Page 7 of The One With the Wayward Duke (The One With the Wanton Woman #5)

F REYA TOOK A DEEP breath. Despite feeling wholly detached from herself, there was nothing to do but push open the door and look for the love of her life. She wanted love. Herman loved her. She had loved him, so she thought. It only made sense to find him.

The heavy door swung open and Freya took a few cautious steps inside. Sensing her travel companion’s overbearing presence and realizing how that could be misconstrued, she said over her shoulder, “Don’t follow me.”

Gruffly, he conceded, “I’ll wait where I can see you.”

So she ventured into the tavern, eyes scanning the faces for Herman.

Her heart was pounding, like ten children were banging on it as though it were a tambourine.

He was watching her, of that she was sure.

She hoped that his presence wasn’t obvious, but she couldn’t bring herself to look back at him.

Men of all ages and status were imbibing their favorite drinks. Some to escape, some to connect. But she paid them no mind. She had eyes for only one man.

She snuck a peek back at the man leaning against the wall. He was quite certainly the most handsome man she had ever seen. With this distance between them, it felt safe to admit that. He was compassionate and protective. Her heart flooded.

But now it was time to find her former suitor.

There. Alone at a table. Herman.

He was drumming his fingers along the tumbler that he stared at in front of him.

It seemed to be his sole focus. And the oddest thought struck her.

Had he ever given her that much attention, to the exclusion of all else?

He sat in a crowded room, yet nothing phased him. There was his drink, and that was all.

She shook off the errant thought. It meant nothing.

Bolstering her resolve, she straightened her spine and walked over to him.

Still a dozen steps away, a crash broke the spell between him and his drink.

He looked up and their eyes met. But…what she had hoped to see there was absent.

She had expected love. Well, of course, that was optimistic.

She would have been content to see longing in his eyes.

Even relief. Some modicum of affection of any kind would have done her heart good. But no.

What was that in Herman’s?

Trepidation.

That made some sense she supposed, since she had called off the relationship. Perhaps he was guarded. Being the most open book she had ever met before, seeing him with any walls made her feel uneasy. This didn’t bode well. But she had to try.

“Herman, I—”

A gloved hand—black lace—smoothed its way over Herman’s shoulder.

“Herman, darling,” a sultry voice drawled. “I hope you weren’t waiting long for me.”

Herman stared at Freya like a novice thief being caught by a Bow Street runner.

“Uh-uh…Oh—” the hand slid down his chest and then up to his jaw, pulling his gaze toward her. The woman was dressed in crimson red and black lace. Half her bosom was hanging out, and Herman looked ready to lap it up.

This was horrendous. Far, far worse than anything she could have imagined.

What was she thinking? She must be the biggest cabbagehead in all of England.

She could win prizes for the size of her cabbagehead should she decide to enter a competition in a fair.

And she should enter because winning first prize in largest cabbagehead was all that deserved to win today. Perhaps ever.

She was too stunned for tears. Of course Herman had moved on. What the hell had she been thinking? Did she really think she could run from a groom to a past suitor and find love?

Her head was swimming. She felt as though she had been the one imbibing all the liquor in the tavern and not its patrons.

And then a steady hand was on her waist, leading her away. Her eyes blurred and she didn’t notice how she arrived in the small private room.

Once she recognized that she was alone, she broke down.

Immediately, the man had his arms around her in the most natural way. And she no longer cared how foolish she appeared, so she blurted it out.

“It was supposed to be love. I listened to my heart. And then, th-there he was with another woman. Just to…to…find some temporary pleasure. I’m such a fool though.

Of course he can be with her. He owes me nothing, doesn’t he?

So what if he loved me and said he would wait for me.

Apparently a few weeks was too long for him to wait. ”

“That wasn’t love. Someone who loves you doesn’t make promises they can’t keep. Someone who loves you doesn’t seek the comfort of another woman in place of the woman he loves but can’t have.”

Freya sobbed, “How do you know?”

“I just do.”

At this point, she was blubbering a bit, there was no denying it. “But how do you know?” She just wanted something tangible she could cling to. Perhaps, just maybe he had some life experience to draw from that would make everything clear. Or at least, a little bit less confusing.

A ragged breath tore through his lips. “I may as well tell you, now. It’s going to come out at some point. You know that I’m Frank’s friend, but maybe you didn’t realize that I’m Tobias, Duke of Vagenale. Yes, the friend who was just jilted at the altar.”

She gasped in horror.

“I know. It was awful.” He patted her hand unaware of the real reason for her reaction. “But it wasn’t that bad. All right, I’m lying. It was that bad. Oh, it’s fine. Don’t cry. I’m over it now.”

She only cried harder. For his pain. For the same pain she had just inflicted upon Frank, and possibly Herman a few weeks earlier. And she didn’t even want to think of the suitors prior to that.

She was the one who ran. And apparently running back fixed nothing.

No, she had run from every man that had ever shown interest, and here she was being consoled by a man who had watched his bride flee from his own wedding.

Oh, the macabre. Could she have placed herself in a more dismal happenstance?

To flee her own wedding in defiance of settling for anything less than true love, she ran right into the one man who had every reason to run from her. To abhor her.

Oh, how she wished she had one of her sisters around to bear this burden with.

They would know what to do, and if they didn’t, at least she could talk with them and figure out a plan.

Like getting Audra to be the decoy while she escaped her own wedding.

That had been a good plan. See? That’s why she needed her sisters.

Because in this moment, she could only default to one course of action.

There was no way on this beautiful green and blue planet that she was going to reveal to him her identity now. And since the only man in the place who knew her by her actual name was still around, she needed to make a quick exit.

“We need to get out of here. Now.” She rushed to her feet. All of her past running had only caused so much hurt to the men in her life. By running now, she hoped to avoid any more pain to the one man who seemed to matter to her more than he should.