Isadora stood then, closing the distance between them, her eyes flashing. “And yet, I do not feelsafewhen men like Lord Fernsby throw veiled threats at my husband in the middle of a ballroom.”
Evan exhaled, raking a hand through his hair.
“I told you not to concern yourself with that.”
“You did,” she agreed. “And I ignored you.”
“You aremeddling, Isadora. You are breaking a rule.”
She folded her arms. “You arehidingsomething.”
They stood in silence, both unwilling to be the first to look away.
“You do not understand the world I come from,” he murmured. “The men I deal with are not the kind who take kindly to prying eyes.”
Isadora narrowed hers. “And yet, you deal with them. Is that fair?”
“That is because I knowhow,” he bit out. “And you do not.”
“Then teach me.”
Evan let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head. “You truly are impossible. Do you even hear some of the words that come out of your mouth?”
She stepped closer. “If I am to be your wife?—”
“You are my wife in name only,” he interrupted, his voice harsher than she had ever heard it.
For a fraction of a second, her mask faltered—just enough for Evan to see it. His jaw tensed, his hands clenching at his sides.
“I am handling it,” he said, quieter now.
Was it a trace of guilt that she sensed in his voice? For lashing out on his own wife like that.
“Very well,” she said, burying her emotions. “Then handle it.”
“I mean it, sweetheart,” he murmured. “It is not your task to worry about these matters. Do not ask about my business again. For your own good.”
But even as he said the words, she knew that Evan had come to a realization about her. She was not a wife who would be easily managed.
Without another word, he turned and left the room, the sound of the door closing behind him like a final warning.
CHAPTER 15
“Are you going to say something?” Isadora asked the Duke over breakfast the next morning. He had been waiting for her there when she came downstairs but had not said a word to her.
“Depends on whether you’re interested in what I have to say,” he replied.
“No, that is not it. You keep glancing at me. You look as if you wish to say something, but you are—somehow—exercising restraint. That is rather unlike you.”
Was he guilty still? From last night? She did not know. But his behavior was still suspicious.
“You make it sound as though I am incapable of self-control,” he retorted.
“I shall not comment on that.”
“Trust me, Duchess.” He glanced over at her. “I have plenty of self-control. You’d know if it were otherwise.”
Isadora felt herself blush at the comment, but she quickly composed herself.
