He kept that part to himself as he watched her with his own eyes; she was growing redder by the second, but whether she would explode or not remained to be seen.
Thalia’s grip tightened around her teacup, if only to hide the fact that her hands were trembling.
He has been watching me! This beast has been watching me!
She leveled a cold gaze at him, but, inside, her feelings were harder to disentangle. She knew she should be apoplectically furious with him for invading her privacy in such a way, yet there was the most peculiar rush of… reassurance that no amount of silent cursing could sweep away.
Oh, this woman trulyismad,she scolded herself. The wife. The duchess. The woman she both was and was not.She has been hoodwinked by a handsome face and the illusion of freedom! Silly dolt!
“You have spies?” she accused sourly. “What is the point of that? Why not just reside in this manor and spy on me yourself? Why not be like every other husband of convenience and cast judgment from the other side of the room, tossing in a few tart remarks every now and then to remind me of what I have married?”
He laughed quietly, enraging her further. “I simply needed to know that you were not causing any trouble; there is nothing nefarious about it.” He got up. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have things to attend to.”
“No!” Thalia jumped to her feet as he passed by. “You cannot tell me you have been spying on me and then think I will just accept your departure. It is… it is… unseemly! It is a wretched thing to do! Do Iknowyou have been spying on me?”
He paused in his exit, turning back to face her. “You shall have to tell me, when you remember.”
“And if I do not remember?”
“Then, we shall never know,” he said in a voice so nonchalant that she wanted to grasp him by his lapels and shake him.
Although, she doubted she could make him budge even if she were to throw herself bodily at him. He stood at well over six-feet, towering above her, and even in his finely tailored clothing, she could see the strain and bulge of muscles she could not begin to name… or imagine.
That being said, her mind was having less trouble with the latter.
“Whatever freedom you promised me must have been a lie,” she rasped, as furious with herself for that lingering reassurance as she was with him.
“It was no lie. Being distantly aware of what you were doing does not undo your freedom. It wasmyinsurance,” he said calmly. “Would you let a stranger loose in your home without having some notion of what they were doing?”
She could not argue with that and hated that she could not.
“Once they were no longer a stranger, I would stop,” she pointed out, aware of how feeble her retort was.
He smiled. “I did not say that I did not.Youare making assumptions.”
“Then be plain with me or you are just a… a…” she could not think of the right word as he came closer “… a tormentor! Toying with me. A hypocrite, manipulating and influencing and taking advantage of my predicament like those you have warned me against.”
He paused, a frown appearing. “I am no hypocrite.” He gestured toward the door. “I think you should retire before you exhaust yourself again.”
“And I thinkyoushould return me to my family, as I have asked you to do,” she shot back. “I would learn who I am, and who I have been these past four years, from them, since you will not be forthcoming with me. I would have them testify to all you have said, and all you have not said, since you evidently cannot be trusted.”
In a rush, he closed the gap between them, as if he meant to seize hold of her. Perhaps, he also had the sudden urge to shake her.
Instead, he simply stopped just a few inches from her, breathing hard, his blue eyes glittering as he stared down at her. And shedid not step back, her whole being somehow unafraid, despite the intensity of him and the stance thatshouldhave felt like a threat.
Why am I not scared? What insanity is this? Indeed, how hard did I hit my head, exactly.
For a breathtaking moment, his gaze drifted to her lips before flitting back to her eyes. As it did, his hand lifted slowly, as though he meant to touch her, but he curled his fingers into a fist at the last second and put both of his arms behind his back. Like he could not trust himself, any more than she trusted him.
Thalia’s heart thundered in her chest, so loud she was certain he must have been able to hear each frantic beat. Not the percussion of terror, but of something else. Something that scared her far more than any anger or perceived threat could.
“Tomorrow,” he said thickly, as he withdrew, turning his back on her.
“Tomorrow?” she gasped, clearing her throat. “What about tomorrow?”
He hesitated at the door. “You will get what you desire.”
“Pardon?” Her heart raced faster, her head dizzy, her lungs struggling.
