Page 7 of The Duke’s Untouched Bride (Regency Second Chances #3)

“ G ood Lord, Iris. What have you done?”

Felix stood frozen in the parlor doorway with his eyes fixed on the bundle in her arms. His usually impeccable appearance showed signs of haste: cravat askew, hair mussed from what must have been a breakneck ride from the country.

“Felix.” Iris shifted Evie against her shoulder as her heart raced. Of all the times for her cousin to appear. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind himself with a soft click. “You vanish from Carridan Hall without a word, the staff tells me you went to London for urgent business, and you ask what I’m doing here?”

“I can explain.”

“I should hope so.” His gaze never left the baby. “It looks like you’ve either stolen a child or…” His eyes widened. “Dear God. Is this child your husband’s?”

Heat flooded Iris’s cheeks. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” Felix moved closer and his voice dropped. “Throughout this year, I visited you at Carridan Hall very often. I believe I would’ve noticed if you were pregnant. So, why the secrecy?”

“Because she’s not?—”

The door opened again. The Duke entered. He took in the scene with one swift glance. His expression hardened.

“Lord Halston. How unexpected.”

Felix rounded on him and fury replaced his confusion. “You bastard.”

“Felix!” Iris stepped between them while juggling Evie awkwardly. “Please, let me explain.”

“Explain?” Felix’s hands clenched into fists. “What’s to explain? Your husband abandoned you for a year, and now there’s a baby in your arms who isn’t yours? I may not be a mathematician, but even I can work out those sums.”

The Duke’s voice remained cool. “You’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Am I?” Felix took a step forward. “Then enlighten me, Your Grace. Whose child is my cousin holding?”

“Peters,” Owen called, without taking his eyes off Felix. “Clear the room. No one is to disturb us.”

The butler appeared as if by magic, ushering out a maid who’d been dusting.

When the door closed again, the three of them stood in tense silence. Evie chose that moment to fuss, and Iris bounced her automatically.

“Well?” Felix prompted. “I’m waiting.”

Iris looked at Owen. She saw clearly the warning in his eyes. He didn’t want her to tell Felix anything.

Too bad. She was tired of secrets.

“She was left on our doorstep several days ago,” she said. “With a note asking us to protect her.”

Felix furrowed his brow. “Left? By whom?”

“I don’t know. The note said that her name is Evie and that she’s all that remains.”

“All that remains of what?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“But you suspect.” Felix’s gaze narrowed on the Duke. “ You know something.”

The Duke remained silent. His eyes sharpened while he held Felix’s glare.

“Felix is family, Your Grace,” Iris said firmly. “He deserves the truth. As do I.”

“Duchess,” he bit out.

She ignored him and explained the next bit to her cousin. “I thought she was the Duke’s at first. The product of some affair. But he swears she’s not.”

“And you believe him?”

“I…” She hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. I do.”

Felix laughed disbelievingly. “You believe the man who left you on your wedding night? Who didn’t even bother to?—”

He moved so fast that Iris barely saw it. One moment, Felix was standing there; the next, he was swinging at her husband’s face.

The Duke sidestepped easily, catching his wrist and twisting just enough to block the blow.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he hissed.

“Let go of me!” Felix growled.

“Are you going to try that again?”

“Depends. Are you going to tell me the truth?”

They stood frozen with Felix glaring at the Duke silently.

Iris had never seen her cousin truly angry before. It transformed his usually cheerful face into something harder.

“The child is not mine,” the Duke said finally after releasing Felix’s wrist. “I haven’t touched another woman since before the wedding.”

Iris blinked. Surely that was an excuse to calm Felix. Even if Evie wasn’t truly Owen’s, he would have resorted to women of the night to… satisfy his needs. That’s what many noblemen did.

“Then whose is she?” Felix barked.

The Duke was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice had lost its edge. “I know whose she is. But for her safety, it’s best if the world believes she’s mine.” He glanced at Iris. “Ours.”

His possessive tone sent an unexpected shiver through her.

Felix looked between them. His confusion from earlier resurfaced. “You’re taking in another man’s bastard?”

“Don’t call her that,” Iris said sharply. “She’s an innocent child. And besides, I’m not lying for his sake.” Iris adjusted Evie, who had fallen back to sleep. “I’m protecting her. She was left on my doorstep as much as his. I won’t abandon her to chance.”

“Iris…” Felix ran a hand through his hair, messing it further. “This is madness. You’re talking about raising another woman’s child as your own. She is not your blood.”

“And does that truly matter?” Iris met his gaze steadily. “I know how cruel blood relatives can be. You are the exclusion, of course. I don’t care if I didn’t birth her.”

Both Felix and the Duke winced at her words. Felix knew how her parents had treated her. As for the Duke… he didn’t know. He’d only known her father as a formal gentleman who followed the rules of the ton . He didn’t know what kind of father he was to her. Not that he had ever asked.

“Don’t.” Felix’s voice softened. “Don’t do this out of obligation. There are other options.”

“I feel no sense of obligation.” Iris looked down at Evie’s sleeping face. “I’m choosing to raise her because it’s right. Because she deserves better than whatever fate awaits her, otherwise.”

Felix studied her for a long moment. Then, his shoulders drooped. “What’s her name again?”

“Evie. Lady Evangeline Sencler, if we’re being formal.”

“God help me.” He sank into a chair. “You’re serious about this.”

“Completely.”

“And people will believe she’s yours?”

“The timing works,” the Duke said. “We’ve been married for over a year. A child born in the countryside, away from Society’s eyes. It’s plausible.”

“Plausible.” Felix laughed mirthlessly. “You’re asking me to lie to everyone. Our friends, the ton —everyone.”

“Yes,” Iris said simply. “Please, Cousin.”

“Halston.” Something in the Duke’s tone made them both look at him. “I need your word that nothing said in this room will leave it. Nothing.”

“Is that a threat?” Felix straightened, frowning.

“It’s a request. For Evie’s sake.”

Felix looked at the baby again, and Iris saw the moment his resolve crumbled. He’d always been soft-hearted.

“Fine,” he acquiesced. “I’ll keep your secret. But Iris…” He crossed the room and patted her shoulder. “If this goes wrong, if you need help, you come to me. Understood?”

“Understood.”

He squeezed her fingers gently, then stepped back. “I should go, before I decide to take another swing at your husband.”

“Felix—”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll see myself out.” At the door, he paused. “Take care of yourself, Cousin. And the little one.”

When he’d gone, silence filled the void.

Iris could feel the Duke’s displeasure radiating from where he stood by the fireplace.

“That was foolish,” he muttered.

“He’s family.”

“He’s a gossip.”

“He’s loyal .” She turned to face him fully. “And he’s not stupid. He spent months with me at Carridan Hall. He would have noticed if I’d been pregnant.”

The Duke’s jaw tightened. “Who else?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Who else spent time with you this past year? Who else will know that the child can’t be yours?”

The question stung more than it should have. It was as if her abandonment were merely an inconvenience to his plans now.

“Grace and Harrison,” she said. “They visited regularly.”

“The Brentwells.” He seemed to consider this. “Do you trust them?”

“They’re my friends.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

“Yes,” she snapped. “I trust them. More than I trust you, certainly.”

He had the grace to flinch slightly. “They’ll need to be told. If they’re going to be convinced of the deception, better if they’re part of it.”

“You want me to ask my friends to lie for our sake?”

“I want you to protect Evie.” His gray eyes held hers. “Isn’t that what you said? That you wouldn’t abandon her to chance?”

“Fine. I’ll write to Grace tomorrow.”

“Good.”

They stood there, two strangers bound by marriage and now by a secret. Evie slept on, oblivious to the tension crackling between them.

“Is there anything else?” Iris asked when the silence stretched too long.

“Yes.” He moved closer, and his masculine scent enveloped her once more. “No more unilateral decisions. We’re in this together now, whether we like it or not. That means you consult me before revealing things to anyone else.”

“The way you consulted me before disappearing for a year?”

His face shuttered. “That’s different.”

“Is it? Because you’re asking for consideration you’ve never shown me.”

“I’m asking you to be careful. For all our sakes.”

“And I’m telling you that I know who I can trust.” She shifted Evie, using the motion to step back from him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, she needs changing.”

She made it halfway to the door before his voice stopped her.

“Iris.”

She paused but didn’t turn back. “Yes?”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. With Evie.”

The unexpected words made her throat tighten. “Thank you.”

“And Felix… he’s a good man, ultimately. I’m glad you had him this past year.”

Now she turned back and searched his face for mockery. She found none. All she saw was her husband. He looked oddly vulnerable in the afternoon light.

“He was,” she whispered. “A good friend when I needed one.”

Something flickered across his features too quickly to identify. Then, his mask slipped back into place.

“The candidates will arrive tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll have Peters set up the morning room for interviews.”

Back to business. Of course.

For a moment, she’d thought…

But no. He had made his feelings clear from the beginning. Whatever softer emotions she’d glimpsed were probably just her imagination.

“That’s fine,” she muttered. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Actually, I have a meeting?—”

“Your Grace.” She met his gaze steadily. “You insisted that I make the time to dine with you. I would appreciate if you would extend me the same courtesy.”

His mouth tightened, but he nodded. “Of course.”

Iris left him standing there while Evie snuggled warmly against her shoulder.

She’d won that small battle, at least.

In her room, she changed the baby’s napkin quickly then settled Evie in her cradle before sinking into a chair.

What was she doing? Clinging to this abandoned child because she had no one else? Building a family from lies because the fact that her husband couldn’t bear her company was too painful to face?

Evie stirred, making the soft sounds that usually preceded a bout of crying. Iris lifted her automatically, already learning her rhythms.

“It’s all right,” she cooed. “I’m here.”

The words were for Evie, but they felt like a promise to herself too. She was here. She would endure. And maybe, if she were very lucky, she might even find a way to be happy—even if that happiness was built on secrets and held together by a child who belonged to neither of them.