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“Oh, no.” William’s nose twitched as he waved the notion away. “I don’t have such purposes. Only self-serving ones.”

“At least, I can count on one thing from you.”

William chuckled, stood, and walked toward the door. As he reached for the knob, Gunning spoke again. “Do not think for a moment that I don’t remember how you abducted my sister.” He paused. “Twice.”

William turned back and bowed low with a chuckle. “You’re welcome, my friend.”

* * *

Victoria tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. It was not fair that he knew where she was at all times and had a say in who she could see and where she could go, and yet he didn’t say anything to her about where he went in the middle of the night.

She knew that a lot of men had mistresses. Hell, she had contemplated having a lover herself, but not while she was physically living with William! Surely, he hadn’t dragged her all the way here just to spend his nights with other women.

But then again, she had refused him company in bed.

What was she to do?

She couldn’t just live under the same roof as him for three months and watch him have illicit affairs every night!

Since he insisted on knowing where she was at every moment of the day, she would insist on the same. Surely, that would work. Right?

She needed help and advice… Lucky for her, tomorrow she would have some time to converse with Caroline and perhaps ask for some advice.

She wasn’t certain how helpful Caroline would be since she hated William with all her soul. He had blackmailed her uncle, and that pushed him to his death. That hatred could be beneficial to Victoria, in a way. If she directed it toward thwarting William’s plans.

If Caroline wasn’t helpful, she still had a weekly nuncheon with her friends on Thursday. And she’d be able to discuss all of her reservations with them then.

She turned to her side and drew her knees closer to her chest.

If William was going to be out all night, the least he could do was tell her that she could take the bed! Except… he had told her that. He’d even offered to sleep in the chair in her stead. But she was too damned stubborn to allow him that.

She told herself it was because he was too tall, too broad-shouldered to fit in the chair comfortably. But the truth was simpler than that… The idea of sleeping in William’s bed made her tingle from the inside. Sharing a bed with him would be bad enough, but lying there alone while he was a few feet away curled up in an uncomfortable chair just sounded like torture.

Victoria growled and covered herself with a sheet. She was so utterly confused… about everything!

She ripped the sheet away from her face, sat up, and squinted at the clock on the mantelpiece. It was half past three.

Where. Is. My. Husband?

It had been over four hours since he’d left. God only knew how long it had taken him to arrive at his mysterious destination. And only the devil knew what he was doing there for she doubted God would stick his nose in William’s sinful business.

She flopped onto her back and wiggled this way and that trying to get comfortable. It didn’t help and now she was hot and clammy.

A key clinked against the lock, and then there was the familiar sound of the mechanism turning. In the time it took William to turn the key, Victoria jumped out of her armchair, prepared to confront her wayward husband, then reconsidered, jumped back onto her armchair, curled on her side, and covered herself with a sheet and a blanket. The doorknob rattled, and the door finally opened as Victoria lay peacefully in her chair, covered by a sheet from her collarbone to her toes.

There was a brief silence before the footsteps alerted her to William entering the tower after closing and locking the door. Then the footsteps got louder and louder as he approached the armchair.

What was he doing? Why was he not going to his bedroom?

Victoria tried to relax and breathe evenly so as not to give any indication that she was awake. There was a pause, and she could practically feel his gaze on her skin. Perhaps she was wrong. Perhaps she had misheard, and he’d kneeled before the hearth to stoke the fire. Or maybe he had already left and gone into his room because surely, he wouldn’t just stand there silently watching her sleep… Would he?

Just as she decided to test her luck and take a peek, his cool fingers touched her forehead. It took everything within Victoria not to flinch from an unexpected touch and took even more not to lean into it. He ran his fingers across her forehead, sweeping away a lock of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

“Goodnight, Lubimaya,” he murmured under his breath.

Then his footsteps retreated out of the room, up the stairs, and eventually, she heard the door to his bedroom close behind him.

Victoria opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, her heart beating frantically in her chest. Her fingers flew to her forehead where she could still feel his touch. “Spokoinoi nochi, Lubimii.”