Page 44 of Stolen and Seduced By the Duke

Margaret's smile remained fixed. "Has he?"

"Oh, yes. One might almost think he preferred solitude."

Margaret glanced at her husband and found him looking in their direction. His mismatched eyes settled upon Margaret first, then shifted briefly to Lady Samson before returning to her. Something about the look made Margaret's stomach flutter.

"I imagine he has his reasons," Margaret said.

"I am certain he does," Lady Samson replied, though her tone suggested she intended to discover them herself.

Margaret excused herself before she could say anything impolite and crossed the room towards her sisters. She was halfway there when Nathaniel intercepted her, wearing the expression of a man who had just discovered an opportunity for mischief.

"Your Grace," he said with an exaggerated bow, "I feel obliged to inform you that you have already survived your first wedding breakfast."

"Is that considered an accomplishment?"

"With this crowd?" Nathaniel glanced around the room. "Absolutely."

Margaret laughed. "Then I shall have to celebrate."

"Careful," he warned. "You are beginning to sound like Pierce."

Margaret's smile faded into something warmer as she glanced towards the duke. "I certainly hope not."

Nathaniel followed her gaze and grinned. "Oh, I suspect you have more in common than either of you realizes."

Before Margaret could demand an explanation, Pierce approached, his expression unreadable.

"Lord Brydges," he said.

"Your Grace," Nathaniel replied innocently. "I was just telling your wife how fortunate she is."

Pierce's eyebrow rose. "Were you?"

"I was."

"Then I shall be certain to ask what precisely you told her."

Nathaniel laughed and escaped before Pierce could question him further.

Margaret watched him go before turning to her husband. "Your friend is… interesting."

Pierce looked down at her. "You noticed."

"I am beginning to suspect it is a requirement for being your friend."

A faint smile touched his mouth. "Perhaps."

For one brief moment, surrounded by the laughter and glitter of the ton, Margaret forgot that she had married a stranger.

Then Pierce offered her his arm, and she placed her hand upon it.

And somehow, that simple gesture felt far more intimate than it ought.

"Let us make the rounds as husband and wife," he said.

Husband and wife?

The thought had her spinning as the truth of the matter shook her to the core.