Page 84 of The Odyssean Duke

Stephan narrowed his eyes, trying to read the meaning of the man’s words. “Did Evelina expressly indicate that she did not wish for me to find her?” Stephan asked.

A tightness burned inside his chest, so painful that he found it difficult to draw breath. She could not remain angry at him forever, or so he hoped. Maybe he would deserve it.

“Was she…” Stephan trailed off, his face burning with shame. “Was she distraught when you saw her last?”

The butler sniffed. “I should think so, Your Grace.”

Stephan nodded and looked away. He scoffed quietly to himself. How was he supposed to confront Evelina when he could not even endure the cold gaze of her butler? He had done a terrible thing. Stephan had hurt Evelina deeply, and now, she did not even wish to see him. It was maddening! How could he have been so foolish? Why hadn’t he understood how valuableEvelina was and how dreadful he would feel at having driven her away?

“Well,” Stephan said after a while, “I suppose that I will have to find her on my own. Thank you for your aid.”

“A pleasure, as always.”

The butler bowed again and closed the door with more force than was necessary, which Stephan took as an indication that this butler had been in Evelina’s service for a long time. He did not fear losing his position after insulting the Duke of Rothbury. So brazen!

Stephan shook his head and returned to the coach, where his footman gave him a rueful look. “Where shall we go next, Your Grace?”

Where, indeed?

Stephan frowned, considering the question. If Evelina was not at home, where might she have gone? After leaving her, Stephan had gone with Murrayton; that was a chance meeting, but Stephan had appreciated it. He had wanted companionship, someone to help him perceive things differently. Would Evelina have made the same choice in those circumstances?

“To her sister’s house,” Stephan said at last. “Perhaps, she is there.”

There was something uniquely humiliating at admitting that he did not know where his own wife was. Stephan grimaced, deciding that he would do well to be accustomed to humiliation. Evelina’s sister would not be a sympathetic party, and he had no doubt that the woman would tell him precisely how she felt about him.

That was deserved, though. Evelina had not deserved everything that Stephan had said and done to her. She deserved to be loved more than any woman he had ever met, and Stephan was a failure for not ensuring that she knew just what a treasure she was.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The footman bowed and opened the coach. Stephen climbed in and sat, his mind racing as he anticipated the coming encounter. If he could survive the Dowager Duchess of Rothbury, he could survive Evelina’s sister.

Probably.

* * *

Theodora, the Duchess of Hawthorne, had agreed to see Stephan. He had been invited into her drawing room without hesitation. She was there, bent over what seemed to be some manner of scientific text. When Stephan tilted his head, he discerned the drawings of plants. Her back was to him, and he cleared his throat to make her aware of his presence. Theodora’s shoulders pulled taut.

“So you have come,” she said.

Theodora spoke with gravitas, as if he was Sir Lancelot come to thwart the plans of the wicked Morgan le Fay.

“I had hoped that your sister would be here,” he said.

“Of course, you did.”

At last, she turned to him. Theodora crossed her arms and glowered at him, seemingly with no desire to hide her fury. Stephan had expected that, though. He began to suspect that everyone in Evelina’s life loathed him for what he had done, and Stephan reluctantly conceded that he deserved their ire.

“As it happens, I was not in London when you treated my sister so shamefully that she fled your house,” Theodora said. “Perhaps that was for the best because ever since I heard of what happened, I have been thinking about how best to tell you what a detestable man you are. I doubt I would be capable of such restraint if I had been present when she arrived in tears.”

Stephan said nothing. He was not a man who took criticism often, but this—this was very much deserved. Maybe if he took Theodora’s fury, it would be enough to soothe his own guilt. He was receiving precisely what he deserved for making a terrible choice.

“You have some gall coming here,” Theodora continued. “My sister is not with me, but even if she was, I would not let you speak to her.”

Stephan sighed. “She is truly not with you?”

“No,” Theodora said, defiantly raising her chin.

Stephan sank into the nearest chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. His breath came out in a huff of air. Theodora watched him warily from a small distance away. “I know that I wronged her,” Stephan said.