Page 11 of The Duke’s Replacement Bride (The Wild Brides #6)

“ H ere now—what’s going on?”

Levi was so angry that he didn’t think any manner of distraction would have the power to crack his rage, but Gregory’s appearance at his shoulder did pull his focus momentarily. He didn’t look over at his friend, but he felt as if his anger at his wife had been muted.

“Go back to the table, Gregory,” he said. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“Unhand that poor boy. You’re frightening the lad.”

“This is no lad.” Levi reached forward and removed the cap Caroline had set on her head.

Her dark tresses tumbled about her shoulders—she’d pinned them up so carelessly that the slightest disturbance had set them loose.

There was something shocking and intimate about seeing her with her hair undone out in public like this.

It made him feel quite strongly as though he ought to put the hat back on her head.

He did so, but her hair remained loose about her shoulders. Her cheeks were stained crimson.

Gregory stared. “Is this…typical?” he asked. “Do you often don the attire of young servant men and sneak into gentlemen’s clubs, Your Grace?”

“It’s just Caroline,” she told him. “And no. Not often.”

“Not often, except that this is how you and I initially met,” Levi told her. “I begin to see a pattern in your behavior, Caroline.”

“Well, there’s no need to make a production of it,” Gregory said with a smile. “A bit odd, perhaps, but as she’s here, let the duchess join us at our table.”

“You would have me sit down to drinks with my wife in a gentlemen’s club, Gregory?” Levi glared at his friend.

“I would think you’d at least consider the notion,” Gregory said. “What would you do? Send her back out on her own?”

“Far better than keeping her here in a gentlemen’s club. She has no business in a place like this.”

“Oh, let her stay.”

“Absolutely not, Gregory, and I’ll thank you to keep your opinions out of my business,” Levi said. He still hadn’t let go of Caroline’s arm. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you with the bill. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

“There’s no need to make anything up. You pay far more frequently than I do.

” This was true. Levi knew his own pockets were deeper than his friend's, and he didn’t relish the idea of making Gregory pay for anything.

Of course, Gregory often insisted upon paying, and on occasion Levi allowed it.

He didn’t want to make his friend feel less of a man, either. Gregory deserved his dignity.

But today, thoughts of dignity between men went by the wayside.

The important thing—indeed, the only thing that mattered—was to get Caroline out of this wretched place.

He liked the gentlemen’s club, ordinarily, and did not view it as wretched, but the sight of his wife here brought home to him just what a hovel it really was.

It was appalling to him, suddenly, that even he had come to this place.

“Your Grace,” Gregory said to Caroline, “it was a pleasure to see you—and to get to know this side of you. I must say, I had no idea Levi had married such a feisty young lady. I’ll look forward to seeing you again and to being regaled with tales of your past exploits.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Levi snapped. “In fact, Gregory, go and sit down and leave us be. I need to deal with my wife.”

“Don’t be too hard on her,” Gregory said. “She’s adventurous, and you could use a bit of that in your life, Levi. A bit of high-spiritedness…it will do you good.”

“That’s enough,” Levi said. “I didn’t ask for your opinion on how to manage my household, Gregory, and you’ve overstepped. I’ll speak to you later.”

Gregory, to his credit, seemed to realize that he had taken things as far as he could. He nodded a farewell to Caroline and turned away.

Caroline was wide-eyed, and Levi realized that Gregory had been right about one thing, if not about any others—he had scared her.

He felt a twinge of guilt, but it didn’t last. She should be frightened, dressing in this costume and coming into a place like this!

What had she been thinking? She was fortunate that it was only he who had put his hands on her, fortunate that it wasn’t anyone who had meant her harm.

Anything might have happened, and a healthy dose of fear was probably the best thing for her.

He led her out of the club and into the road, glad for the contrast of broad daylight at first. It felt safer here, and he was more at ease, suddenly—more confident that no harm would come and that they would make it home without trouble. “How did you get into town?” he asked her.

“I borrowed a horse.”

“You stole one of my horses?”

“ Borrowed . Of course I was going to bring it back, Levi. And besides, aren’t they my horses too? Aren’t I Duchess of Mowbray?”

“Don’t split hairs with me,” he growled.

“Don’t accuse me of theft.”

He had to respect the way she stood toe-to-toe with him and didn’t back down.

It never failed to amaze him how sure of herself she could be.

It was nothing he had ever expected to find in a lady, and he often felt as if he was holding something very precious in his hands, something he might shatter without knowing quite how he had done it.

He couldn’t help feeling angry with her for her behavior today, and he knew he needed to let her know.

He needed to rein her in. But what if his words or his chastising dampened that spark within her that he had come to admire so much?

What would he do if she became flat and predictable? Was that what he wanted in a wife?

Regardless, she couldn’t be allowed to behave like this. “Never mind the horse,” he said. “Do you realize what might have happened to you today?”

“I was dressed as a lad. I was fine.”

“I saw through your disguise. And not just because I know you well, Caroline, don’t fool yourself.

I saw through it the very first time I laid eyes on you.

If I could see you for who you truly are, someone else might see it too—someone of less integrity than I.

You might not be as safe as you believe yourself to be, and you don’t want to find that out the hard way. ”

“I’m fine,” she said, but she trembled slightly, and he wondered. How long, and how many times, had she been out like this? Had she ever come face to face with men who did guess at who she really was? Had any of them ever tried anything?

The rage that surged through him at the mere thought of it was so potent that he heard himself gasp, and for a moment, he couldn’t quite see clearly.

A fog descended over his vision, and for the first time, he let go of her arm.

He didn’t trust himself to manage that anger.

He couldn’t have his hands on her while he was out of control like this.

She stepped back from him, but she didn’t flee. She watched him carefully as though waiting to see what would happen next.

He exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. It would do no good to get himself worked up into a lather. “Tell me this is the first time you’ve done this since we married,” he said, holding out little hope.

But to his surprise, she nodded fervently. “It is, I promise you,” she said. “I don’t make a habit of this, whatever you may think. I didn’t think I would ever do it again. The night we met was the very first time, and today is the second.”

“And nothing untoward has ever happened?”

“Do you think I would involve myself in scandal?” She looked affronted.

“Of course you wouldn’t. I know the quality of your character, even if you do make terrible decisions at times. But…” he hesitated. “Scandal often finds ladies who are not seeking it out.”

“Well, that hasn’t been the case,” she said. “You are the only person who has ever recognized me for what I am.”

A knot loosened in his chest. “Even so, you must never do this again,” he said firmly. “Not ever. We will burn these garments tonight, and that will be the end of it.”

“I can’t,” she told him.

“I beg your pardon?” He steeled again. “What do you mean, you can’t ?”

“I can’t burn them. I’m sorry, Levi. I need them.”

She was pale, but she maintained eye contact with him. He frowned. “Surely you can’t mean to do this sort of thing again. Surely we’re in agreement that this ought to be the last time, Caroline.”

“It ought to be, but…”

“I don’t believe this! You’re telling me that you mean to do this again?” He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I am meant to make of this. I catch you following me around, into dangerous situations…”

“I wasn’t following you around! I didn’t know you were going to be there,” she said. “Do you think I wanted to be caught?”

“I shudder to ask you what you were doing in that place if it wasn’t because you were following me!”

“It’s because of Prudence!” she burst out.

Her expression had cracked, and suddenly he saw how truly distraught she was. “What do you mean? What’s because of Prudence?” He took her arm again, carefully this time, aware of the tension in her body. “What about her?”

To his surprise, her eyes filled with tears.

Levi felt rocked with regret. He had been hard on her, and he knew it, but he hadn’t realized she was this upset. He put a hand on her shoulder and steered her over to a bench, where the two of them sat down. “Tell me what’s going on,” he urged her.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “We thought that Prudence had run away to my aunt’s house,” she said.

“You mean, to escape the fate of being my wife.”

She looked so stricken that he instantly regretted the pointed comment. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Go on. Tell me what you mean.”

“My aunt wrote to my parents. Prudence isn’t with her. She never was. All this time—ever since you and I got married—she’s just been out there somewhere, and I’ve no idea where she is.”

“Ah.” Levi suddenly understood. “You dressed as you did and came out today because you were searching for your sister.”

“Yes. She is the one who liked to put on these clothes and sneak out to gentlemen’s clubs! I always thought it foolhardy of her, but when she first went missing, I thought perhaps she had done something of the sort.”

“That’s what you were doing in the club the day you and I met,” he recalled. “You were searching for Prudence.”

“At that point she had only been gone a few hours. But I quickly concluded—and so did my parents—that she must have left home with a more permanent destination in mind. She and I had always talked of going to stay with Aunt Beatrice if we found ourselves engaged to a dreadful man.” Her face flushed.

“Not that—I don’t mean to say that you—I just thought, since it seemed clear that she was running from her wedding… ”

“You needn’t explain,” Levi assured her. “You thought she was following through on that old plan.”

“Yes. It made perfect sense that she would go to Aunt Beatrice. And even though I felt ill at ease not to hear from her and know for sure, I eventually accepted that she must be there. Only now I know she never was. So, you see, I had to go out looking for her today.” She closed her eyes.

“I feel as if these clothes—strange as it seems—might be my only hope of ever finding her.”