling as he told her tad bits of lore from all the places he had visited.

He flirted with her, while sharing ideas on the books she might like when he heard her reading preference.

The man was a conundrum, such that Cecilia had never seen before.

By the time he stood up to take his leave, Cecilia was reluctant to let him go.

Their meeting felt like a reunion with an old friend even though she had never met him before.

By the time she saw him off to the door and turned, it was to find her brother leaning on the stairs railing, a smug smile on his face.

"So what do you think about that gentleman?" he asked eagerly.

"You know how I feel about you finding a suitor for me."

"Trust me Cee, I am aware. I ran into the viscount on one of my trips to the gentlemen's club. I thought it would not hurt to have him come visit and see if you might suit. He might be a little wild but he is a decent gentleman. "

"All right. I understand. Thank you," she replied reluctantly.

"From your time discussing, do you like him?"

"He is an interesting character. I would require a few more meetings to decide if he would make a good suitor."

"I hope this establishes the fact that I have your best interests at heart, Cee." His eyes softened, turning almost apologetic. "I do not ever want to hurt you. I am sorry for making you feel trapped in the last decade. It was the only way I knew to protect you."

"I understand your intentions, brother. I just wanted you to become aware of the fact that I am now a woman, Magnus.

I need to make my own decisions and you have to give me the freedom to.

I truly appreciate your protection. It is of utmost importance to me and I do not take it for granted, but love is meant to protect, not cage. "