The Duke Takes a Bride (The Rocking Royal Trilogy Book 2) by Ginger Voight & Jeffrey L. Mayo

Author:Ginger Voight & Jeffrey L. Mayo [Voight, Ginger & Mayo, Jeffrey L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-30T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

It took me a few minutes to compose myself before I headed back downstairs to the party. I stopped on the terrace to grab my discarded cape. I ripped that hateful gift from Cillian from my neck before I retreated to our private bathroom to fix my makeup.

My lipstick was smeared, and my hair was all out of place, though I couldn’t really tell from looking which encounter was the culprit.

It really didn’t matter. I freshened myself up as best as possible before I headed back downstairs to bid the outdoor crowd goodbye.

Auggie’s gaze swept over me but he said nothing as he turned his attention back to his public. Ever the professional, he smiled wide for the adoring crowd, waving to them, paying them the attention they so eagerly craved. I followed suit as we stopped to take official photos with those who had won the Duchess coin; a group photo for the lucky hundred and separate photos for those who had won the Gold Duchesses.

I was thrilled that one of the winners was the little old lady who had sat up front the whole night, despite the fact the music was a lot more contemporary than she was probably used to. When they played us off with bagpipes, it appeared to make her entire evening.

Kelly led us back into the castle to wrap things up for the scavenger hunt, which had made it all the way to the dungeon. I tried to talk to Auggie on the way, but he was tight-lipped and aggravatingly stoic. I could say little in front of Kelly, so I said nothing at all.

It would have been useless anyway. The closer we got to the dungeon, the more crowded and noisier it got. Kelly pushed through, allowing us passage. We entered the room just after the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. The last Gold Duchess had been found!

We turned the corner and I stopped in my tracks as I spotted who held the valuable coin high.

It, of course, was Cillian, whose chiseled face carved itself into a victorious smile. Those present launched into a chorus of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow, but neither Auggie nor I joined in.

“Speech! Speech!” the crowd chanted.

He stood on an old wooden chair to address the crowd. “I would like to thank the beautiful new princess for her kindness and her hospitality,” he said, and the crowd enthusiastically agreed. Before he jumped back down to the floor, he kissed the coin while looking dead in my eyes. I felt my face flush immediately. I stole a glance at Auggie, who watched the scene unfold with those angry green eyes.

It was a lot harder for him to play nice when we took the official photo with Cillian, whose arm wrapped around me like it had any right to.

They squared off afterwards, unable to address the situation with anything other than eye contact.

To make matters worse, Cillian bent to kiss my cheek before he left. Auggie stalked off without saying anything at all.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.