Arabella tripped, and the Duke had the satisfaction of assisting her to stay in an upright position. She looked up and glared at him openly.
“I see what you mean,” he said right on the verge of proprietary closeness, “the path is quite uneven,Arabella.”
Now he was openly taunting her, mocking her, and Arabella felt rage and wrath rise within the depths of her soul. The merry company that would have witnessed the Duke’s outburst passed them by with soft giggles.
“You can let me go now,” Arabella hissed.
“And why would I do that,” the Duke asked, “when you feel this good in my arms?”
If one took a nice cold bucket of water and threw it over her head, Arabella would have maintained her composure better than she did at this very moment. Instead, heat rushed to her cheeks.
Oh no, hedidn’t.
She dared look up to make sure that the Duke was still the one accompanying her when she saw his smile.
She knew she could read it well; it was a taunting smile, one that someone offers to a toddler when they indulge him in their fantasy games. It was supposed to be enraging for Arabella to see him smile down at her like this. Yet, even though she knew the emotion she should be invoking was anger, she got lost in that smile. Her heart leapt to her throat, and her mouth fell slightly open.
If she had any other plans to annihilate all the wedding procedures, they evaporated along with her logic, which probably decided to stop for a nice cup of tea instead of assisting her in navigating the situation.
“You look quite lovely when you are confused,” the Duke added.
A single, breathless sigh left her mouth. Low, almost inaudible. But the Duke caught it and smirked knowingly.
Arabella decided that she needed an immediate distraction to counter the warfare that the Duke was deploying.
Right at that moment, a big dog passed them by, barreling down the hill to the lake. In its path, an elderly lady became the victim of that happy stroll. The dog passed by the elderly woman, his feet tangling in her skirts with such force that the woman was dragged down.
Arabella was ashamed to admit that she was happy that this happened.
“The poor woman,” she said honestly, but also with relief. “We need to help her.”
The new improvised plan was very well established. Either the Duke would refuse to help an old woman in need and reveal his true colors, or he would do the gentlemanly thing, and all his flirting advances would have to cease.
The two of them, along with Winnie, made their way to the old woman. Her own maid was trying to get her up, but the Duke insisted they should check if she was hurt before moving her.
“Is there anywhere you feel pain, my lady?” The Duke asked, crouching down.
This was a side effect that Arabella hadn’t foreseen. The caring, softer side of the Duke. A tinge of panic came over her. He was not supposed to be this considerate. Then, the old woman looked up, her face rejoiced, a smile bloomed on her lips, and with the sweetest voice, she said
“Peter?”
The maid was petrified. She looked at the Duke and then at her mistress.
“You must excuse my lady,” the maid explained. “Her husband died years ago. But lately you see, she is not very well…”
“Peter,” the old woman said, “I thought you wouldn‘t be accompanying me today.”
Arabella studied the Duke’s face, and all confusion evaporated. The Duke looked at the old woman with utter disbelief and almost undignified horror.
“Help me up, Peter,” the woman insisted.
The Duke was frozen and wouldn’t move. Arabella put her gloved hand in front of her mouth to dampen the echoing of her laughter throughout the whole of Hyde Park. Still crouching, the Duke turned and threw her his most intimidating look. It would have a greater effect if there weren’t an elderly lady wrapping her arm around his.
“You are enjoying this,” he accused her.
Arabella saw no reason not to accept the accusation.
“It is quite enjoyable, Your Grace.”
