Page 26 of The Duke’s Spinster Bride (A Duke’s Game #2)
Chapter Twenty-Six
“I cannot believe I really just said that.” Andrea touched a hand to her lips, shaking her head. “I cannot believe I told him to get out of my life. I… I slapped him.”
Frederick was staring into the distance over Andrea’s head as he held her close to him. The sound of her slap echoed in his ears filling him with a deep sense of pride. But as his eyes drifted over the space the Earl had been anger coursed through him, his fingers twitched as though they were desperate to wrap themselves around the man’s neck.
Swallowing the urge, he tore his gaze from the now empty grounds around them and turned to face Andrea. She was shaking against his grip, her eyes were wide, but there was a smile on her face.
“Are you all right?” he asked, stepping back from her so he could get a better look at her. “How is your hand?”
“Sore.” She flexed and unflexed her fingers. “I did not think it would hurt so much.”
“You slapped him rather hard. I can practically still hear it echoing.” He smiled at her, inhaling sharply as he breathed in her jasmine scent.
His muscles were still tensed, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, but his mind calmed as he held her in his arms. “I am so proud of you. You did so well.”
“Thank you.” She buried her face in his chest, which made her next words sound rather muffled. “I am rather proud of myself as well.”
“You should be.” He kissed the top of her head. “You were magnificent.”
He caught her hand in his and drew it to his lips. He kissed it, feeling the warmth tingle against his lips. “Remind me never to make you so angry you feel the need to strike me. I have no wish to be slapped so hard, I fall on my backside. There are some men who enjoy that sort of thing, but I am not one of them.”
He grinned at her and as he had hoped it would, the joke diffused some of the tension from her body. She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her. He ran a hand through her hair, pressing his lips to her forehead.
“You are sure you are unhurt? You are well?” He cupped her face in his hands, searching for tears he feared might fall. Not that he deserves her tears.
Frederick had not realised it was possible to hate someone so thoroughly when you had so little contact with them. Yet the Earl had taught him that much at least.
“I… Yes, I think I am. In fact… I think I am more than all right.” She leaned back, pushing against his chest to get a better look at him. “Did I really just tell my father to leave and never contact me again?”
Frederick nodded, grinning down at her as he remembered the look of startled outrage on Lord Statton’s face. “You did. And I am fairly certain you threatened to set the dogs on him if he ever turned up on our doorstep unannounced.”
“The unfortunate thing being that we do not have dogs.” Andrea shook her head.
“He does not know that.” Frederick stroked his jaw as he let out a chuckle that was more anger than amusement. “And we can always get some if you are worried about him.”
“Is this your way of telling me you are getting me a puppy?” Her eyes danced in the moonlight, her tone light and teasing.
“If you want.” He laughed. “I would feel safer if you had something big and fierce watching you at night.”
“And you do not count, I take it?” She poked him affectionately in the chest.
He spluttered, rubbing a hand on his neck. He could feel his skin burning and had no doubt that if he were in better lighting, the marks would be clear as day. Andrea laughed at him.
“You are enjoying this far too much.” He grumbled as they moved apart and began to meander their way back towards the ballroom.
“As though you have not enjoyed doing this same thing to me.” She wagged a finger at him and he pretended to bite it. “You reap what you sow, dear Frederick. You reap what you sow.”
He watched as she glanced back over her shoulder, in the direction the earl had run and then looked up at him. “Are you worried he will come back?”
He felt his muscles tense as he asked the question and he rolled his neck, feeling his shoulders and back crack as he glared into the darkness behind them.
“I thought I would be. But… But I am not. I feel… I feel strangely light, as thought a great weight has been lifted.” She dragged her foot along the ground as she twisted from side to side. “It is like the final thing that was holding me back…”
She looked back over her shoulder and unreadable expression on her face, but before he could ask her about it, she turned to him and smiled. “Now I just get to be happy.”
“Good. Though you should know, if he dares show his face again, I will bring down the full might of the duchy on him. No one speaks to my wife like that.” He gestured behind them, eyes narrowing as he thought of her father. “There will be no clemency a second time, Andrea.”
“I know. I doubt he would risk it.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “He knows you could destroy him.”
“You are better off without him in your life anyway. I still cannot believe he lied to you about dying, just to get you to do what he wanted.”
“I can. It is just the sort of thing he would do.” She slammed a fist into her palm and winced. “He wanted to use my guilt against me, to believe that him dying would drive him to truly desperate actions.”
“And now that you know the truth about him, do you regret it? Marrying I mean. After all, you did not have to.” He could not quite bring himself to look at her, dropping in the question as casually as he could.
The rhythm of his heart faltered and then swung into a staccato beat as he waited for her to answer. She stopped walking and arched an eyebrow at him.
“Are you asking if I regret marrying you?” She folded her arms across her chest.
“I suppose.” He swallowed.
“I do not.” She smiled at him and he felt his heart soar in his chest. For a moment, he was sure that if she had asked, he would have been able to fly.
“He may have forced my hand, but that is all. He wanted me to be miserable and now… Well, now I am anything but.” She looked at her feet, cheeks colouring as she continued. “I am married to the most wonderful man, a man who makes me feel safe and seen and… and cherished.”
“You are going to make me blush if you keep saying such nice things about me.” His voice came out more earnest than he had intended as he struggled to get the words out past the lump in his throat.
“It would only be fair given how often you do the same to me.” She gently bumped against him, the brush of her skin sending fireworks through his veins. “Perhaps you are the one who should learn to take a compliment.”
“Does this mean you plan on complimenting me more? Because I do not think I would be terribly opposed to the idea if that is what you wish to do. And of course, I am more than happy to return the favour.” He laughed and ducked out of the way as she aimed a half hearted kick at him.
After a moment, silence fell and she said, “I do not think I could have done this without you.”
“You did do it without me, remember? You asked me to let you deal with it on your own.” He pointed out.
She waved his explanation away. “That is not what I mean… I… You helped me see the truth. Helped me realise just how awful he has been to me.”
She bit her lip, glancing off in the direction her father had left. “I keep expecting him to come back.”
“If he knows what is good for him, he will not. My urge to thoroughly punch the man notwithstanding, I meant what I said, before you told me to stand aside. I will make sure everyone knows he is nothing more than a liar and a cheat. That he tried to lie about dying just to get you to do what he wanted.” He shook his head, lip curling in disgust.
“Technically that is what your grandmother did.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Are you really comparing my grandmother to your father?”
“No, just pointing out that people in our lives do seem to have a habit of claiming to be dying when they are not.” She shrugged. “I would never compare Agatha to Father. She is a decent person for starters.”
“Well, I promise I will never pretend that I am dying. If I tell you I am dying, then I mean it.” He placed a hand on his chest as though swearing a solemn vow.
“I cannot tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing.” She shuddered and leaned against him. “All I know is that the thought of you dying feels like someone has thrown a bucket of cold water over the top of me.”
“It seems like you are rather attached to me, Andrea.” He put an arm around her, breathing in her familiar jasmine perfume.
“I am.” She opened her mouth and then bit her lip, shaking her head. “I am glad that we decided to give this a real chance. It feels like.. It feels like things are finally starting to click into place. Of course, if you do not feel the same I would understand. It is just how it feels to me but no one experience is universal.”
He held a hand up to her lips, his eyes glinting mischievously as he shook his head. “I am glad we agreed to give this a real chance as well.”
The memory of the file he had found threatened to crawl to the front of his mind, but he pushed it away. He was just looking for problems where there were none.
There are plenty of real things, without giving myself imaginary ones.