Page 44 of The Duke In My Bed (The Heirs’ Club of Scoundrels #1)
She faced him, and Bray saw wide-eyed fear. It was the same look her brother had when he’d realized how badly he was hurt. And just like her brother’s that night, Gwen’s expression registered disbelief and sadness, too. That protective feeling inside Bray grew stronger.
“Tell me what happened,” he said in a deadly quiet tone so she would know he wouldn’t let this rest until she complied.
“Nothing,” she said again as if trying to sound more in control of herself.
“If nothing happened, why is your lip bleeding?”
“Oh,” she said, and put her fingertips to her bottom lip. “I must have bitten it myself when he—”
He touched the small of her back and ushered her away from the path and closer to the courtyard wall, away from curious eyes. There was no blood, but saying so had given Bray the information he was looking for.
“Were you with Standish?” he asked, handing her his handkerchief.
The fear returned to her eyes. “No, no. I wasn’t. I swear.”
“Miss Gwen,” was all he said.
“Please don’t tell Louisa,” she whispered earnestly. “She will be so angry with me. She told me not to walk with him. She told me not to assume he loved me until he told me so. I didn’t listen to her, and she was right. It was all my fault.”
“How was it your fault?”
“He—he wanted to kiss me, which I didn’t mind. I wanted his kisses, but then he wanted to touch me, and I told him he couldn’t unless he asked me to marry him.” Tears filled her eyes. “He told me he doesn’t love me and doesn’t intend to make a match with me. I thought he loved me.”
“Shhh,” he said. “Don’t say more. You’ve told me enough. And don’t cry,” he ordered. “You don’t want to walk back into the ballroom with tears streaming down your face or your nose red, do you?”
She shook her head and sniffled while wiping her eyes with his handkerchief. “I don’t want Louisa to know I was so foolish. I can’t believe he doesn’t love me. I was so certain he did.”
“Men are ungrateful nodcocks when it comes to a lady’s affections.”
“You won’t tell her I made a fool of myself, will you? Promise me you won’t tell her.”
“I won’t tell her. This is your affair, Miss Gwen, not mine. You handle it with your sister however you wish.”
And I’ll handle this with Standish.
“Thank you.”
From over her shoulder, Bray saw Standish sauntering up the pathway.
“Look,” he said to Gwen. “Sit over there on that bench and compose yourself for a few moments and dry your eyes. Don’t go inside until I come back to walk in with you. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
Bray strode quickly across the grounds to the other side of the lawn and caught up with Standish just as he was about to step onto the slate terrace. “Standish, there you are. I’ve been looking for you. Might I have a word with you?”
He turned and acknowledged Bray. “Of course, Your Grace.”
“Let’s go over here. This is a private conversation.”
The young man followed him around to the side of the building. When they rounded the corner, Bray grabbed him by the bow of his neckcloth and pulled it tight, twisting and wrapping the length of it around his fist, choking Standish as he slammed him against the stone.
“You don’t deserve it, but I’m going to do you a favor and give you some advice my father gave me years ago, ‘Stay away from the innocents for your urges. Have all the doxies, mistresses, and orgies you want, but keep your hands off innocent ladies.’ Now, do you understand what I’m saying, Standish? ”
The man’s face was turning red. He tried to speak, but Bray held the bow so tight around his neck that all he could do was sputter and nod. Bray squeezed a little tighter, nearly lifting the man off his feet.
“Good. You would do well to heed my warning. If we have to meet about this subject again, I won’t be so pleasant to you as I am right now.” Bray let go of Standish.
The man slid down the building to the ground, pulling at his neckcloth and gasping for air. “You must be mad to attack me like that!” Standish ground out while he tried to loosen his neckcloth.
“I am mad,” Bray answered. “Mad as hell. And one other thing: I suggest that Miss Gwen receive a note from you tomorrow explaining that she is the most beautiful young lady you have ever met, and if you were ready for marriage, she would be the one, but you are far too immature to think of marriage at this time.”
“You can’t expect me to— Ouch!” Standish yelped as Bray’s foot came down on his knee.
“What were you saying?” Bray asked.
“I’ll have the message delivered tomorrow,” Standish said from between clenched teeth.
“Good. I think it might be better for you to spend the rest of the Season out of London, don’t you? Otherwise, you and I might find ourselves having another talk. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly, Your Grace,” he said, his face twisted in pain.
Bray lifted his foot off the man and walked back to where Miss Gwen sat.
She stood and she rose to meet him.
“How are you feeling now?” he asked.
“Better, I think. Are my eyes and nose red?”
“Just a little. Go splash water on your face, and that should take care of it. If they are still red, tell anyone who asks it was the champagne you drank. It makes a lot of people look flushed.”
She nodded. “Thank you for your help, Your Grace.”
He smiled. “I’m your guardian, Miss Gwen. It’s my duty to look after you. You may come to me with anything, and I will help you.”
She reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Bray was so startled, he stepped away from her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have done that. Please forgive me for being so forward, but tonight I feel about you the way I always felt about Nathan. As if you were my brother taking care of me.”
She thought of him as a brother? That gave Bray the oddest feeling. Was he acting more like a brother than like a guardian? Was that feeling he’d had when he saw that she’d been hurt by Standish something like brotherly love? Did she feel like a sister to him?
Bray had that now-familiar tightness in his throat, and he didn’t know what to say except, “I don’t need gratitude for doing the right thing. Let’s go back inside.”
Somehow whenever he was around Louisa and her sisters, all the training that went into hiding his emotions left him. He didn’t know what to make of what was happening to him.