Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington

Chapter Twenty-two

The next morning Esther had barely finished arranging Noelle's hair into a loose Grecian knot on the top of her head, when there was a light tapping at her door. Esther scurried over to answer and was informed by the butler that Noelle had a caller waiting for her in the drawing-room.

Noelle felt a fresh wave a trepidation wash over her, for surely it was the duke coming to call, and the last person she wanted to see was him. She contemplated ways she could avoid having to see him, before deciding that having to spend some time with the man was inevitable. For surely, once she was his wife, she would have to spend more time with him than she would like.

Entering the drawing-room, Noelle was shocked to see that it wasn't the duke at all but a man she had never met. She assessed the man, from his dark head of hair that was just slightly longer than what was fashionable, to his contrasting pale blue eyes set in a well-sculpted face. He was dressed in fashionable clothes that had an excellent cut, making his overall appearance quite striking. She walked forward and waited for him to make introductions, which he never did.

The stranger just stared at her coldly before she managed to mumble, "May I help you?"

"I certainly hope so. I want to know what you did to Pierce."

She was momentarily caught off guard by the use of the duke's given name. She had never used his given name before or even thought of him by it, but she decided it was fitting. "What do you mean? I have not done anything to the man."

Without waiting for her to offer, the stranger took a seat on the settee, all the while managing to glare at her as if she had done something horribly offensive. "Maybe that's the problem," he muttered crudely.

"Beg your pardon, if you have come here to insult me, then you have achieved your purpose and may gladly take your leave."

"I am not leaving until I figure out what you have done."

"I already told you. I have not done a blasted thing to your beloved Pierce!"

"My beloved Pierce? Last time I checked he was your beloved. When you left Ridgecrest Manor, you had the poor fool practically eating out of the palm of your hand, he was so besotted, and when I ran into him at White's last night, he was practically despondent, definitely not my idea of a man in love. I deduce that you had something to do with the sudden change in his mood and came here to warn you."

"How kind," she said acerbically.

The man leaned back on the settee, his arms crossed tightly against his chest, "I thought it only fair to warn you that, if you break his heart, you will have to answer to me."

Noelle laughed mirthlessly at his absurd threat. "What goes on in my relationship is none of your concern. I think it's time you left."

The man rose and stood inches away from her, peering his pale blue eyes, eyes that looked as cold as ice, down at her dangerously. "I will not leave until I get the information I came here for, and I want an honest answer. Do you love him?"

Noelle averted her eyes guiltily and swallowed hard. There was no way she could lie and say she did, so she racked her brain trying to come up with an acceptable answer. She looked straight ahead at his cravat to avoid looking into his eyes as she said flippantly, "Since when is love a requirement for marriage?"

The man reeled back as if she had slapped him. He shook his head at her disgusted before he turned and made to leave. Right before he got to the door he turned back and hissed, "You don't deserve him," before turning on his heel and leaving, slamming the front door behind him as he went.

***

Elliot was still fuming when he reached Pierce's townhouse. The encounter with Noelle had caused his blood to boil, and it still hadn't cooled to its normal temperature. He lifted his arm to knock just as the heavy wood door was flung open revealing a startled Pierce.