AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I would think that’s obvious,Your Grace.” Tabitha emphasized the last two words.
Andrew frowned, then stepped back. “Why didn’t you mention earlier that you knew about my new title?”
“You didn’t give me any time. You asked me about my travels then, well...” she trailed off, not wanting to say what they had just done.
“You mean before I kissed you? And I would do it again in a heartbeat—and more, if you let me.”
Tabitha crossed her arms in front of her. “And when you were done with me, would you cast me aside the same way you did your brother’s wife?”
She hadn’t meant to say that, but perhaps it was for the best. The rumors were well known, and Tabitha needed to know if there was any truth to them. She wanted to hear it from his own lips. Even though she’d been ready to defend him last night at her aunt’s house, now she didn’t know what to think. One moment he was charming, kissing her senseless, and now his expression had darkened, his stare cold. Tabitha hugged her arms tighter around her.
“I see someone has already informed you of my supposed private affairs. I’m happy to hear the matrons have not shirked their duties. I must admit, I thought you were better than them, Miss Crestwood, an educated woman who wouldn’t believe the poison those vipers spew. Apparently, I was wrong. You’re just like the rest of them, ready to condemn without knowing all the facts.”
Tabitha was speechless. Disgust and anger dripped from every word Holcombe said. She’d never seen him like this. A slight chill crept up her spine.
“What have you been told about me?”
The words were lodged in her throat.
He glared at her. “Let me guess. The good-for-nothing, throwaway second son of a duke was so jealous that he seduced his sister-in-law and murdered his own brother to get what he wanted. Does that sound about right?”
If he kept carrying on, someone was bound to hear them. Tabitha wasn’t sure what to do. A dam of emotions had broken free from the man, and there appeared to be no way to stop it.
“If you believe what they say, then you are free to join those peacocks in the ballroom. As for me, I will do what I’m best at, gaming and whoring. Since no one expects anything more of me.”
Tabitha cursed her stupidity. If only she knew when to hold her tongue. What’s done was done, and she couldn’t take back the words. But seeing the change in Holcombe, the rage, it made her think perhaps he wasn’t the hero she had made him out to be. Another dream shattered.
Tabitha met the duke’s icy stare. “I will not keep you any longer, Your Grace. I hope the rest of your evening is pleasant.”
Without another word, he left. Tabitha wanted to reach out and stop him, but she didn’t. It was best if she stayed away from the Duke of Holcombe. That’s what Tabitha told herself as he stormed off, even as the taste of him still lingered on her lips.
CHAPTER9
How could she? Andrew had thought Tabitha was different. Her brazen rebuff of Lord Vance and her self-imposed exile had made him think she was a woman with brains, that she wouldn’t believe idle gossip. But he had been wrong. One more person to despise him, to whisper about him in hushed tones. Except this time, it hurt more than any other slight he’d ever received. It shouldn’t. Why should Tabitha’s opinion mean so much to him? It was madness.
He hadn’t seen the chit in two years, yet the instant he’d laid eyes on her, something within him stirred. Andrew knew it was madness to follow her, but he couldn’t stop himself. When he’d tasted her lips, this time, it differed from before. Two years ago, he’d kissed her on a lark, content to play the reputable rake he was known to be. But this time, it was about claiming what was his, because until that moment, Andrew had realized how much he’d missed her. It was like his soul recognized its other half, even after all this time, and he wasn’t about to let her go.
Then Tabitha had thrown the rumors in his face. Like a glass of cold water, it had cooled his ardor, and he had turned away from her in anger. Now he had to temper his expression, lest he give even a hint of the turmoil boiling inside him.
Andrew entered the ballroom where the concert was still in progress. Even though he had said he would leave, he couldn’t abandon his grandmother. Perhaps they could leave once the musicians finished and not attend the reception to follow.
He sat in his chair, his eyes fixed forward. On the outside, he appeared calm, but on the inside, Andrew was seething with indignation. How dare Tabitha be so soft and willing in his arms, then turn around and accuse him of having an affair with Miranda. The very idea was absurd. Perhaps he should have told Tabitha that instead of storming off. Now she would think the worst of him.
Where is Tabitha?
Since his return to the concert, he hadn’t seen her rejoin her aunt. Should he go find her? No. She was probably back in the garden nursing her wounded pride, if anything he’d said had impacted her.
And what had she said about other men? When Tabitha had mentioned the possibility of allowing other men to kiss her, Andrew had seen red. In that moment, he’d wanted to find the nearest bed or sofa, bury his cock inside her, until she forgot any other man but him. Something raw and wild stirred within Andrew whenever he was around the woman.
The concert came to an end. At one point, Tabitha had crept in to rejoin her aunt, who was several rows in front of him.
“Do we need to stay for the reception?” Andrew asked his grandmother.
“Why? Do you have somewhere more important to be?”
That was a yes.
Damnation!
