The Duke and the Wallflower

by Clever, Jessie

  “Dax, you must listen to me. I can’t live like this. You must do something.”

  He raised an eyebrow and took a step back. “I must do something? You married a marquess. Your life could not be all that miserable.”

  She balked at his words, reeling back against the sofa.

  “Ronald is not the man he once was.” Her voice had sobered somewhat and when she spoke Ronald’s name it took on an edge.

  He crossed his arms. “You would have me believe that Ronald is mistreating you.”

  He didn’t miss how her eyes slipped away from his and lingered on the carpet overlong.

  “I never spoke such things, have I?” When she looked up at him, she moved only her eyes, keeping her chin down so as to give him a baleful look.

  His suspicions raged hotter, and he dropped his arms, sauntering over to the cabinet where he kept his store of whiskey.

  “So it’s just that you’re unhappy then, is that it?”

  He heard her straighten behind him, the rustle of skirts and the soft screech of the leather on the sofa warning him of her approach. He straightened and sidestepped behind his desk with his glass of whiskey before she could reach her target.

  She faltered against a chair, her hands digging into the cushions.

  “You don’t know what it’s like, Dax. You don’t know what it’s like to know such coldness. Have you ever been so alone that you crave the company of the staff just to know you’re alive?”

  He turned on her, the whiskey in his glass sloshing.

  “I do actually. It was the night of the ball I had thrown in honor of our engagement, but you didn’t show.”

  She paled at his words, and he knew he’d cut her.

  “I already told you what happened—”

  “Actually, you didn’t,” he cut her off. He swallowed the last of his drink and put his glass down with a hard thud on his desk. “You said your father accepted another offer for your hand, but you did not say where you were that night.”

  She opened her mouth once without speaking and shut it again as if to consider her words. She seemed to come to a decision, and when she lifted her eyes, he saw more tears there. Only he also noticed her cheeks were suddenly pink with color as if she had to put forth considerable effort for those tears.

  He stilled, knowing something wasn’t quite as it seemed.

  “Oh Dax, it was just awful. I was on my way there when my father suddenly stopped me. He locked me in my rooms to keep me from going to you.”

  “That must have been terrible. Being locked in your rooms on such a night. It was the end of the season after all, and as I recall the weather was particularly unbearable. It must have been stifling in your rooms.”

  Her eyes widened as tears speckled her eyelashes. “Oh, it was!” Her words rushed together as she seemed to pick up interest in her story. “It was so hot and stuffy I almost couldn’t breathe. It was unimaginable, Dax. The suffering.”

  She had lunged toward him with her last words, but he sidestepped again, putting the sofa between them.

  “Yes, the suffering,” he said drolly. “Only it was April, in fact, and quite rainy and cold. Had you truly been locked in your rooms that night you would have remembered that.”

  Her face cleared suddenly, and the tears that still streaked her face seemed ridiculous.

  “Where were you, Bethany?” It would be the final time he would ask it.

  For the first time since seeing her again, he thought he saw real honesty on her face. Her features relaxed into a semblance of the woman he once knew, and the woman he thought he once loved.

  But it lasted only moments, and he might as well have imagined it for she stepped forward in a rush before he had time to react and threw herself into his arms, her lips colliding with his.

  * * *

  Eliza entered the study at the precise moment Bethany Danvers, the Marchioness of Isley, kissed her husband.

  Again.

  “This sort of thing grows rather dull. Wouldn’t you agree?” she asked.

  At her first word, Dax shoved Lady Isley away from him, tripping over the low table behind him in the process. It sent him sprawling backwards at it propelled Lady Isley away and into a chair. Eliza didn’t recall seeing Lady Isley’s name on the guest list, and for just a second, a surge of trepidation spiked through her. Maybe she was wrong about all this. Maybe she was destined to be a wallflower forever, trapped in a loveless marriage.

  She raised her chin and kicked the thought away. She was done being a wallflower and the coward it made her. She had been happy here at Ashbourne Manor, was still happy if only…

  If only she had her husband back.

  Dax righted himself against the sofa, his eyes flying to hers. “Eliza—”

  She held up a hand to cut him off. It was her turn to ask the questions.

  By that time, Lady Isley had shoved the hair that had fallen from her elaborate twistings away from her face and righted herself in the chair. When she met Eliza’s gaze, her smile was feral.

  “You,” she hissed.

  Eliza placed her fisted hands on her hips. “Yes, it is. I have a rather annoying habit of always being me, and you have a rather annoying habit of trying to steal my husband. Now why is that?”

  Lady Isley gripped the chair with both hands as she levered herself up. It wasn’t impressive as the woman could hardly be more than a meter and a half tall.

  “He’s mine, spinster, and it will do you well to remember that.”

  “Ah, I see where there’s been a mistake. You see, I actually married Daxton Kane, the Duke of Ashbourne, while it was you who jilted him. I could see where this would cause confusion.”

  Eliza could not have imagined what Lady Isley expected, but it was certain it wasn’t Eliza’s sharp tongue. Lady Isley’s nostrils flared as her eyes grew wide. The marchioness took a threatening step forward.

  “How dare you!” she seethed. “How dare you ruin the beautiful thing Dax and I have.”

  “Oh, but you’re mistaken again. What you and Dax had was nothing but an illusion orchestrated by you. You never loved Dax, but you did wish to acquire the duchess title, is that not true?”

  It had been entirely a stab in the dark, but when Lady Isley’s eyes shifted quickly to the left, Eliza knew she had her.

  Lady Isley recovered herself, straightening her shoulders. “I will not stand for such lies. How dare you impugn my person.”

  “How dare you try to extort money from my husband.”

  It was as if all the air in the room was sucked from it in but a moment. Eliza had been peripherally aware of Dax in the background, standing rather unkempt from his topple into the sofa, staring open mouthed at his wife, but at her pronouncement, his lips snapped shut and his eyes narrowed as he moved his gaze to Lady Isley.

  Lady Isley went utterly pale. “What are you suggesting?”

  Eliza took a moment to ponder the room, letting Lady Isley writhe for just a bit longer.

  “I’m not sure actually. I’m operating on only enough information with which to build the scaffolding, but the structure of the thing is rather lost to me. I suppose it’s because I’m not inclined to betrayal. I think that’s why I prefer dogs to people most likely. They don’t know how to be disloyal.”

  Lady Isley sucked in a breath. “I have never betrayed Dax.”

  Eliza snorted. “Oh, quite the contrary. You’ve been leading him around by training strings for quite some time now. I think it’s time to end that. After all, at some point Ashbourne should start respecting himself, don’t you think?”

  She could feel Dax’s hot gaze on her, and she knew she’d struck a nerve. It didn’t matter. He needed to hear what she had to say. She might have cowed to every belle society had produced, but here in her home, she would not stand for it any longer.

  “You manipulate Ashbourne’s feelings to get what you want, isn’t that true?”

  Lady Isley’s hands had fisted in the skirts of her gown. “How dare
you,” she repeated, her tone dropping dangerously low.

  “And now you’re in need of money, so you come to him again.” Eliza held up a single finger. “What I can’t figure out is how you plan to go about it. Perhaps you plan to be his mistress and hope he might support you financially? I’ve heard such an arrangement might be done.”

  Lady Isley’s eyes widened, and her jaw threatened to snap clean off. “I will not respond to such scathing lies.”

  “The fact that you require funds is not a lie nor your attempt at getting the money from my husband. But I wonder. Why is it that you believed your plan to become his mistress might fail?”

  Like a bolt of lightning splitting the night sky, Lady Isley’s face suddenly cleared. “How do you know that?” she whispered.

  Eliza’s smile was slow, and she realized this must be how Henry felt when he knew he was on the scent.

  “Because of this.” She opened her palm and let the handkerchief she’d found in the corridor dangle between two fingers.

  Lady Isley gasped a breath. “Where did you get that?”

  “If you’re going to attempt blackmail, you should really be more careful.” Eliza held the incriminating linen between both of her hands. “Now then. I’d like to know why.”

  Color had appeared in Lady Isley’s cheeks, and Eliza wondered if she’d pushed the woman too far. The marchioness took another threatening step forward, but she was stopped by a sudden low growl coming from the door.

  “Ah, Henry. Come here, boy. Keep the terrible woman away. I wouldn’t want her ruining my pretty gown.”

  Henry trotted into the room and stood dutifully between her and Lady Isley. The marchioness eyed the dog as if he were nothing more than a common rat.

  “Lady Isley?” Eliza prompted, and Henry gave another growl, choosing to show just one side of his fangs this time.

  Lady Isley jumped back, her lip curling up, words spurting from her mouth as she tried to get behind the chair she had just vacated.

  “It’s you!” she spat. “You’re the reason my plan wouldn’t work, you wretched spinster.”

  Eliza tilted her head. “Me? Whatever have I done?”

  Lady Isley threw out an accusing finger pointed directly at Dax. “He loves you. He actually loves you, you ugly cow.”

  For a moment, her confidence fled, and her gaze shifted to Dax, who still stood motionless beside the sofa. He loved her? But there was Lady Isley, what she had done to him, the way he—

  “I knew the moment I kissed him my plan wouldn’t work. He was already in love with you!” Lady Isley hurtled the words as if they were an insult.

  Eliza couldn’t look away from Dax, realization crashing through her until she nearly forgot entirely where they were. Only when Lady Isley spoke again did she come to her senses.

  “He didn’t want to kiss me!” Her tone had turned sullen and whining. “How dare you rob me of him!”

  Eliza recalled the handkerchief in her hands. She held it up again. “So that’s when you decided on blackmail?”

  Lady Isley lunged, only to be driven back by Henry’s growl. “I didn’t want to get him involved. He’s too stupid for such things, but you left me no choice.”

  “I see.”

  Finally, Dax took a step forward. “Would you care to enlighten the rest of us about what is going on here?”

  Lady Isley snarled. “Ask your wife.”

  Eliza couldn’t help the laugh. “Oh, there’s no need to ask me. I’d be happy to show you.”

  Lady Isley froze, her eyes on the handkerchief. “What do you mean?” she nearly whispered, her anger quickly being replaced by fear.

  “I believe your intent was to lure my husband into this room only to be caught in a compromising position by your husband at which point Lord Isley would demand money to keep the scandal quiet. Do I have it now?”

  “You can’t prove it.” Lady Isley pushed back the hair from her face. “You can’t prove anything.”

  Eliza smiled, enjoying every second of watching Lady Isley squirm.

  “Oh, but I can,” she whispered and then lowered the handkerchief in front of Henry. “Henry, dear,” she said before leaning down until her lips almost touched the dog’s ear. Finally, when the tension grew so great she thought Lady Isley might snap in two, she whispered, “Find it.”

  Henry sniffed at the handkerchief for but a second before he gave a cry of chase and was off like a shot. He tore through the study, nose to the ground, the chairs, the sofa, even Dax himself, as he throttled through the space. Lady Isley screamed and tried to climb the chair she’d been using as a barricade as Henry plunged through the room.

  Eliza watched him, glorying in the beauty of Henry exercising his natural talents. It was a sight to behold, but it ended all too soon as she knew it would. Henry wasted no time in finding his prey.

  The dog had reached the terrace doors, which were draped for the night, and dove within the folds. Within seconds, his baying cry turned to the snarls of a dog acquiring his target.

  It also helped when the man began to scream curses.

  “Blighted son of a whore! Get this mangy creature off of me!”

  Henry erupted from the drapes, his teeth firmly clenched on the seat of Ronald Danvers, the Marquess of Isley. The marquess batted ineffectually behind him as he couldn’t see the dog that pulled him from his hiding place.

  Eliza allowed Henry a few more moments to have his fun. When Lady Isley’s screaming grew to be too much, Eliza relented.

  “Henry, release,” she said calmly, and the dog immediately let go of the marquess and marched over to her, resuming his position in front of her. “Good boy,” she said, giving him a hearty scratch between his ears.

  She looked up to find her husband studying her, his lips slightly parted. His gaze drifted between his old friend and her, seemingly unable to form words.

  Lady Isley’s screams had melted to pitiful cries while Lord Isley held both hands to his behind in an apparent attempt to soothe the place where Henry had grabbed hold.

  “Well, go on, man,” Lord Isley mumbled, “have your say.” He directed this to Dax, but Dax only studied the man before turning back to her.

  “I’m still a bit lost on one point,” he said.

  She raised an eyebrow, and he continued.

  “How did you know Lady Isley required money?”

  Eliza gave a quick nod. “I wrote to my brother, of course. He inquired into the affairs of the Isley estate, and it appears the title is…well, quite broke.”

  Lord Isley scoffed. “Damn your tongue!”

  “Don’t speak to my wife that way.” Nothing could silence the room faster than the sound of murder in Dax’s voice.

  He considered the man who was once his childhood friend, and Eliza’s heart squeezed with all Dax must be thinking. She wished none of this were true. She wished she had been wrong about Lady Isley. But more, she wanted to ensure her husband never suffered such betrayal again, not when she could prevent it.

  “It’s gambling debts, isn’t it, Ronald?” Dax finally asked.

  Lord Isley looked away without answering.

  “I thought you had stopped such childish things when you left Eton.”

  Lord Isley gave him a scathing look but said nothing.

  Dax turned his attention to Lady Isley. Eliza wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. A small, petulant part of her wanted to see Dax rail at his former love for her duplicitousness, but the rational part of her knew that would do him no good.

  But strangely enough, Dax said nothing at all. Instead, he walked to the terrace doors, and pulling a drape aside, unlatched a single door and pushed it open.

  He turned back to Lord and Lady Isley and said, “Get out of my house.”

  Lady Isley squeaked a cry of repugnance. “Surely, you can’t be serious. It’s dark out there, and we’re so close to the cliffs. We could—”

  “You should have thought of that before you decided to blackmail me.” Dax’s voi
ce never rose.

  Lady Isley scrambled off her chair. “Dax, listen, aren’t we old friends? Surely, you can see—”

  “I said get out of my house, Isley. I’ve given you enough of my attention for this lifetime. All of it belongs to my wife now. So get out.”

  Lord Isley, ashamed, beaten, and cowardly, scampered out the door and into the night without so much as meeting his old friend’s gaze.

  Lady Isley had more nerve, which she turned on Eliza.

  “You—”

  It was the only word she got out before Henry gave a ferocious bark and lunged. Lady Isley screamed and plunged into the cold night. Dax shut the door and snapped the latch with a thud of finality.

  He stood like that for some time, his fingers still on the latch he had used to shut out his once precious childhood friends. Eliza’s stomach churned with emotions. She wanted to go to him, to put her arms around him in some semblance of comfort. He’d just had his entire childhood unraveled in a single night. A childhood was a thing meant to be savored, a time when innocence kept the scary parts of the world at bay. That was a lie to him now.

  But she couldn’t move for another thought consumed her.

  Dax loved her.

  Had loved her even from before Lady Isley had tried to entrap him.

  She licked her lips and cradled her stomach, only to drop her hands when she realized what she was doing.

  Finally, Dax turned. She readied herself. He showed time and again that night that he did, in fact, love her. Lady Isley’s confession was only the last nail to be driven into the truth. Eliza knew it now. She could feel it coursing through her as if Dax’s love were a physical thing.

  She hadn’t expected her husband to love her, and she found it was far scarier than anything else she had faced yet.

  Dax walked toward her slowly, and with each footstep, her heart raced a little faster. Only he didn’t come to her. When he reached Henry, he knelt, scooping up the dog’s face in his hands and pressing his forehead to his.

  “Thank you, my boy,” he whispered, and Eliza’s heart splintered into a million beautiful pieces.