Oh no. That smirk.
“Not very proper for a lady,” he whispered, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Heat rushed into her cheeks. “Neither is interrogating breakfast guests,” she shot back whispering beneath her napkin.
“You assaulted a duke,” he observed.
“You deserved it,” she replied.
His eyes gleamed with unmistakable satisfaction. “I shall endeavor to recover.”
Seraphine rolled her eyes so hard she nearly saw the back of her skull.
The rest of breakfast passed without further casualties, though she noticed several gentlemen giving the Duke a remarkablywide berth and no one dared take the seat next to her. Cowards, every one of them.
Eventually the meal came to an end, and guests began rising from the table, drifting out into the manor in small groups. Seraphine escaped as quickly as possible, determined to put several corridors between herself and the infuriating Duke.
Unfortunately, she had taken only a few steps into the corridor before a familiar voice sounded beside her.
“Leaving already, sweetheart?” the Duke asked as he effortlessly fell into step at her side.
She resisted the urge to groan. The Duke had appeared at her side as though summoned by irritation itself.
“You frightened away both my prospects.”
“They were not prospects,” he replied as though explaining something painfully obvious to a child. He continued strolling down the corridor at an infuriatingly leisurely pace while Seraphine hurried beside him.
“They were sitting beside me,” Seraphine repeated, turning sharply to face him as they walked. “Which is generally how one becomes acquainted with a potential husband.”
“They were liabilities,” he said dryly, not appearing remotely troubled by her irritation.
Seraphine stopped altogether and folded her arms. “You seem to have forgotten something,” she informed him.
The Duke slowed and glanced back at her, one dark eyebrow lifting. “Have I?”
“I have not accepted your help,” she said firmly, holding his gaze.
“Not officially,” he replied with a shrug.
“Or unofficially.”
“Yet here we are,” he observed, his mouth twitching with amusement.
The man was infuriating.
“You must stop interfering,” she said, falling into step beside him once more.
The Duke regarded her calmly. For once, the teasing expression faded from his face, replaced by something more serious. “No,” he said simply.
Seraphine blinked at him. “No?”
“No,” he repeated, entirely unrepentant before resuming his walk down the corridor.
Agitated, she followed.
“You cannot simply decide these things,” she protested.
“I already have,” the Duke replied without breaking stride.
