Chapter 11 #2
“Uncle Austin! There are ducks on the pond! Can we go feed them now?” he called out.
Austin looked at the boy and felt some of the tension uncoil. Selina was about to protest when he stopped her short.
He rose, scooping Percy up in one fluid motion. “You, young man, are the only reasonable person at this entire party.”
Percy giggled, wrapping his small arms around Austin’s neck. “Ducks!”
Austin glanced at Selina, who nodded with approval.
“Excuse us, Your Grace. We have important business to attend to.” Austin and Percy grinned down at Selina.
Her eyes were warm. “Go, chase the ducks, but my governess will accompany you both, and Austin?”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Think about what I said.”
Austin gave her a curt nod and carried Percy outside.
The boy’s laughter rang in the drizzle. The pond lay at the bottom of the gentle slope, its reeds whispered in the wind.
All the ducks drifted lazily across the surface, quacking indignantly as Austin set Percy down.
The boy shrieked with joy every time a duck flapped away.
Austin watched him, then glanced back towards the house, where he spotted Deena and Dominic approaching Selina at the breakfast table. His heart leapt and, in that moment, he knew that finding a wife would be a disastrous task while Deena was around.
“Come on, little man,” he said to Percy, voice rougher than intended. “Let’s see if we can find the most perfect one of them all.”
Austin did not know if he was talking about the ducks anymore.
Deena paused at the edge of the path, watching Austin with her nephew. The Duke’s greatcoat was open, sleeves rolled to his elbows, dark hair tousled by the wind as he held onto Percy’s small hand and chased the poor ducks. He looked nothing like the Velvet Duke she was writing about.
Percy spotted her first.
“Aunt Dee! Look! Uncle Austin and I are going to feed the ducks bread and jam!” he yelled from the pond.
Deena laughed as she strode towards them. “Is that so, Percy?”
“Aha!” He turned back to a waddling duck and instantly chased it.
Austin faced her then, and his eyes found hers instantly.
A sweet tension passed between them until her skin prickled under his gaze.
Their last conversation was at the Gallop, and it left her sleepless and restless.
She had come to him to remind him about the blackmailer and that there should be nothing more between them.
She never wanted to hear about their kiss again.
It already enveloped her mind every night and moment she was around him.
She was done with the sweet, haunting reminders.
“Lady Dee,” Austin’s voice carried over the water and she shivered involuntarily. “Have you come to join the duck diplomacy?”
Deena crossed her arms over her chest to stop the morning chill. “I came to see that no one has drowned. But it seems more likely that you two would be pecked to death.”
Austin chuckled. “You have little faith in us men.”
“That is true,” she said without thought.
“Aunt Dee! The ducks are mean! They quack at me!” Percy complained to her.
“They’re just territorial because we’re in their home,” Austin explained, but the words seemed to have gone over the boy.
“I’m going to talk to that one.” He pointed to a tiny duckling.
“All right, but don’t go too close to the pond,” Austin said sternly.
“Yes, Uncle Austin.”
Deena’s lips twitched despite herself. She waited for Percy to reach the duckling before she spoke to the Duke. “It completely slipped my mind, but I wanted to ask if you’re… all right?”
Austin’s brows lifted. “That’s the second time someone’s asked me that.”
“It’s just that the scandal sheets are still quite the talk of the ton.” Deena couldn’t help but feel guilty for authoring the article even though it was a part of their plan.
Austin watched Percy for a moment before answering her. “You have nothing to worry about, Dee. I’m fine. Scandal is an old friend.”
Deena studied him. “Scandal is an enemy to some.” He turned to her then and gave her a sympathetic look.
“I don’t need your sympathy,” she said stubbornly, and Austin laughed.
“I know, but I truly did not mean that—”
“We have bigger enemies to worry about, and speaking of which, I will need a new article by tonight.”
“Of course, my lady.” He bowed theatrically, and Deena rolled her eyes.
“Before we speak of anything else, I need you to promise me something.” Deena looked at him, and all humor vanished from his eyes.
“What is it? Did something happen?” He approached her with worry etched into his expression, but she held up a hand to stop him in his tracks.
“We’re in public, Austin,” she whispered loudly. Austin looked around as if he just realized they were at the pond. “And it’s nothing serious; I just want to ask you to never bring up our kiss again.”
Austin looked out to where Percy played and nodded once. “I agree.”
Deena was unsure why she felt her heart prick when he did not hesitate and gave a simple response. But this was what she wanted, and she accepted it along with the hurt. She did not trust him, or anyone, for that matter. It was best to keep her distance.
She studied him. “Are you certain you’re all right with this?”
“With not kissing you? Yes.”
Her heart pricked again.
“I was talking about the articles…”
Austin whipped around. “Oh! Yes, I’m fine with it if it’s going to help us. And anyhow, this just made me more popular with the ladies. They’re very curious about my certain…skills.” He winked at her.
“You must feel lucky, then,” she responded, colder than intended.
“Luck or fortune… or just me being my charming self?” He stepped closer to her, and she stepped back.
Austin smirked and lowered his voice. “If the circumstances were reversed… If you were the one looking for a husband, would you look past a scandal like that? Would you marry a man whose past was splashed across every breakfast table?”
Deena felt hurt that he would ask her that after gossip and rumors left her ruined and unable to trust or marry anyone.
“That’s not fair,” she retorted.
“It’s a question.” His eyes were steady, searching. “Answer it.”
She looked away. “I… don’t know. It would depend.”
“On?”
“On the man.” She met his gaze again. “On whether I believed the scandal defined him, or if it was just… noise.”
Austin’s mouth curved. “That’s not an answer.”
Deena bristled. “I answered as honestly as I could.”
“Would you marry me, Deena?”
She blinked; her skin burned as her thoughts unraveled.
“Yes or no?” he prodded.
“No,” she blurted.
Austin remained silent for a moment before saying, “Good.”
Deena felt her frustration build. He failed to understand the price she’d paid after her own scandal.
The whispers that followed her like shadows for years, the way every room fell quiet when she entered, and the cold shoulder of former friends.
He didn’t understand the suffocating exile to Paris disguised as further education.
She had spent five years rebuilding herself from the wreckage of one careless moment, with only one person supporting her.
Penelope…
Deena shook her head, and her thoughts along with it. She looked at Austin with a lifted chin and addressed him coldly. “Why ask me anything if all my answers are just going to upset you?”
“I’m not upset,” he said flatly.
“All right then, let me ask you this: would you overlook a scandal like yours or worse in a woman’s past?”
He did not hesitate. “If I knew the truth behind it, if I knew it wasn’t her fault, or if she was honest with me from the beginning. Then yes. I would.”
His answer surprised her. “Truly?”
“Yes.” He shrugged. “I’ve never been one for purity tests. People are more than their worst moments.”
Deena felt something twist in her chest. She had never believed that anyone could forgive her past mistakes and love her, but Austin’s words gave her hope. “Do you assume I wouldn’t do the same?” she asked him curiously.
“I know that you’re protecting someone else.” His voice dropped low. “And if you had to choose your friend’s safety or my secret, you’d throw me under the carriage without a second thought.”
Deena’s breath hitched. “You don’t know that.” But he was right in so many ways, and she could not deny the truth.
“Don’t I?” He stepped closer. “You have the power to ruin me with these gossip pieces. You are going to feed me to the beast to keep your friend safe. If it came down to it, you’d sacrifice me in a heartbeat.”
“That was before I knew that you were the Velvet Duke.” She stopped, but her throat tightened. “I’m trying to protect everyone.”
“It’s not your job to protect everyone, Dee.”
“I won’t let what happened to me happen to my friend, too,” she snapped back.
Austin shook his head. “Time is running out, Deena. And when it does, you’ll choose. You’ll choose her. And I will be the collateral.”
Deena’s hands clenched at her sides. Austin’s words reminded her that although he was around during her childhood, he never truly knew her. “If it were your title, your family, your entire future on the line, you wouldn’t sacrifice me to save it?”
He looked at her for a long moment. “I’d like to think I wouldn’t. But I’m not sure.”
The words hung between them, heavy and honest. If both did not trust each other no plan of theirs would work.
But Deena went through too much to hand her life over to a man she only knew before her exile.
He was Dominic’s friend but not hers. He was a man known for using women, and she almost fell for him, too.
I’m a fool.
Deena’s voice cracked. “Then maybe our deal might not work.”
Austin exhaled. “You’re right. It might not.”
Dread washed over her, and she imagined her exiled life again.
How would it be this time? What would happen to her and her friend?
She never planned enough to discover if the blackmailer was caught.
They stood in tense silence, the only sound heard was the hurried footsteps of Percy running towards them.
“Look!” He yelled excitedly.
Austin and Deena turned towards him, and Deena’s jaw dropped. “Percy, put that bird down this instant!”
Percy continued to run to them; a grin plastered on his face, and a little yellow duckling flapped wildly in his small hands. He cupped it gently but ran haphazardly across the field. Deena’s eyes darted towards the house.
If Selina sees this, she’ll murder Austin and me.
Blackmailer be damned.
She grew more furious when she found Austin laughing like a madman beside her.
“This isn’t funny, Austin!” she scolded him.
“You’re right, Dee.” He wiped his eyes. “This is hilarious.”
Percy finally reached them. “I caught one! Can we keep him? Please? I’ll call him Sir Quackers!” He held the duckling up with the widest grin.
Deena stared at the duck and at Austin, who was struggling not to laugh. Despite the tension, she couldn’t hold back the laugh that bubbled up and spilled out of her until she was teary- eyed as well.
Percy looked between the two adults, confused but delighted. “See? Sir Quackers made you laugh! Can we keep him? Please?”
Austin crouched to Percy’s level, eyeing the furious bird. “I think Sir Quackers has strong opinions about captivity, little man.”
“But Mama and Papa might say yes!” Percy insisted.
Deena wiped her eyes, still smiling. “We shall ask them, Percy. But you might have to keep him by the pond with his family.”
Percy pouted. “But he’s my friend!”
Just by his adorable look, Deena felt convinced already but unfortunately, it was not her place to allow pets. She exchanged a look with Austin.
He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Friends don’t usually try to bite their friends’ fingers.” He pointed.
Percy looked down at the duck, who was indeed attempting to nip him. “Oh.”
Deena crouched beside them. “We’ll ask your parents, but you will have to let him go back to his family. You would not like to be away from your Mama and Papa, too, right?”
Percy sighed dramatically. “Yes. But… I’ll miss him.”
“Let’s not jump to any conclusions yet, until we ask your parents,” Austin added, and that earned him a bright, toothless smile from Percy.
Austin stood, offering Deena his hand. She took it, letting him pull her up. For a moment, their fingers lingered. He was warm against the chill, and when he released her, she felt disappointed.
Why does his touch burn me so tenderly?
She fought her thoughts of him as they headed back towards the house. Percy imitated the ducks he was chasing by waddling up the slope. His duckling, Sir Quackers, was surprisingly calm in his small hands.
Deena glanced at Austin. “We’re still disagreeing.”
“We are,” he agreed.