AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 10
Diana’s mind was all muddled the rest of the day after spending the afternoon around the Duke. She replayed their interactions in her mind again and again, wondering if she’d been to bold to tease the Duke. He’d certainly responded well to it, and she’d been even more surprised by his physical signs of affection. The way he’d traced the back of her hand with his fingers as they walked to the way he kissed her knuckles as they parted.
When his lips had pressed against her bare skin, a sensation of pleasant warmth swept over her, and her most sensitive parts had sprung to life, desiring to feel more of what the Duke was willing to offer her. It made her wonder just how far the Duke was willing to go to make her happy. Would he be willing to do things to her that only a married man would do with his wife?
Diana did her best not to let her thoughts run away with her. After returning to her home, she busied herself with housework to simply keep her mind from focusing on these physical sensations that the Duke had instilled in her. She had to admit that she was looking forward to dining with the Duke tomorrow evening. She was curious to see the full size of the manor and to meet the staff that she would be presiding over when she became Duchess. But more than that, she simply wanted to spend more time with the Duke to begin to understand his true nature.
One of the things that Diana was eager about was learning more about the Duke’s past. She figured that she wouldn’t gain any real answers until she was introduced to Lord Douglas, the Duke’s closest friend. She was certainly going to follow his advice to ask the Earl any question about the Duke, for he felt he had nothing to hide.
As soon as the opportunity arose, she hoped to ask the man about the reasoning behind the late Duchess’ death. Even though with every passing moment she could envision herself living a happy life as Duchess, she didn’t want to let her guard down if she had to worry about her life being taken from her like the last duchess had to experience.
No matter what chore she busied herself with or how logical she tried to remain when thinking about her upcoming marriage, her thoughts kept returning to the feeling of the Duke’s warm lips upon her knuckles. It sent a shiver of pleasure running through her body, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. It was like an itch she couldn’t satisfy no matter how much she scratched it. She did everything to ignore the growing feeling but found no relief from the throbbing between her legs.
Diana wasn’t sure what was happening to her body, but one thing she was certain of was that the Duke had a special way of affecting her so. Diana was starting to think that perhaps she should guard herself better from the Duke if she was going to tolerate being around him and not feeling this way.
~*~
Fitz had gained very little sleep the night before. His mind had been plagued with images of Miss Casey. Most of the time he tried to reason that she would make for a dutiful wife. She was pleasant to be around, and he figured his days could even be improved upon by spending them with her. But there was a deeper feeling that was stirring inside of him, a sort of arousal he didn’t think was possible for him anymore. Could it be true that he desired Miss Casey like a man desired to lay with his wife?
Most of the time when this thought came rushing through his mind, he figured it was a good sign. It would certainly make it easier to produce children if he was remotely attracted to Miss Casey. They even might enjoy the action more than he’d ever consider. But if he was having these strong feelings of desire more than what he thought would be normal, did that then tell him that he desired Miss Casey far more than he could have ever imagined?
He figured that it was only his time spent away from the comforts of any woman that had caused this sensation to return to him. Either way, it was starting to become a problem as his manhood continued to stir to life with every thought of Miss Casey becoming his wife and them being alone together on their wedding night.
Fitz was in his study as usual, trying to address matters of business. He figured it would be a good distraction from his wandering thoughts. In a few hours he’d be dining with the Caseys once more, and he wanted to have his raging desires under control. It was here that his butler, Mr Bingley, found him amongst all his letters for the day.
“You have a visitor, Your Grace,” Mr Bingley announced with a bow as he came into the room.
“Who is it?” Fitz asked as he finished reading the last of the letter in his hands before looking up at the butler. For a moment, he wondered if the Caseys had arrived much earlier than expected.
“A Lady Natale Gunther has called upon you, Your Grace. I showed her to the sitting room,” Mr Bingley explained. Fitz stilled a moment, his body going stiff at the thought of Natale. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since Marian’s funeral. He couldn’t fathom the reason she would pay him a visit, and he was curious to know where Lord Gunther was and why the man hadn’t escorted his wife for this visit.
“Thank you, Mr Bingley. I shall go to see to her,” Fitz said as he rose from his desk.
“Shall I ask Mrs Stanley to have a tea tray brought in?”
“That won’t be necessary. But thank you, Mr Bingley,” Fitz said in passing. He made his way down the hallway, pulling on the bottom of his vest to straighten it from having sat all morning. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Natale’s sudden visit and hoped that she didn’t come bearing grave news.
Fitz walked into the open door of the sitting room and found Natale taking a turn of the room. He looked at her as she came his way, thinking she hadn’t changed one bit. Her fiery red hair had been teased into numerous curls and pinned to the top of her head, framing her angular face and highlighting her deep green eyes. But as Fitz looked at her, he didn’t see her beauty. He was only reminded of the woman he loved and how she was no longer with him.
“Fitz, it’s so good to see you,” Natale said as she came near and lightly embraced him. “You look the same as I last remember.” She smiled brightly up at him, and he did his best to appear pleasant when he felt very apprehensive about this visit.
“Thank you, Natale,” he replied as he created space between them, making his way over to the fireplace before turning back to her. “Your visit is rather unexpected. Where is Lord Gunther?”
“Only the Good Lord knows where my husband is,” Natale said with a sigh. “I’ve come to our estate here in the country for a reprieve from the countless mistresses I’ve discovered in his bed.” Fitz’s heart hurt to hear such things. Though he wasn’t naive to the knowledge that most married men and women of the Bon Ton often took lovers, it pained him to see Marian’s sister looking so distraught.
“The weather has been nice lately. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the fresh air compared to Town,” Fitz replied as he folded his hands behind him, waiting patiently for Natale to state the nature of her visit.
“Indeed, I am hoping I’ll come to enjoy the country much better. I’m sure I’ll find much better company here,” Natale said as her bright smile returned to her face and she took several steps closer to him. “I’ve certainly missed you.” Fitz wanted to groan but knew that it would be rather offensive.
“How very kind, Natale,” Fitz said, not sure what else to say. “I’ll have to introduce you to my intended if you plan to stay in the neighbourhood for very long. I’m sure you’ve seen the papers and the engagement announcement.” Fitz clearly noted the way she grimaced at the mention of him marrying, but she was quick to force a wide smile back onto her face.
“Yes, I had heard the news. You can imagine my shock when I read it in the papers since I hadn’t heard a word of it from you yourself. It was almost like it wasn’t true.”
“Well, it is true. I’ve made an arranged marriage so that I can produce an heir and make sure the Duke of Chatham title stays within the Mavis family.”
“An arranged marriage? Why on earth would you agree to an arranged marriage when you’d certainly be able to acquire a willing woman into marriage with you?” she said in a very husky voice. Fitz watched as her eyes travelled the length of his body, practically undressing him with her eyes.
“It was the most logical reasoning when considering young ladies from the local area,” Fitz replied, wanting to create more distance between them as she continued to near him. The words she’d spoken to him at Marian’s funeral swam back through his mind. He wondered if her intentions still rang true. But with his back to the fireplace, he really had nowhere else to go.
