Chapter 10 #2
“Have you not just sampled the wares yourself? They seemed…charming, all of them. Accomplished pianoforte players, excellent embroiderers, fluent in compliments.” Deena’s tone sharpened. “Most seemed to enjoy your company excessively for some mysterious reason.”
“So, you were watching me?” Austin grinned as he remembered constantly catching her eye in the crowded room.
“I was not!” Another lie.
“Hmm. Well, I must say that those women have exquisite taste.”
“Or uniformly poor judgment.”
He laughed softly. “Touché.” Then he sobered. “But truthfully, all they see is the prize. The title, the estates, and the gossip. I want someone who will go beyond her duty.”
Deena’s breath caught. “What is required of a duchess?”
The question caught him off guard.
“A duchess will see beyond her duties as a wife. She will be honest, truthful, and trustworthy. She will see me beyond the Velvet Duke,” he said quietly. “The man beneath the nonsense.”
“And you are capable of offering more?”
Austin chuckled at her wittiness as the hourglass trickled.
His gaze dropped to her mouth, but the promise he made to Dominic halted him.
Time to change the topic.
“Enough about me. How is your search going?” He leaned closer to her and gave her a foxy smile.
“If you are speaking about my search for more scandalous stories about a certain duke... It’s not going too well,” Deena retorted.
Austin had second thoughts about bringing this up, but he had no choice. “No, Dee. I’m speaking about your search for a husband.”
She froze and he tried not to laugh at the appalled look on her face.
“I have no need for a husband,” she said firmly, and Austin shook his head.
“Your brother used to always say that he had no need for a wife, and now look at him.”
Austin ignored the clawing images in his mind of their kiss, their stolen looks, and the way she tasted so intoxicatingly good on the tip of his tongue. He fought, imagining her lying in another man’s arms, bearing his children and—
“I am not my brother,” Deena hissed, cutting off his train of thought.
Thank God for that.
“You’re sure as hell not Dominic, but you have a lot of his traits,” he admitted and knew she wouldn’t like that.
Deena raised a brow at him. “Did he put you up to this?”
Austin chuckled. “No, Deena. I am just sharing my own wisdom with you. Just like a convenient marriage will save me, it might save you, too.”
He noticed the way she frowned whenever she was deep in thought. Her eyebrows twitched, and her eyes lowered to her fidgeting fingers. Austin cursed himself for doing what had to be done. The thought was planted; now it had to grow.
After a few seconds of silence, Deena lifted her head. “The Velvet Duke is giving me marital advice. How rich is that?”
Austin did not miss the sarcasm in her tone.
“Speaking of velvet… how are you faring after last night?” he asked calmly as though the topic wouldn’t ruin them.
Heat flooded her face again. “We shouldn’t speak of that.”
“I promised no such thing.” He leaned closer. “And to be honest, I’ve been replaying it rather obsessively. The way you gasped my name was like music to my—”
“Austin,” she hissed, glancing around.
“Yes, exactly like that.”
“Behave!”
“It’s impossible around you.” His voice dropped. “Tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
She pursed her lips, and he knew he was right.
The bell rang, but Austin turned the hourglass again, causing heads to swivel in their direction. Deena was not going to escape him so easily. She remained calm, but her skin betrayed her. Desire was painted clearly on her.
She continued to ignore his question.
“Will you not bring up what happened last night if I agree to consider finding a husband during the hunt?” she asked slowly as if she was forced to.
“Deena, why are you so against marriage?” He was genuinely curious about her answer.
“Austin…” The hurt in her eyes was visible. “I am scarred by the scandal and my exile. I find it difficult to trust anyone because I’m not sure who’s really my friend or who’s really interested in me or just in my story.”
His jaw ticked as he listened to her. A sense of familiarity filled him; he too felt the same, but he would never give that information to anyone. Deena trusted him with this, and he’ll keep it safe.
“I don’t believe any man is interested enough to marry me, so I would rather not try than be rejected.” He noticed how her shoulders sagged, and her head dropped.
This is not the woman she is meant to be.
A moment of understanding passed between them, and Austin fought the urge to reach out for her. He decided not to push her any further.
Dominic will just have to understand.
“I won’t push this on you any further,” he said gently.
“Thank you,” she whispered back.
“Now, then. Did you find me a wife who is good enough?”
Deena smiled weakly and nodded towards quiet Miss Langley, who sat composed and unruffled. “That one is perfect for you. She didn’t join the chorus demanding your presence. She’s rational and composed. And she did not fuss around when you were absent.”
Austin followed her gaze, then looked back into Deena’s green eyes. “I prefer the ones who make a fuss.”
Deena lifted her chin. “Then you’re shopping for a pet, not a wife.”
His laugh was low. “Perhaps. Though tamed pets, like Miss Langley, don’t usually bite back.”
“And you want to be bitten?” Deena raised a brow; her tone laced with challenge.
Austin’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Don’t you?”
Her lashes fluttered involuntarily. “Would that not be… painful?” she asked innocently.
“We could always test the theory,” he murmured, leaning in just enough that he could smell her scent across the table.
“I volunteer to conduct this experiment by your side. Though I warn you, my skin is notoriously sensitive. One nip and I might swoon dramatically at your feet. Picture the Velvet Duke, felled by a single bite from the fierce Lady Deena. The scandal sheets would never recover.”
Deena tried to hold a stern expression, but her facade broke, and a bright, unguarded laugh burst from her before she could stop it.
Heads turned across the lawn. Even the dowager paused with her bell in hand.
Austin’s grin widened, utterly unrepentant as he watched Deena clap a hand over her mouth, cheeks flaming, but her shoulders still shaking with suppressed laughter.
“Austin, stop it,” she whispered furiously once she could speak.
“Now, there’s the cheekiness I desire in a woman.” He placed his hands up in surrender. “But all right, I’ll stop.”
“Everyone is staring at us,” she whispered.
“Let them.”
Deena rolled her eyes. “Jests aside, Miss Langley is a fine choice for a wife,” she said in a serious tone.
Austin sighed. “You’re certain of it?”
“Most certain.”
A moment passed between them, the bell rang, and their second hourglass ran out.
Time was running out for both, literally and figuratively.
Austin was unsure when ruin might befall him.
He glanced at Miss Langley and considered her, but when his gaze returned to Deena, he felt tugged towards her. And he resisted the pull.
Any relations with Deena might ruin them even further, and not just that, he could lose a lifelong friendship as well. Only God knew how alone the Velvet Duke would be. Austin let out a breath of air he didn’t know he held in and unwillingly stood. He bowed with exaggerated gallantry.
“I’ll investigate your rational choice, Dee. Thank you.” He tried not to look at her, resisting the temptation to turn the hourglass a third time.
“Thank me when you find a suitable wife, Velvet Duke,” she said haughtily.
Austin let out a soft, self-satisfied chuckle. “Don’t worry, Dee. I plan to thank you quite extravagantly,” he said as he walked away from her table.
His stride was unhurried and leisurely. He could feel the weight of every gaze tracking him and heard the whispers in his wake.
“Did you see how long they spoke?”
“Far beyond three minutes!”
“And that laugh of hers was positively unguarded.”
“Mama! He flipped the hourglass!”
“She? Of all the fine ladies!”
He ignored the voices as he always did from the time he became a young man.
Despite what they might say, he would be spending more time with Deena.
They had a deal, and he will see to it that it is fulfilled.
He looked back at her and found her staring down at her fingers again.
So many words were left unspoken between them, so many looks, and touches. ..
But Austin chased all thoughts of her away.
She is off-limits and cannot be trusted.
He clenched his fists at his sides as he sat in front of Miss Langley.