Thalia, thinking quickly, rested her hand on Ronan’s shoulder. “Ronan,” she said softly. “Don’t. There is no need.”
He came back into himself at her words. He shut his eyes tight, breathed deeply, and she felt him relax… if only a bit. “We should go,” he said, a quick glance about them to confirm the fact. “Now.”
Thalia did not argue.
She took her husband’s hand and was pulled through the garden and away from the party. As she was, and despite her best efforts, Thalia allowed herself to smile at what had just occurred. In all her life she would never have imagined such a thing
He cares for Olivia, maybe he even loves her. And that is what matters here.
That single realization was enough to tell Thalia everything she needed to know about this marriage and its future. And of Ronan, especially.
Sixteen
“Ronan, wait!” Thalia called after Ronan as he stormed across the foyer. “We should talk about this!”
Ronan was halfway across the foyer when he stopped. His hackles were raised. His breathing was heavy. And she could see him shaking as he kept his fists clenched by his side.
Thalia eyed him, careful not to get too close. It wasn’t that she was scared of him or what he would do. She simply did not know him well enough to know what to say.Did he need her to forgive him? Did he want such a thing? Or was he better off left alone to simmer?
“There is nothing to talk about,” he growled, still not facing her.
“I think there is…” She took a hesitant step closer. “You did just punch a man in the face.”
She saw him flinch. “Are you saying he did not deserve it?”
“Oh no, not at all. From where I was standing, he very much did.”
“He…” Breathing still heavy, she could see him starting to calm down. “He should not have spoken that way about you. About Olivia. No one should speak that way…”
Despite her best efforts, Thalia could not help but smile.
Oh sure, she had suspected the reason why he punched Lord Westmere in the face, but to hear Ronan say it made her chest feel tight and her chin tremble because she very nearly burst into tears.
Ronan liked to pretend he bore few emotions. He liked to portray himself as the strong, uncaring type. But deep down, he was kind and gentle in his own way, a big heart that he had nobody to share it with.
“I know he should not have…” She came closer to him, right behind where he was standing. And then, ever so carefully, she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. He did not flinch but relaxed under her touch. “And that you thought to defend me… to defend Olivia. You did not have to do that?—”
“I did,” he growled.
“You did not let me finish,” she said, not allowing him to speak over her. “I was saying, you did not have to do it, but I am glad that you did. No one, ever, has defended me like that. They have had no reason,” she said bitterly. “But knowing that you will, that you can…” She squeezed his shoulder. “I cannot tell you how much it means.”
Slowly, so very carefully, Ronan reached over and put his hand over the one she had on his shoulder. She could feel him trembling, but his breathing was returning to normal and his anger was simmering.
“No one is allowed to speak to you like that, Thalia. Not while you bear my name. Not while you live under my roof. I promised to protect you, and I mean to. Always.”
“I know that,” she assured him. “And quite frankly, I think a broken nose was the best Lord Westmere could have hoped for.”
He laughed at that, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“So… you are not upset?” he asked. “That I embarrassed you?”
“Of course not,” she said. “Surprised, perhaps. And you saved me from punching him myself…” She laughed and squeezed his shoulder again. “But not upset. Grateful is a better word.”
He still had his hand on hers, and he took hold of it as he turned to face her. The rage he had harbored on the ride back from theestate was gone now, taken by what almost looked like sadness behind his green eyes.
He kept a hold of her hand as he looked down at her. He squeezed it, looking not just at her but through her. She could feel those eyes, his thoughts, all that which had not been said between them shown in their reflection.
And in that moment, the two of them standing in silence and looking at one another, she knew the duke better than she ever had.
