“Do not stop on my account.”
“I am needed elsewhere,” he said as he set the book down. “Aaron...” He turned to his son. “Sleep well, son. I am proud of how you held yourself this evening.”
Aaron could not have looked more pleased.
“And Miss Finch…” The Duke crossed the room, his eyes trained on her so that she could not possibly look away. For the first timetonight, he looked at her as she wanted him to. “I am sorry about this evening.”
“You… you are?”
“Please know that if I had things my way, you would have sat at the head of the table.” He shook his head. “Please, do not think I was trying to hide you.”
“I… I did not… I know it,” she stammered, her heart suddenly racing, all her doubts and misgivings vanishing like tears in rain.
“I am needed back downstairs.” He reached her in the middle of the room and stopped right in front of her. His eyes roamed her body; the hunger from earlier was back, and Octavia almost wished that Aaron would climb from his bed, walk out of the room, and leave the two of them alone. “And while I would ask if you wished to come, I will understand if you do not want to.”
“I…” She wanted to. Oh, how she did! But this evening had struck an uncomfortable chord in her, and she did not think that she was capable of being around so many lords and ladies who clearly thought so little of her.
The Duke, though… is he different from them? Dare I believe it…
“A shame,” he said, noting her hesitation. “Because that gown…” His eyes looked her over again, a smirk found his lips, and a soft growl emitted from his throat. “It really does look good on you. A little too good, if I do say so myself.”
She had no idea what to say, so she said nothing.
A good move, she thought, as the Duke chuckled, shook his head, and then stepped around her as he strode from the room.
Octavia gasped the moment he was gone. Her body lurched forward. And her heart tore through her chest as if it had grown too big to be contained within her. Shaking. Legs trembling. Breathing heavy. She turned and eyed the doorway, unable and unwilling to stop herself from smiling.
She had been wrong about tonight. The Duke did not regret his actions. He did not want to hide her. And he certainly did not want to go back to how things had been.
This changed everything! This time, Octavia determined that when that moment came, when she had another chance with the Duke, she would not balk or hesitate. She wanted it… all of it. Just as she was certain he wanted her.
Chapter Eighteen
“We need to do this more often,” Caspien slurred drunkenly as he leaned on his wife so that she could take his weight. “What has gotten into you, Evander? I hardly recognize… where am I?”
“Come on…” Thalia kept an arm around her husband’s waist as she led him out the front door. “I do not remember agreeing to this when I married you.”
“But you did marry me,” Caspien pointed out as he stumbled, only able to stay on his feet because of his wife. “And that is what matters.”
“Will you be right to get him into the carriage?” Evander asked.
“I will manage,” Thalia sighed. “The things I do for love.”
Evander chuckled at the sight of Thalia leading Caspien down the driveway. Once they were closer to the carriage, the driverhurried forward and helped lift Caspien inside. Thalia turned and waved, Evander waved back, and soon the carriage was on its way.
Caspien is right… I do need to do this more often.
It was a strange thought to have, and the last that Evander might have expected. Ordinarily, he hated these types of events, and he would rather have died than hosted one himself. But when the idea came to him earlier today… It just felt right.
A small part of it was on account of his son. Evander was determined to do better by the child, and making him privy to events such as these was paramount in his growth and education. That was an easy excuse to make, too, a noble enough cause for why he had hosted people at his home when such things used to be anathema to Evander.
The other reason, well, that was on account of his mood.
This good mood saw him smile to himself as he closed the door. The last of his guests had finally left, so it was time for bed. But no sooner had Evander taken a step across the foyer than he decided, before he did such a thing, that he would have a glass of water.
Thus, he changed directions and headed toward the kitchen. The staff was all in bed by now, which was fine, as he was perfectly capable of fetching his own glass of water. Besides, the silence of the night gave him time to think.
Miss Finch was the true cause of tonight’s festivities.
