Page 20 of The Duke’s Replacement Bride (The Wild Brides #6)

“ Y ou’re here,” Caroline said in surprise, coming across Levi in the sitting room one afternoon a few days later. “I didn’t know you would be.”

“I do live here,” he pointed out, unable to suppress a smile.

“I know that.” She blushed. He never failed to notice it when her cheeks colored—it made his pulse quicken. It made him want to agitate her all the more, to try to draw that flush out of her if he could. “But you usually go out during the day. I’m used to being on my own at this time.”

“I decided to invite my guest here this time,” Levi told her. “We’re going to so many events this season that I don’t feel the need to get out of the house as much as I might have in past years.”

“Who’s coming here?” Caroline asked.

“My friend Gregory. You remember him, of course.”

Caroline nodded and looked down, leaving Levi to wonder what she was thinking.

He had never perceived Caroline to be particularly snobbish, but of course, Gregory was not a member of the ton.

Who was to say what would happen when the two of them were on their own together with only a few others for company?

Maybe Caroline didn’t understand why he would associate with someone she was bound to perceive as beneath his station.

Maybe she would think he should stick to friends more befitting a duke.

If she says anything of the sort, I’ll just have to remind her whose house this really is. She may be my wife, but I’m not going to allow her to make rude comments about my friends.

That was preemptive, of course. She hadn’t said anything out of line yet. He worried about it, but maybe he ought to give her a chance to do the right thing before assuming that she would disappoint him.

I must admit, she’s never disappointed me yet.

“You’re welcome to join us for tea, at least at first,” he told Caroline somewhat grudgingly.

She raised her eyebrows. “You would allow me to stay and socialize?”

“I can’t see the harm in it. Gregory knows that I’m married, of course. I’m not trying to hide you away from him. It makes sense that you stay and greet our guest. In fact, I would like you to.”

She was silent for a moment. He wondered what she was thinking, but she didn’t offer anything.

Even her facial expression remained carefully neutral.

“If that’s what you would like, I’d be happy to be a part of things,” she said.

“I should go put on something more suitable for receiving guests, and then I’ll be right back. ”

Levi thought the gown she was wearing was fine—it was only Gregory—but she was gone before he had the chance to tell her so. He shrugged and settled into his seat to await her return and to await their visitor.

It seemed only moments before the butler was showing Gregory into the room. Levi rose to his feet and clasped his friend’s hand. “It’s good to see you,” he said. “My wife will be joining us briefly.”

“I actually came over here to have a private discussion with you, Levi,” Gregory protested as he took his seat. “Your wife is charming, to be sure, but you and I have things we need to talk about that might be best dealt with in her absence.”

“I agree, but I don’t want to hint at that conversation to her, and I told her she could have tea with us.”

“I think you’re becoming rather indulgent of her.”

“Is there some reason I shouldn’t indulge my wife?”

“Not at all. I simply observe that it’s happening.

And what I take away from that is an indication that you care for her, perhaps more than you’ve been willing to admit thus far.

You have told yourself that this was a marriage of convenience and nothing more, but you must admit that it’s very inconvenient for her to join us for tea right now. ”

“You’re thinking about it too much,” Levi said.

“She’s just going to have a cup of tea and socialize briefly, and then she’ll be on her way and you and I will discuss what you came here to talk about.

She doesn’t get out of the house much and it will be good for her to be able to spend time with someone other than me. ”

“Yes, it sounds like you’re being very considerate of her needs. What a loving husband you are!”

“Oh, stop,” Levi said sourly. “It isn’t like that.”

The truth was that he couldn’t deny that his friend had a point.

He absolutely was inviting Caroline to join them out of consideration for her and out of a desire to show her off a little bit.

He had enjoyed the society functions they’d attended so far, and it was a pleasure to have her on his arm.

He would enjoy drinking tea with her, and he wanted Gregory to see what a clever and charming person his wife could truly be.

As long as she showed that side of herself, that was.

He was still nervous that she might not do so—that she might treat Gregory differently because of who he was in the world.

Levi hoped he was wrong about that, but he had to admit that part of him was also eager to see what she would do.

He wanted to put her to the test, and he wanted to see her pass that test. He hoped fervently that she would.

The tea had been served by the time Caroline returned.

Levi looked her over surreptitiously. He didn’t see much difference between the gown she had been wearing before and the one she wore now, but she must have thought there was something different between them if she had gone to the trouble of changing.

He did think she looked lovely. The gown fit her well, and she had taken the time to redo her hair.

She was lovely, he thought. Even if Gregory hadn’t seen her before, he would have surely taken notice of such a beautiful lady.

He rose to his feet. Gregory did the same and approached Caroline. “Your Grace,” he said. “How good to see you again. You look beautiful, I must say.”

“Well, it’s very kind of you to say so, sir.” She curtsied. “Welcome to our home. I’m pleased to be hosting you. It’s the first time Levi has had any one over to visit since we’ve been married—that is to say, he’s had people here, but not on social calls.”

This wasn’t entirely a social call, of course, but Levi didn’t want Caroline to be aware of that. “Why don’t we all sit down for a while,” he suggested, leading the way back to the seats. “Gregory, thank you for joining us this morning. It’s always good to be able to spend time with friends.”

“You’re being very formal,” Gregory chuckled. “Are you nervous because your wife is here?”

Levi gave his friend his harshest glare. “I’d hardly be nervous because of that.”

“He is,” Caroline spoke up. “He wants this to go well, but he’d never admit that.”

Gregory laughed in delight while Levi fumed. “He told you so?”

“Oh, no. He wouldn’t admit it to me either.

But I’m starting to understand him a bit more as our marriage goes on.

I know why he had me come here today, why he wanted me to spend time with you.

He wants the two of us to be friends. I don’t know if he even knows that himself.

I’m sure he hasn’t thought about it in those terms. But he wants me to like you because he likes you, and he wants you to like me for the same reason. ”

“Well, there’s no fear of that,” Gregory assured her.

“I like you plenty. I may like you more than he hoped I would. Any woman who can stand up for herself to my good friend the Duke of Mowbray like this is worthy of my respect. I’m looking forward to us getting to know one another better, if you’re open to it. ”

“Very much so.”

“All right, you two,” Levi interjected. “Surely there are more interesting things we could all be talking about than my temperament.”

“No, your temperament is the most interesting thing I can think of to discuss with your new wife, because she sees so much more of it than I do,” Gregory said.

“Tell me, is he as cantankerous with you as he is with me? I find it nearly impossible to get him to relax and enjoy himself. When he does, of course, he can be great fun, but often it’s hard to get a smile on his face at all. ”

“I think I’m getting better at that,” Caroline said. “It’s a matter of knowing what he wants at any specific time. If I can figure that out, and if I can give him what he needs, it becomes rather easy to get him into a winning mood.”

“You’re good at giving him what he needs, are you?” Gregory smirked at Caroline.

She laughed. “I didn’t realize you were so funny. Levi didn’t warn me.”

“I didn’t know that the two of you were going to be sitting here talking about me right in front of me like this, as if I wasn’t even in the room,” Levi spoke up. “Do you think I can’t hear you?”

Caroline waved a hand at him dismissively.

“You’re not really angry, so don’t bluster about as if you are,” she told him.

“I know you, Levi. If you were truly angry at how this conversation was going, you would do something to stop it. I know you could. You’d send me from the room, or you would shout at Gregory here to stop speaking the way he is.

You haven’t done those things because you like the way we’re talking.

You pretend to be irritated, but this is what you were hoping would happen here today. ”

Not for the first time, Levi found himself stunned by just how well she had seen through him.

It was as if she had known him all her life.

How could she possibly read him so easily, and so correctly?

He didn’t understand it, but he had to admit that he rather enjoyed it.

He turned to his friend and raised his eyebrows.

Gregory was smirking, and Levi knew his friend understood everything that was going through his mind right now and appreciated it.

He had wanted Gregory to like Caroline, and he could see that Gregory did.

It was also clear that Caroline didn’t set any particular store by the fact that Gregory was not noble.

She treated him as just another friend of Levi’s and, by extension, a friend of her own, and Levi had to respect that.

He rose to his feet. “Gregory and I are going to retreat to my study to discuss a few matters of business,” he said.

“Well, it was very nice to see you again,” Caroline said, getting to her feet as well, clearly understanding and accepting her dismissal. “I hope we can make this more frequent, Gregory.”

“The pleasure would be entirely mine,” he assured her with a light bow.

She gave him a smile. Her gaze flickered to Levi and became ever so slightly smug, and he bit back a laugh. Then she turned and retreated from the room without another word to either one of them.