“You should probably draw a breath before you pass out, wife,” Daniel drawled as she launched into another detailed description of a statue.#p#分页标题#e#
Hers was lemon; his, rum, and they ate their ices seated at a small table in the shade of a tree. Around them, other people were engrossed in the same activity. Only the occasional hum of conversation could be heard as everyone enjoyed their delicious treats.
“This is surely the food of angels, Daniel.” Eva sighed as she took another lick of the treat.
“I fear I am setting you up with several vices, Duchess.”
“Ahhhh, but what a vice, Duke.”
“Did you have any visitors this morning?” Daniel watched the smile fall from her face and her eyes flit away. She lowered her lashes to hide her expression from him. Damn her bloody family. Wernham had told him about the visit from her father and how Winchcomb had threatened Eva. His first instinct had been to go round to the man’s house and beat him to a pulp, but he had restrained himself and decided to speak with her first.
“Visitors, Daniel?” Eva was looking everywhere but at her husband.
“Namely your father.”
“Wernham promised me he wouldn’t tell you.”
“He didn’t. I just knew he had something to say because he followed me around the house talking incessantly until I threatened to thrash him if he didn’t tell me what was on his mind.”
“My father simply called on me to see if I was all right.”
They both knew that was a lie and Daniel wondered why, as she had last night with Huxley, she was protecting her father now.
“I’m not sure why you’re defending him or Huxley, Eva, but it does not sit comfortably with me.”
Her eyes shot to his and then back to her hands.
“Th-they are no threat to me now.”
Neither of them believed that, either.
“Your father and Huxley will always be a threat to you if you let them, Duchess. Therefore you must come to me with any attempts from either of them to hurt or threaten you.”
She didn’t respond to that comment, but he saw the tension in her shoulders. She was no longer the laughing, relaxed companion of minutes before.
“I should not have found out about your father’s visit from our butler, Eva. You should have told me,” he said, giving her a look that spoke volumes about his disappointment in her.
“I have no wish for you and my father to confront each other, Daniel.”
Not many people had ever offered Daniel protection in his lifetime and it humbled him that Eva wanted to.
“I understand you are used to dealing with your family by yourself, Eva, but I must have a promise from you that you will tell me at once if in future any of them try to contact you again. I promised to protect you when we left Stratton, but I cannot do so if you do not let me.”
“They will not contact me again.”
“Promise me, Eva.”
They looked silently at each other for several seconds and it was she who spoke first. “Please do not go and see either my father or Lord Huxley, Daniel,” Eva begged. “They are not to be trusted and I want you nowhere near them.”
“Tell me why you fear them so much? What do they hold over you?”
“Nothing. They hold nothing over me.” Daniel heard the lie in her shrill words and decided it was time to take action. He needed to start digging deeper. Something was wrong and if she would not tell him, he would find out through other means.
“I cannot make you tell me what is wrong, Eva, and I had hoped you would come to me when you were ready. However - ” he lifted one hand as she tried to speak “ - I want you to remember that I am a duke and you a duchess and it is Huxley and your family who should be wary of us, not the reverse. If your fear is for Huxley’s reputation with a sword then I would ask you again to have faith in me, I am a skilled swordsman also.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Promise me you will not approach them, Daniel! I cannot bear to think of you anywhere near them.”
“I will only promise not to seek your father out this time,” Daniel said. “But if he or any of his sons continue to threaten you in any way, my promise will no longer stand.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Daniel offered her his hand as he stood.
“The Duke and Duchess of Stratton. Look, Miss Myers, do they not make a lovely couple?”
Daniel knew who the voice belonged to but did not turn to face him until he had helped Eva from her seat. She stiffened and moved closer to his side. Slipping an arm around her waist, he squeezed her gently before turning.
“Miss Myers, Lord Huxley.” Daniel offered a short, insulting bow while still holding his wife close to his side.