Immediately, when he got home, he realized his grandmother was waiting for him. “What on earth are you doing?” she said.
“I am home from parliament,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “What does it look like I am doing?”
She rolled her eyes. “I mean, what are you doing about Selina? You have not mentioned anything to her about hosting parties?”
“This is hardly the time for parties, Grandmother.” He tried to push past her and headed to the staircase, but she simply fell into step next to him.
“Your wife has been locked in this manor, caring for your child for two weeks,” she said. “She told me that not only is she not planning any gatherings any time soon, but that the two of you will not make public appearances as a newly married couple any time soon either.”
He thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “If that is her wish.” He never cared much for social gatherings anyway, especially after everyone started saying he had a heart of stone and whispering about how he killed his first wife.
“She thinks it isyourwish.”
“Well, I am certainly not against being a reclusive family.”
The dowager duchess huffed. “She is not your servant, Dominic. If you have any hope of winning your wife’s affections, then?—”
“I know she is not my servant,” he cut her off. “However, her duty, first and foremost, is to Percy. I will not distract her from that duty, and I suggest you let it be. Perhaps she can start throwing parties when Percy begins to speak.”
He left his grandmother then, easily outpacing her on the stairwell. He was ready to check in on Percy and retire to his room.
However, when he reached the top floor, he discovered that something was amiss. Servants were running between two rooms, carrying various things with a sense of urgency, but hecould not figure it out. Alarm filled him at the sight, and he stopped one of the footmen in the hallway. “What is going on?” he said. “Where is my son?” It was not rational, but all of the activity made him worried about Percy.
“He is in the nursery, Your Grace,” the footman said. “Along with the duchess. She has ordered us to move her belongings to the room at the end of the hallway. The duchess’s suite is to be restored to what it looked like before… before Her Grace’s accident.”
Anger filled him. “Stop moving everything,” he said. “At once!”
He did not wait for a reply. Instead, he stormed into the duchess’s suite. It was exactly how he remembered it a year ago. Eugenia’s portrait had been hung in its old place above the mantle, and the bedding was the same ugly floral print that she loved so much. He felt repulsed at the sight of it.
When the door opened behind him, he almost flinched, as if expecting the ghost of his dead wife to float into the room. But when he turned, it was merely Selina, looking around the room with a satisfied smile. “What is the meaning of this?” he said, emphasizing every word. “Where are your belongings? Why have you put her portrait back on display?”
He gestured to the blasted painting on the wall. It did not even look like his late wife. The portrait’s expression was much too kind. She had always looked at him with hatred.
“I am sorry, I am sure this is hard for you,” Selina said. “I know you loved Eugenia very much. It is probably painful for you to look at her, but?—”
“You think you have everyone and everything figured out, don’t you?” he sneered. “You have crossed a line, Selina. I cannot believe you did this without consulting me first.”
She looked taken aback. “You told me to run the household as I saw fit.”
“I did not mean this! I did not mean you changing rooms and restoring this room as if—” He growled. “Do you have any idea?—”
“No!” She burst out. “I do not have any idea because you do not tell me anything about her! How was I supposed to know this would upset you so much when you do not open up to me?” She started pacing around the room, looking agitated.
With Eugenia fresh in his mind, Dominic had to resist the urge to look at the balcony doors to make sure they were closed. Selina did not seem to notice, however. She just continued her rant. “I do not expect you to ever love me the same way you loved her—you do not even have to love me at all! But you need to be honest with me or accept that I will sometimes do things that upset you?—”
“You have no idea what you do to me!” he snapped. He strode toward her menacingly, closing the distance between them in less than a second. She did not back away from him or flinch,like another woman might have. Instead, she met his eyes. “You have no idea how you consume my waking thoughts,” he growled. “Even when I’m working, I am thinking about you. All of you.”
His hand went to the back of her head. He tangled his fingers in her hair as she looked up at him. Her face flushed with desire. “You have enchanted me, Duchess. Do not ever think that I do not want you.” He kissed her, roughly.
Selina stiffened in surprise for half a moment before she relaxed into the kiss. He licked her bottom lip, commanding that she open up her mouth for him, and she obeyed. She felt so good, so perfect. His hand went to her back and touched the laces of her dress. It would be so easy to pull them loose.
Small footsteps made him freeze and pull away from Selina. A moment after he pulled away from her, Percy appeared in the doorway, smiling. He walked past them to the mantle and looked up at the portrait. Dominic felt a lump rise in his throat at the sight of him.
Percy pointed to the portrait and turned to look at his father. “Mama,” he whispered.
Dominic froze as he stared at his son. He had to have imagined that. There was no way he had just heard Percy speak.
Selina did not seem fazed. She knelt to the ground, so she was at eye level with him. “That is right,” she said softly. “That is your mama.” She glanced up at Dominic before looking back toPercy. “Do you want to show your father what I got you from the jeweler’s today?”
