Page 21 of How to Capture a Duke

Tristan’s gaze never left Olivia’s face. She was just as lovely as he’d remembered. It had only been a little over a week, but he found her just as compelling as the first time he’d seen her. Blond hair, wide green eyes, and full lips. A movement to his right caught his attention, and he dragged his gaze away. Two footmen carried a trunk inside and placed it beside two others that had already been delivered and now sat in the corner of the marble vestibule.

From the look of his staff, they had assembled swiftly and now stood clutching their hands before them.

Olivia flashed him a cool smile. “Hello, husband.”

Husband.

Not Your Grace. The meaning was clear. She had defied his command and come to London, to his home.

Her smile was much warmer when she addressed his staff. “Thank you all for your hospitable and warm welcome.” She proceeded to approach each one and inquired each of their names. The housekeeper, Mrs. Ludson, bobbed a curtsy, and she appeared as if she would burst with joy at the notion of having another resident at Keswick Hall to serve. If Olivia was disturbed by Mrs. Ludson’s crossed eyes, she did not show it as she reached out to touch the housekeeper’s hand.

Tristan stood awkwardly until his wife finished greeting every staff member, even the lowliest chambermaid. Her breeding as the sister of an earl was evident in her speech and manners.

“You must be tired from your journey, Your Grace,” Mrs. Ludson said. “I shall see you to your rooms and have your trunks carried up.”

“That would be wonderful.” Olivia turned to Gordon.

Tristan watched, wondering how she would treat the crippled butler, but she gifted him with another one of those delightful smiles and thanked him as he took her cloak.

The servants rushed to do their duties, no doubt eager to please the new mistress of Keswick Hall.

Tristan seized the opportunity and stepped forward. “A word alone, duchess?”

Olivia met his gaze, her expression serene, as if nothing untoward had occurred between them and her arrival at Keswick Hall was expected. “Of course. Please pardon me for a moment, Mrs. Ludson.”

Tristan took her arm and led her out of the vestibule, away from the servants, and down the hall.

“You are doing it again.” She tugged her arm from his grasp.

“Doing what?”

“Dragging me away.”

He knew she referred to their wedding day. He didn’t respond. He opened the drawing room door, ushered her inside, then shut the door. He faced her, holding his annoyance at bay. “I told you to stay at Rosehill.”

She raised her chin, her green eyes flashing in the first real emotion he’d seen since he spotted her in the vestibule. Even though he had every right to be angry, he found himself fascinated.

“I know what you told me. But I am a woman who makes my own choices.”

“How could I f…f-orget? You made your choice when you set your sights on the duchy, no matter how duplicitous your methods.”

She placed her hands on her hips and faced him like a general. “I will not defend myself again. I did nothing wrong. If you’d been honest about your true identity rather than leading me to believe you were a groom, neither of us would be trapped in this unwanted union.”

“And this is your solution? To live under the same roof?”

“Yes. No one needs to know the true nature of our marriage.”

Could he do it? He realized a large part of his motivation to leave her behind at Rosehill was not because he thought her a manipulative woman, but because she posed too much temptation.

Her unexpected arrival upended those plans. Could he see her every day, pass her in the hallways, sit with her in the dining room, and not want to touch her? Live with her, knowing she slept a few chambers away at night, and not want to pay her a visit?

He wasn’t a saint, dammit.

Even now, angry at her presence in his home, he still wanted to reach out, jerk her into his arms, and show her exactly how dangerous and ludicrous her proposition was.

“My grandmother put you up to this, didn’t she?” he asked.

“Your grandmother is quite strong minded, but no one told me what to do. I am a duchess, and I will not be banished. Now if you will pardon me, I’m tired from traveling and wish to settle into my chamber.”