The Devilish Duke by Elizabeth Bramwell

Author:Elizabeth Bramwell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2019-07-05T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

There was nothing worse in life that realizing that you had acted in a spoiled manner, thought Devenish.

He’d managed to nurse his grievances for the whole evening at the Assembly Rooms, even using his considerable losses at cards as further evidence that he was being wronged by the whole world. Even though his mother had not said a word against him during the trip home, and not a single word of censure as she enjoyed a glass of wine in the sitting room before retiring, he had felt as though her descriptions of the enjoyable evening she had to be an attack, and her studious avoidance of mentioning the Scott siblings a method of criticizing him.

It was only after an unsettled night of fitful sleep that dawn brought with it a fresh understanding.

He’d behaved like an ass.

Not for his Cut to the Fitzburghs – he was not about to apologise for that course of action to anyone – but could he really blame Miss Scott, whose forthright sweetness was the thing he found most charming about her, for being shocked when she encountered his harder side? She had laughed at his nickname, or the belief that he could be anything other than good natured, and he had allowed her to continue in her misapprehension.

He had wanted her to continue in that belief, for his own selfish reasons. He liked himself better when he was around her, as though the echoes of who he should have been began to solidify. Everything he disliked about the Ton was something he personified when amongst them, but Miss Scott… Cassie… her determined delight in the world brought out the better side of his nature.

He was subdued as he dressed that morning, so much so that Ember became concerned that he had upset the Duke in some way, and it was only with considerable reassurances that his work continued to be impeccable that Devenish narrowly avoided witnessing his Valet burst into tears.

As such, it was a little after eleven before he was finally able to knock on the door to his mother’s sitting room, and be admitted to her private sanctuary to talk.

“I need to apologise for my childish behaviour last night,” he said as soon as the maid was dismissed. “I was selfish, and had no right to disrupt your enjoyment of the evening the way I did.”

The Duchess raised her eyebrows in surprise at the admission. “An apology, dearest? How unlike you!”

Devenish looked up at the ceiling. “Am I such an ogre that saying sorry seems out of character?”

“Considering that you’ve made it your maxim to never apologise for anything, then yes, it is something of a surprise,” she said, but her tone had softened. “Come and sit with me, my dear. Tell me everything.”

He did as he was bid, walking over to sit on the chair beside the chaise on which she reclined. A silver breakfast tray on the low table before her contained an oversized cup of chocolate, large enough for her to grip without help, and the remains of a thick slice of toast.

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