Once he left the room, she quickly climbed out of bed and dressed. As she put on each article of clothing, she couldn’t help but remember when he had taken these off her last night. Her smile would remain on her face all day, she just knew it.
It didn’t take very long before she was completely dressed, but then she paced the floor, wondering if it was the right time to go downstairs. Would Vincent send Dalton up to fetch her? She wrung her hands. How would she know when Vincent was finished explaining things to her father?
Inwardly, she groaned. She hated feeling this anxious. She would wait fifteen minutes, and no longer. Hopefully, her father would be more understanding by that time.
*
Vincent entered thedrawing room, feeling more alert and ready to meet his soon-to-be father-in-law. Before coming down, he’d rushed into his room to comb his hair and splash a little cologne on his face. His clothes may be wrinkled, but he didn’t have time to change completely.
The duke stood in front of the window looking out with a frown on his face. When Vincent entered, the floor creaked, which made the older man swing around. The duke’s gaze swept over Vincent as he walked toward him.
“Lord Trenton, please forgive me for intruding on your early morning, but I need your assistance.” Panic laced the man’s shaky voice. “My daughter is missing.”
Nodding, Vincent held up a hand. “I know. She came here last night.”
The duke’s eyes widened, and in an instant, his face flamed red. “She didwhat?”
“Your Grace, please let me explain.” Vincent took a deep breath as he collected his thoughts. “Last evening, she overheard her stepmother and Lord Stone discussing a plan in which the man could finally get Ellie to marry him.”
The duke’s eyebrows twitched, but he remained silent.
“Apparently, Lord Stone was going to sneak into her bedchambers and create a scandal which would force you to make them marry.”
Fury shone in the older man’s eyes and created wrinkles around his mouth.
Vincent continued, “Ellie was afraid to say anything to you for fear you wouldn’t believe her.”
The duke shook his head. “Why wouldn’t I believe her?”
“Because of your wife…because that is her nephew.”
Sighing, the duke nodded. “Indeed. The woman I mistakenly married would have been able to convince me otherwise.” He groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Last night at the ball,” Vincent continued, “Ellie approached me for help. The only way I knew how to help her was to have her stay here, with me.” He shrugged. “That was the only way I could protect her from Lord Stone.”
Ellie’s father arched an eyebrow. “Do you realize I will now have to quicken the wedding plans? I will have to get the two of you married by tomorrow.”
Vincent grinned. “Yes, Your Grace. We were both aware of that, which is what we wanted anyhow.”
The older man chuckled and pushed his fingers through his thinning hair. “I should have suspected. I was once very much in love and couldn’t wait to marry Ellie’s mother. I understand fully.”
Vincent held in a laugh. He suspected the duke may have done this very thing with Ellie’s mother, too.
“So, Ellie is still here? She is all right?”
“Yes. She is in the guest bedroom. Would you like me to go get her?”
The duke nodded. “Yes. I shall take her home, and then I’ll have a nice long talk with mywife.”
Vincent left the drawing room and headed up the stairs. His mind buzzed with different thoughts, especially about why the duchess would want to do this to her stepdaughter. Ruthless people always had a motive. So what was hers?Whydid she want her nephew to marry Ellie so badly?
Another thought entered Vincent’s head. Who was the man that he and Ellie had seen entering the house uninvited last night? Obviously, he was invited by the duchess, since she was the one who had unlocked the door.
There was another mystery he needed to solve.
As he approached the guest room, the door opened and Ellie stepped out. Her mussed hair hung around her shoulders, making her more desirable than he was prepared for. Then again, after she’d stirred passion inside of him this morning, how could he not think this way?
Worried eyes looked up at him, so he swept her in his arms and kissed her soundly. She clung to him, answering him just as eagerly as he wanted. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about their desires now.
