Trapped with the Forbidden Duke (Forbidden Lords #5)

Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

“ G ood morning, Stormhold. I am most cross with you.”

Lucien looked at the man who had been waiting for him in the drawing room, already sitting on the settee, one ankle crossed over his knee.

“Jasper,” he greeted.

“Heavens, have you not slept since we last met? You look quite… Actually, you do not look so terrible. Regardless, where is your wife?”

“His wife is here.” Next to Lucien, Edwina stepped forward as they entered the drawing room.

Lucien watched his wife size up Jasper—him, with his dark curls and easy smile and eyes the color of coffee. As Jasper did the same to her, Lucien could not help but tense up.

“Duchess! You are so beautiful,” Jasper complimented, smiling brightly at her. “In fact, you are more beautiful than the rumors say. Many say?—”

“I do not care what anyone says,” Lucien interrupted. “Do not fill my wife’s head with useless information.”

Jasper snorted before he stood up to greet Edwina properly. He took her hand and brushed his mouth over her knuckles. Lucien bit back a remark even as his stomach tightened with jealousy.

“Your Grace, it is wonderful to meet you. I am Jasper Barton, the Marquess of Tulley. It is a delightful coastal village not too far from here. I am sure you would adore it.”

“It is quite a pleasure to meet you, Lord Tulley,” Edwina responded, beaming. “You, my husband, and my brother have been friends since Cambridge if I am right?”

“Indeed, you are. I have seen the two of them through some delightful ordeals. I am sure I can talk your ear off about it sometime. However, we must focus on the reason for my visit.”

Lucien tugged Edwina to the opposite settee. All night, he had barely stopped thinking about how her moans echoed through the hallway, how her walls had tightened around his fingers, how he had longed to keep his hand between her thighs.

Even now, he had a hard time sitting next to her without pressing her against the nearest surface and baring her to his hungry eyes. He clenched his hand into a fist to suppress his rising desire.

“And what might that reason be?” he asked, trying to focus on the matter at hand.

“I was not invited to your wedding.”

“Nobody was invited to our wedding.”

“Well, that is rather untrue,” Edwina cut in, and Lucien shot her a glance.

She turned to his friend, but he held up a hand.

“Oh, I know it is not true,” Jasper said. “Rumor has it that the Viscount Grenfield and his family were present. Even our mysterious, former friend Nicholas seemed to come out of the shadows for it.”

“He is Edwina’s brother,” Lucien pointed out incredulously. “Of course, he?—”

“He did not attend any other social event,” Jasper countered. “He disappeared from knowledge, including that of his friends. Did you ever find out the cause?”

Edwina cleared her throat.

Lucien narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Perhaps we should not discuss such things in front of my wife?”

“It is no matter,” Edwina interjected quickly. “However, I would like to offer an apology to Lord Tulley. He is clearly important, and he is right. The Viscount Grenfield’s daughter is my best friend, and I wanted her to be present.”

“Ah, I see, I see. It is your fault, then, Lucien, for neglecting to invite me.” Jasper smirked, but Lucien only rolled his eyes. “It almost makes me not want to give you your wedding gift. Nevertheless, I would not want to see it go to waste. So, here it is.” He held out a document.

Lucien, perplexed, reached forward and snatched it from him.

“What on earth…” he muttered, glancing up at his friend. “You bought us… an opera house in Cheltenham?”

“With your own box, of course,” Jasper answered, leaning back and sipping the tea that had already been served. “Word is that Her Grace is a fan of the opera, and… well, Lucien, you very rarely go out for anything other than business, so I thought you would enjoy attending often.”

“Tickets would have sufficed, I am sure.”

“Perhaps, but I felt in the mood for spending frivolously.”

“You bought us a theater as a wedding gift, Tulley?”

“Yes. And you had better use it.”

“I assure you that we will, Lord Tulley. Thank you, truly. It is a wonderful gift.” Edwina giggled, peering at the deed in Lucien’s hand.

“There is also a bonus,” Jasper continued. “You are entitled to a percentage from the profits of all shows. I suppose you can call this business and pleasure.”

“You are insane,” Lucien muttered, laughing. “But thank you. I believe you are the only one who has given us a wedding present.”

“My aunt Isabel is sending us her elephant statue,” Edwina reminded him.

Lucien bit back a groan. “Oh, that. Yes.”

He’d forgotten that Edwina had mentioned it before their wedding ceremony.

“Jasper, Edwina’s aunt has gifted us her beloved, human-sized elephant statue. It is made from porcelain, apparently.”

“You are joking!” Jasper cried, clapping his hands together. “She sounds delightful. I would like to meet her.”

“I am sure you shall,” Edwina told him.

Lucien had many business ventures across London and the surrounding towns and cities, but he had never invested in an opera house. He barely even entertained such pastimes, but he saw how Edwina’s eyes lit up when she read the deed. Usually, he would keep business separate from pleasure, but it seemed Jasper was intent on involving his wife in such matters now.

“Remind me, Luc, that when I am to be married, you shall not be my groomsman,” Jasper teased.

“Are you still offended?”

“Yes, for I am not the only one.”

Lucien stilled, and Jasper eyed him meaningfully.

Next to him, Edwina frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” Lucien said quickly.

“His uncle and cousins, of course,” Jasper answered, completely ignoring Lucien’s glower.

“ Jas .”

“Oops. Was I not supposed to mention the relatives you’ve emotionally exiled? My sincerest regrets.”

“Are these the cousins you mentioned to me? Did you not say I could meet one of them? Rose, if I am not misremembering?”

Lucien tried to mask his surprise at her recalling such a detail. Distantly, he recalled telling her a story about Allan to comfort her and ease her worries about her brother and then mentioning Rose.

Now, he rather regretted it.

“You know that Rose will have quite the argument with you upon realizing that she was not invited, Luc. She is not your aun?—”

“That is quite enough,” Lucien interrupted.

He knew Rose was not his aunt, but this was not the time or place to discuss such things. He was not entirely ready to open up to Edwina about his relationship with his family and what he had been through.

“You are right,” Jasper said, nodding. “I apologize. Your Grace?—”

“You may call me Edwina,” Edwina offered. “A friend of my husband’s can be a friend of mine.”

“He may not call you Edwina,” Lucien protested, recalling how long it had taken them to drop the formalities. Jealousy rose inside him, but he tamped it down.

“Steady on, old boy. I have no intention of stealing your wife—unless, of course, she finds me devastatingly charming. In which case, who am I to deny her?” Jasper laughed.

“ Tulley ,” Lucien growled this time.

“All right, all right. I was merely jesting—you are the chap who has married the beautiful woman. Either way, I have my eye on a beautiful lady whom I hope to dance with at Lord and Lady Fairfax’s ball next week. She is rather flighty with her attendance at such things, as she suffers from frequent migraines, but rumors suggest that she is embarrassed to be her in her third Season.”

“And you are going to change that?” Edwina asked, excited, as she sat straighter. “Oh, how wonderful!”

“I do not know for sure,” Jasper said.

Lucien snorted. That was his friend all over—he often fixated on his crushes on women, only to move on just as quickly. Jasper was not a rake, but rather a man who fell in love easily and thought that every new woman was destined to be his future bride.

“Apparently, her father is a formidable man, and that is why she has not received any proposals,” Jasper continued. “Nobody is brave enough to face him. I suppose that’s what it’ll be like when a suitor comes to ask for the hand of your future daughter, Your Graces.”

Lucien tensed up. Next to him, Edwina shifted.

An awkward silence fell over the drawing room, and Lucien glared at Jasper. “I think it is time you and I retreated to the study,” he muttered, standing up and walking out of the room.

“Right.” Jasper stood up and flashed Edwina a bright smile. “Your Grace, it was a pleasure. I do hope we will meet again soon enough.”