Page 61 of Wedded to the Cruel Duke

She tucked him into the folds of her shawl and carried him back up to her main quarters, setting him right before the fire to keep him warm.

“That feels better, does it not?” she beamed at her new roommate. “Now, you wait here and don’t go running off to my bedchamber.”

She fetched a towel and began to help Whiteson dry himself off more rapidly. When he was finally back to his fluffier self, he let out a soft meow in gratitude, before lithely bounding up into her chaise and curling up amidst the soft pillows before the fireplace.

“You certainly know where to make yourself comfortable, hmm?” she remarked in amusement. “I do hope that you do not mind me talking to you like this. There is hardly anyone I can talk to at all in this great manor…”

She stroked the soft fur on his head just a little longer before she walked on over to her writing desk. She had gotten a newjournal bound in luxurious leather. This time, however, she was determined to keep it in her drawer at all times.

I most certainly cannot risk having someone find it and maliciously divulging its contents once more!

Her last mistake made her the Marchioness of Wentworth. Fortunately, things turned out for the best. Charles was proving to be a better husband than most gentlemen in the ton, although he did have his idiosyncrasies.

Of course, it also helped that he was devastatingly handsome, with a virility that put Greek statues to shame. Michelangelo’s David paled in comparison to his physique.

And his hands! Oh, the wonder of those hands! They incited a thrill and pleasure in her that she had never imagined. Not even in her wildest fantasies…

She flushed when she realized where her train of thought was headed. Her cheeks heated up even more when she looked down and saw that she had noted all of it in her journal.

“It would seem that my pen is certainly up to the task of keeping up with my thoughts,” she muttered to herself with a slight grimace. “In any case, nobody else is going to find out about this except…”

She turned towards the other occupant in the room and let out a surprised shriek when her eyes fell on the open doorway.Standing there with one broad shoulder propped up against the frame, with a wry grin on his lips and an arched eyebrow, was…

“Do go on, my dear,” Charles drawled. “I was just curious who else you were willing to divulge your deepest, darkest secrets to.”

He looked so dangerously handsome that Phoebe was once again flabbergasted at how he had not caused a stir amongst the young ladies in London. Heaven only knew he possessed the looks for it, not to mention that he was heir to a Dukedom and was an accomplished gentleman in his own right.

“It is polite to knock before entering a room, you know,” she admonished him, her cheeks flaming as his eyes roved from her head down to her toes. When they reached the muddied hem of her dress, his lips quirked into a curious smile.

“I knocked,” he clarified. “But you were not paying attention. If your door had been locked, I would have broken it down.”

She gaped at him. “Why would you do that?”

“To make sure you are safe, of course,” he told her gravely. “You are my wife, Phoebe, and as such, your safety is paramount.”

She let out a nervous chuckle. “How much danger could I possibly be in when I am right here at Wentworth Park?”

“You do not know how danger could lurk even where you feel the safest,” he warned her.

A chill ran down her spine at his words. He spoke as if he was one who had seen it.Livedit.

It was then that she realized just how very little she truly knew about her husband. It was true that one could learn a lot from living with someone, but Wentworth Park in itself was shrouded in just as much mystery as its master. None of the servants were ever forthcoming when she asked them anything, and as much as she strained against the endless rules that Charles had imposed upon them all, she felt that there had to be a reason behind all of that.

But would he ever tell her why? Phoebe felt that it was better that she did not pry it out of him.

“I know that there are many things you want to ask me,” he said softly, shutting the door behind him. “My life is… far more complicated.”

She smiled tremulously at that. “I sort of figured that out.”

He acknowledged that with a slight smile. “That is because you have a better head on your shoulders than most of the vapid débutantes filling the ballrooms of London.”

“You forget that I was already quite on the shelf when we married,” she pointed out to him with a jaunty smile.

“To my great fortune, most of these so-called eligible bachelors were not as discerning. And to think they were the best that London could offer,” he scoffed with barely concealed distaste.

She looked up at him in surprise. Was he actually flirting with her?

Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest. This was the longest and most pleasant conversation they had ever had and Phoebe felt as if she never wanted it to end.