She frowned. “And yet, until quite recently, you spent all your nights at a gaming hell.” She eyed him inquisitively. “What did you do there, if you were not playing card games?”
“Attending to business matters… Trying to keep myself distant from you… from everything that counted.”
“I am so sorry,” she whispered. “You should not have been suffering through all your grievances alone.”
“It’s not your fault. Without you, I would still be alone.”
“You never tried to find someone to…”
She hesitated then. He knew she was not certain what they had was real. Not really. He could not blame her.
“To love? To marry? No. I was too preoccupied with seeking revenge and righting the wrongs in my world.”
“You have done well, Adrian. You saved me from an awful man who would have forced me into a miserable marriage,” she replied. “That is certainly a point in your favor—even if you do not like to keep score.”
She shuffled the deck of cards in her hands again, then held a card aloft. “Shall we play on or should I take the hint and desist?”
Adrian grinned at her. “Might we talk rather than play?”
“Very well.” Daphne laid the cards on the tabletop and leaned toward him. “What should we discuss next? Will you tell me now that you have never enjoyed roasted lamb and that the taste of cider makes you cringe?”
She fluttered her thick eyelashes at him flirtatiously.
“What if we focus on you?” He propped his elbows on the table so that only a small space existed between them. “Anything on your mind tonight?”
“Tonight? Because we finally got some rest?” she asked, a little teasingly, but blushing deep red, anyway, at her own insinuation.
“Yes, Daphne. Now that you know all there is to know about me, including my aversion to card games and dislike for lamb chops…”
Her mouth dropped open.
She sucked in a breath of disbelief. “You do not mean to say that I guessed rightly? You…”
“Let us focus on you, my dear.” He picked up her hand and grazed her knuckle with a soft kiss. “Tell me some of your secrets.”
“I have none. You already know more about me than any other living soul. Outside of my siblings, that is.”
“Daphne…” Adrian drew her name out long, coaxing her to be honest.
“Very well,” she huffed. “As you already know, I was the obedient daughter. My mother had high hopes for me. Because I followed all her instructions, she expected me to marry well. And quickly. She often wondered out loud if I was trying to destroy my own chances. She said I was pretty, and could play the pianoforte masterfully. I was polite. Why was I not getting chosen? Then, suddenly, I had a suitor—a persistent one.”
There was no need to mention Briarwood’s name. It hung between them.
“He intimidated my other suitors, some more suitable than he,” she continued. “Then, you came to save me. I expected another prison, a beautiful one, but a prison, nonetheless. I never expected… this.”
“A prison is not what you deserve. Everyone should know who you are. And what you mean to me.”
“Well, I still believe the scandal sheets will deem you a criminal, Adrian,” Daphne said, tracing his features with her index finger. “They will accuse you of manipulating the seasons.”
The Duke laughed out loud. “What does that mean? What benefit should I receive from postponing spring, Duchess?”
“You mean to keep me indoors, naturally, without anyone questioning your motives,” she replied, with a big grin.
“Oh. I do not care what they think, Duchess. If they knew the truth about why we are so often locked in this house, they would be envious. Positively envious.”
He kissed her once more to prove the strength of his ardor.
The young married couple eventually had to leave their bedchamber and the confines of their townhouse. It was not because they were tired of each other. No, not at all. Each nightwas still full of passion. Even the more experienced Adrian admitted not having felt this insatiable before.
