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“It was my pleasure,” said Lady Buchanan as she let go of Patience’s hands and threw a cunning glance at Dorian. “And, clearly, you’ve outdone yourself with this ball gown! Do you quite agree your wife looks stunning, dearest?”

Patience’s big eyes were on him, shining with hope. It seemed her chest stopped moving as she held her breath. Dorian nodded, sinking into their blue depths. “Quite breathtaking, indeed.” He lifted her hand and put it through his bent arm.

For a few moments, they stood like that, gazes locked, and he felt a familiar urge to pull her closer and kiss her.

His aunt interrupted his wicked thoughts by leaning close to his ear, whispering, “You did so well, darling. My grandbabies will be beautiful! I implore you, take care that your marriage proceeds without fault.”

His stomach sank. If only she knew that this marriage was doomed before it began.

“Patience—may I call you Patience? I know I must call you Duchess, but I thought you wouldn’t mind? And you must call me Aunt, not Lady Buchanan.”

Patience nodded. “I think that is a marvelous idea! I would most definitely prefer it.”

“Capital. Now, tell me, Patience, how has Dorian been treating you?” she asked as she unwrapped Patience’s hand from around Dorian’s arm and put it around her own elbow, and led her towards the table with a punch bowl and glasses.

Dorian followed them, close enough to hear.

“Very well,” Patience said and stole a glance at Dorian. “You have a wonderful nephew.”

“Oh, I know I do,” said Dorian’s aunt as she smiled at him with a content smile. “If he appears grumpy or starts growling do not take it seriously. He’s truly a sweet boy inside.”

Dorian wanted to growl in response but restrained himself. As his aunt led him and Patience around the ballroom, introducing them to different important figures of the ton, all he could think about was how he could protect his beautiful wife from the predatory gazes of other men.

She was naive, and they’d crush her. Some of them would want to laugh at her expense, because she came from a simple gentry family. And perhaps they would even know the scandal surrounding her name. Others, predators just like him, would want to use her innocence to seduce her.

Dorian could feel himself bristle up as they navigated through the ballroom filled with two or three dozen guests. Everyone threw curious glances at his wife. Some were judgmental. Some were, like he’d predicted, full of male admiration and appreciation. Whispers came from all around them.

His aunt stopped before a group of people with Patience proudly at her side. A large circle of new acquaintances formed around them, his wife at the center of everyone’s attention.

Lord Bentley, a gentleman his aunt’s age, asked, “Your Grace, you’re bearing yourself so well, you must be a quick learner. A useful quality for a duchess with such a steep climb in society.”

Dorian tensed, already opening his mouth to protect his wife. But to his surprise, Patience didn’t cower, didn’t hunch, and didn’t mumble something polite in response.

She chuckled and beamed that bright, glittering smile at Lord Bentley, the one that seemed to lighten up the whole room. “You’re so right, Lord Bentley, it was some journey. Just the other day, I found myself in quite a predicament. You see, I was so accustomed to doing things for myself that I completely forgot about the army of servants at my disposal. I had spent a good half hour searching high and low for a broom to sweep up a small spill in my chambers, only to remember that I could simply ring for a maid!”

He stared at her in awe as ladies and gentlemen standing in the circle around them chuckled. The tension in Dorian’s chest released. She didn’t need to worry about confidence, for she wasn’t just fearless with him, asking questions and making requests.

She was simply…herself.

He couldn’t tear his eyes off her as she continued with a charming grin. “And then there was the time I nearly had my lady’s maid in a fit. With my sister Anne not present, I absentmindedly began darning a small hole in my stocking, much to my maid’s horror! She insisted that such tasks were beneath a duchess and whisked the offending item away, leaving me to ponder the mysterious ways of the aristocracy.”

As everyone around them chuckled again, Dorian could just imagine the shock of the French lady’s maid he’d had Mrs. Knight hire. That also made humor spread through his chest like sunlight. His hand was right near Patience’s arm. He could feel charges of energy running between them like tiny lightning bolts of pleasure.

During the conversation, the Dowager Duchess of Grandhampton had approached the group with Lady Hazel Fitzgerald, the eldest of the Duke of Kelford’s younger sisters, who looked very nervous. He had greeted the older woman quietly, as he knew her grandson Spencer Seaton very well. The dowager was one of his aunt’s closest friends, and the ladies greeted each other warmly. In her seventies, the dowager had striking blue eyes and perfectly coiffed gray hair.

“I must say,” the dowager declared, “it is refreshing, to have such a new perspective and to meet a duchess with such a down-to-earth nature.”

He agreed. Just like his aunt and everyone else around them, he was charmed by his own wife. He found himself conflicted, being proud of having this woman for his duchess and yet wanting to keep her all to himself and not let the predators of the ton try to dim her light or take her away from him.

Who knew a young and innocent girl like she would be the perfect wife and companion for him?

Who knew he’d like it so very much?

While his aunt led Patience to another group, and Patience continued to charm everyone, Dorian saw Spencer with Joanna and excused himself to go and talk to his old friend and his wife.

After that, Lucien and Constantine found him. Could he ever trust either of them with Patience like Spencer had recently trusted him with protecting Joanna?

Lord Spencer Seaton had returned to London last year, after having been press-ganged into a war. He had lost his title of duke, and everything else, since he’d been presumed dead. He’d had difficulty adjusting, and it was Miss Joanna Digby who had brought him back to life as they faced a common enemy. Spencer had asked Dorian to watch over her, and he had defended her against the powerful man who was trying to kill them.