[The Inconvenient Matches series is comprised entirely of stand alone novels that can be read in any order]
Forced into marriage by duty and obligation, The Duke and Duchess of Rothbury parted ways a week after saying their vows under the explicit u...
Water Closet: Room containing a toilet. Modern plumbing was still rather rare in this time period.
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'You intend to stay here. In Hartley.' Minerva stared blankly at her husband- who was not, in fact, a nightmare conjured up during her nervous episode- from across the dressing room that was shared between the Duke and Duchess's bed chambers. She had gotten back from the clinic earlier that morning, still feeling a little shaken. After a day of taking care of neglected domestic matters, all she had wanted to do was to take a long warm bath and change into something more comfortable. Then, of course, who should she encounter in her dressing room except for Benedict? Had she heard him right? 'Come to think of it, why the devil are you here in the first place?'
He shot a speaking glance at his foot, which was bound with a white bandage, and the walking stick he was using to support his weight. In spite of the bandage, he had dressed well. His dark brown breeches hugged his legs flatteringly, his thighs powerful due to years of regular riding. He wore a plain white shirt beneath his coat and a cravat was tied artfully around his neck. The only splash of color was a tasteful emerald waistcoat that brought out the color of his eyes most becomingly. His hair was cut to the fashionable length, but it curled slightly at his ears and the nape of his neck. He was all dark magnificence and even as he stood tense, there was an unmistakable elegance that seemed to be threaded into the very essence of his being. Hades in all his glory, ruling over the underworld. Utterly conscious of his consequence and his power as much a fact of the world as the revolution of the earth.
'Ever since my boyhood, I have had an affliction of the lungs. Sometimes, I get very serious coughing fits that render me unable to breathe. I had two such breathing attacks after my accident in the Thames, the doctor insisted I retire to the country. Obviously, I did not know that you had returned.'
'You could have gone to Scotland.'
'Too far.'
'Rothbury Park?'
'My mother is in residence.'
'You couldn't have darkened her doorstep instead of mine? Lord knows she deserves a little misery.' She waited for him to reprimand her for her insensitive comments about his mother, instead, she could have sworn she saw a glimmer of amusement in his expression. It instantly lightened the harsh angles of his face, if even for a split second.
Damn him, he was beautiful. Even as his face was set in a mix between discomfort and irritation, his lips thinned into a grimace. No, not beautiful. Striking. His presence filled the spacious dressing room, reducing it to half its size, so magnetic that it dared her to look at anything else.
'Can you not go back? Silverton is vacated now, I have no wish to return.' She offered hopefully.
'Duchess.' He sighed as if she were infinitely trying his patience. She raised a defiant eyebrow at his insufferable tone. Irritating man! 'I am struggling enough as it is to walk to the water closet down the hall. I really cannot travel so soon. I do not wish to be here anymore than you want me here.'
