A Duke in Time (The Widow Rules #1) - Janna MacGregor Page 0,72

handsome and powerful than she’d ever seen him. She shook her head slightly. She had to stop thinking of him that way. Not after today’s humiliation. The best course of action was to put distance between them. To even think of him as anything other than an acquaintance was a surefire way of having her heart stomped on once again by another Vareck man and her own past.

The duke’s gaze never left hers. As the seconds rolled by, his stare slowly intensified until she could feel layer upon layer of her well-honed defenses being peeled away by his sharp, all-knowing brown eyes. He was too intelligent not to deduce that she’d been dealt a blow that had leveled her confidence.

It was akin to being examined from the inside out. She swallowed slightly but refused to glance away. The exquisite cut of his coat enhanced his aura of power. He was the perfect specimen of a man.

Yet, the dull ache in her chest refused to quiet. Slowly, she rose from her chair, then as casually as possible, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Your Grace, I wasn’t expecting you. Is there something you need from me?”

She kept the words polite but without any infliction that would lead him to think she was upset or offended by the letter. It was a skill she’d mastered over the years when others had asked about her father.

“Yes.” One side of his mouth tilted upward. “I need to tell you something. Something very important.” The effect of his half smile and his eyes flashing with warmth made him appear years younger.

She huffed a breath at the sight.

He closed the door and locked it, then soundlessly crossed the distance between them. “I meant to mention this earlier.” He studied the carpet as if gathering his thoughts, then raised his gaze to hers. “I was in awe of what you did for Isabelle.”

Her eyes slowly searched his face. “Comforting a little girl who was crying?”

“Yes,” he hummed in that deep voice that reached inside and squeezed her heart. “The attention you gave her was lovely. I saw everything.” He smiled gently in the afternoon light. “You took time from your day to make a little girl happy.” He deepened his voice. “I enjoyed watching you with her. You made her feel wanted.”

“Thank you.” She glanced at her desk before returning her gaze to his. Heat marched up her cheeks.

He held up the packet of papers. “I thought you might want these.” He placed her cloak on a nearby chair, then slid everything across the desk. “I tucked Meriwether’s letter into yours.”

She closed her eyes at the sight, then forced herself to look at it, though it took a monumental effort. She was a survivor, a fighter, and wouldn’t let a piece of foolscap defeat her—not today.

“You found it. I thought I’d lost it on the street.” She stared at the folded letter written by her husband—if she could even call the trigamist that. She pulled the missive out and then walked around the desk to the small fireplace where a warm fire blazed. She moved to flick the offending paper into the fire.

“Wait,” he said softly. “Before you destroy it, let me speak.”

She turned and regarded him. The overpowering desire to crush the letter into a ball was something fierce.

“Your marriage wasn’t your fault, but his.”

“I take it that you read it?” she asked softly.

He glanced at the letter before returning his attention to her. “No. That’s between you and Meri.”

Her vision blurred in a haze for a moment. She would not cry. To do so would be her ultimate humiliation and give Meri’s words the power to hurt her.

“I didn’t think you’d want me to,” he said. “However, I can imagine what it said. You see, I take great offense that someone would hurt you. It’s doubly infuriating that it was my half brother who wrote those words.”

“Why would you care?” She turned her back on him and faced the fire so she could finish her thought without being distracted by his presence. She didn’t want to see his response. The truth was, she’d hurt herself by being gullible and not fighting harder in her own defense. “Your opinion is so poor of your brother … undoubtedly such disdain must extend to me as his wife.”

“Is that what you think?” The astonishment in his voice ricocheted around the room. While she couldn’t see him, she could hear the movement of air as he rushed forward.