Page 30

Yesterday, at Lady Buchanan’s soirée, he had snapped at her, called her naive and silly. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment as she remembered the astonished faces.

Except… What exactly did she do wrong? He had talked about an incident with her brother at Oxford.

The incident…she’d thought it must be John’s suicide at first. But Dorian’s tone of voice, the complete dread and devastation on his face made her doubt it.

And he thought about that every time he looked at her? No wonder he’d locked her in her own part of the manor and avoided her like a plague, she thought with a twinge of pain. But then why had he married her?

The man was an enigma. Rich, powerful, angry, hurt, and damaged.

That was her husband.

She ached to know all his secrets, that mysterious connection between him, John…and, apparently…her.

She knew that despite her weariness, despite her gritty eyes, there wouldn’t be any rest for her tonight.

Maybe knowing her papa’s debts were paid would help her sleep.

That was something her husband could tell her. He had to.

She swung her legs over the edge of the mattress and put on her slippers. He’d told her his quarters were forbidden, but what would he do, really?

A chill ran through her as she put on a dressing gown.

Quite a lot, actually. That was what he could do. Those massive, muscular arms, the sheer strength in those jabs she’d seen him make every morning. The powerful thighs. The chest so hard it could have been made of stone.

He could do a lot to her if he wanted. And there was nothing she could do in response.

And yet, she couldn’t just sit here and hide.

Anything was better than this loneliness.

She lit a candle, put it in a holder, and walked into the hallway.

She knew where his quarters were—Mrs. Knight had showed her so she’d know what part of the house to avoid.

She walked down the corridor of her own quarters and past the landing of the large central stairway that divided the house into two parts. With her heart drumming very hard, she crossed the invisible border that separated his territory from hers.

A wooden floor plank creaked, as though announcing to the whole house she was doing something forbidden. She froze, her own breathing loud in her ears, her pulse beating hard.

She listened for the sound of someone hurrying to stop her, for some kind of a guard, like the duke’s valet or a footman, or even Mrs. Knight. Someone to block her way and demand what her business was here.

But no one came. The corridors were dark, with the night inky and moonless outside, she could only see with the light coming from her candle.

She swallowed hard, trying to eliminate the dryness in her mouth. With her feet heavy, she kept walking into forbidden territory.

She guessed the duke’s bedroom must be in the mirrored location of her own. She walked into his corridor, and noted the paintings here were all of maritime scenes, seascapes, male portraits, perhaps of his ancestors, and battles, while hers were much more feminine—flowers, female portraits, gentle rolling hills, and lush gardens.

She felt the scorn of the duke’s ancestors on her. How dare she disobey her husband’s rule?

But she was so desperately lonely she craved any human company, even that of the man she was quite terrified of deep down. He still intimidated her, with his godlike appearance and his demeanor like he knew, and kept, all the world’s secrets while she was so young and knew nothing.

She stood before the door she supposed was his, and breathed deeply in and out, feeling like nothing would be the same again after she opened this door.

She turned the handle and entered.

A growl and barking exploded in her ears and a heap of rough, wiry fur reeking of dog knocked all the air out of her as it jumped on her and pressed her against the wall. The candle fell on the floor and darkness descended. In the very dim light coming from three large windows, she could see the gnashing of giant teeth as the dog barked, deafening her. She screamed, terror clutching her like never before.

This was going to be how she died. She’d stepped into the forbidden, and this was her punishment.