Alistair raised a brow. “You cannot be tired now when there is a beautiful woman waiting for you.”
Blaise was thoughtful for a minute. “How can I drag that woman into a battle she did not start?”
Alistair’s eyes glinted. “I suggest you begin rehearsing some truly extraordinary apologies, and if you make a thorough hash of this, I shall step in and charm your widow out of her sulks.”
Blaise scowled. “Do not talk about her like that.”
Alistair blinked, then smiled slowly.
“Look at that. Protective of your future wife already!”
Blaise’s heart jolted, and he did not correct Alistair.
CHAPTER 32
Iris had paced herself almost to pieces. She had tried valiantly not to listen in, but she could not help herself. She had heard everything, and she felt Blaise’s victory as if it were her own.
Finally, the door opened, and Alistair and Blaise walked out.
“Good night, my lady, and thank you for saving my cousin.” Alistair bowed, said goodbye to Blaise, and walked briskly out of Knoxford.
“Blaise,” Iris whispered. “I must?—”
“No.” His mouth curved. “Our cousin had a great deal of whining to do. It delayed me.”
Something in her chest loosened at the sound of his voice.
“How did it go?” she asked before he could say anything else.
“Marcus is safe,” Blaise said. His gaze did not leave her face. “Daniel has no leverage left.”
Her lungs filled properly for the first time that night. Relief washed through her so forcefully that she had to rest her hand against the wall for a moment.
“So it is done,” she said. “He cannot hurt you. Or Marcus.”
“No,” Blaise said. “Not anymore.”
She swallowed. “And the title? Your nephew?—”
“Is the duke?” Blaise said quietly. “Or will be, as soon as the papers are drawn and the registrars have had their say.”
“All right.” Iris beamed at him. “I am happy for you, Blaise.”
Iris found it hard to read his expression.
“Iris, I would like to meet your father,” he said, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips.
Her head snapped up. “My father?”
“Yes,” he said happily. “It seemed wise to inform him that his potential son-in-law had just rearranged the peerage.”
Heat rushed to her face. “Potential?—”
She broke off. Her heart was thudding again, but differently now; each beat sent a strange, embarrassed flutter to her stomach.
“Come,” Blaise said. “If we are to have this conversation, I would rather not do it where my entire household can eavesdrop.”
He held out his hand. She hesitated only a moment before placing hers in it. His fingers closed around hers, warm and sure. The contact sent a familiar spark up her arm, like an echo of every time he had touched her before, in shadowed rooms and on illicit cushions. But there was a new tenderness in his grip, a hesitation that unsettled her more than his most shameless caresses.
