Private Affair | Book 3 of the Selected Series

Eight

It was late afternoon when Louis arrived at the courthouse, his lawyer in tow. While the lawsuit was mostly directed at the Royal family, Judith had thought for some absurd reason she should drag him with them. Now here he was, in a small spaced office, nervously clicking his pen while waiting for the demon to show up.

The door opened smoothly and, to both his surprise and relief, Judith's lawyer had come alone. Mr. Ward gave both men a tight-lipped smile, brown eyes sliding over Louis for a second too long. The Duke flared his nostrils and crossed his arms.

"Apologies for my client's absence today, her son was sick." He greeted, placing thick folders in the space between them. Louis' thumb stopped its nervous press upon the pen's cap, frowning at the lawyer.

"Is he okay?"

"Just the flu." Mr. Ward gave a practiced smile and took a seat before them.

For the next hour and a half, both lawyers argued about the legitimacy of the lawsuit when it came to him. Louis sat back in his chair, letting them speak as he studied Mr. Ward. He wasn't much older, maybe by a year or so, with dark blonde hair neatly gelled back over brown brows and similarly hued eyes. He was handsome, Louis couldn't deny it, but it nagged at him that such beauty was wasted on a man who would willingly be the devil's advocate.

He snickered lowly at his own joke, catching Mr. Ward's attention. "Is something funny, Your Grace?" Louis felt his cheeks burn and he shook his head, gesturing at them to carry on. Mr. Ward's eyebrows arched, the ghost of smile grazing his full mouth before he returned his attention to Louis' lawyer. With a cough, the Duke readjusted himself on his chair and decided focusing on what was being discussed regarding his money should probably interest him more.

As with the royal family, none of the parties agreed on a settlement, Louis refusing to give Jude a single penny. Accomplice, my ass!, he thought, that woman thinks she can cower behind her illegitimate child and get all the money in the world. Over my dead body. He was still fuming when he left the room, in a desperate need to rant about it with Hugo and a glass of scotch in hand.

Louis hadn't made it two steps when he heard Mr. Ward call for him. He spun on his heels, shooting him a quizzical look. "Yes?"

The blonde man drew nearer, any remaining tension from their meeting having vanished. How he could flip the switch so fast, Louis couldn't understand. He never managed to come out of these sessions with a good mood. "I hope I'm not going to sound impudent, but may I request a ride with Your Grace?" Louis' eyebrows flew to his hairline. "You see, my car is at the mechanic..."

"How'd you managed to come here, then?" He questioned, baffled by Mr. Ward's request. It wasn't impudent, no--audacious yes. To hitch a ride from the man you're trying to rip off! Louis had truly seen it all.

"I took a cab. But I thought, since we're going to the same place, I could perhaps request to accompany you." He flashed his teeth, two rows of pearly whites catching the light, and Louis' eyes dipped to his mouth against his will.

He sighed, not in the mood to argue nor be rude. "I guess it wouldn't do any harm."

Mr. Ward beamed, and extended a hand for him to shake. "I thank you, Your Grace." Louis held his hand with a certain detachment, doing his best to ignore the firm warmth of the lawyer's hold.

"It's quite alright, Mr. Ward." He gave him a tight-lipped smile, starting again towards the entrance hall.

"Oh, you may call me William." The man grinned, brown eyes lighting up. "Outside of work, I'm not as fond of formal callings."