Free Web NovelChapter 12: Pour Your Heart Out
SOPHIA
I took off the Duke’s jacket and handed it back to him. "It would be unseemly for me to wear it in front of everyone."
"Hune."
"Um ... bless you?"
He laughed. "I didn’t sneeze."
"Then what’s a Hune?"
A man in a sharp gray suit wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a bored expression appeared practically out of thin air. Honestly, he startled me.
He held my coat across his arms, and he presented it to me with a slight bow.
"This is a Hune," said the duke. "He’s my assistant. Should you ever need anything, and I’m not available, you can contact Hune."
"I’m at your service," said Hune. "Your coat, Miss Pagemoore."
"Thank you," I said as I took the white-furred cape.
Duke Stonehart placed it around my shoulders and tied it for me. His fingers brushed my throat, and I felt an electric thrill zip into my belly. His smile caused the same reaction again.
Hune offered me a fur-covered hand warmer.
"Many thanks." I accepted the hand warmer and pressed my palms against it. The heat seeped into my skin. It helped me feel less cold.
"Do you require anything else, Miss Pagemoore?"
"No, Mr. Hune. I appreciate you."
Hune blinked up at me. "You appreciate me?" The corners of his lips lifted in what I think was an attempt to smile. "You’re so kind, Miss Pagemoore."
The duke thunked him on the back of the head. "Stop staring at my wife like that or I’ll throw you off the airship the next time we’re in it."
"Wife?" I asked.
"In my heart, and soon, in my life, I promise." He turned to Hune. "When the betting pool starts, I want you to put a hundred silver in. Choose Miss Pagemoore and myself as the winners."
"You’re very confident," I said. "How do you know we’ll be a team?"
"I won’t let anyone else have you." He crooked his arm. "Come. Let’s join the game."
***|***|***
JACE
"Duke Stonehart is sticking to your wife like a dog skin plaster," said Fabian. "I wonder what his intentions are."
"To steal her," I grumbled. I jabbed him in the ribs. "You were looking at her like a piece of cake. Do I have to kill you, too?"
Fabian’s grin was unrepentant. "Maybe. She’s very interesting. Besides, it’s not like you want her." He nodded toward Penelope, who had finally released my arm so she could chatter with her friends. Her gaze kept straying to me. "She’s your truest love."
"She’s not. We’re just friends."
"Are you going to try and sell me the idea you’re her brother again?" He laughed. "You’re a liar. No brother should look at his sister the way you do Penelope."
"We’re innocent," I said. "And whether I want Sophia or not, she is still my wife. Keep your eyes, and your hands, off of her."
"No promises." He leaned down. "Here comes your sister."
Penelope sidled up to me and immediately wrapped her hands around my arm. When had she become so clingy? I slipped my arm free of her grip. "Men and women shouldn’t touch."
Her mouth dropped open, and I had to admit saying such a thing sounded insincere even to my own ears. I put space between us. "A married man and unmarried woman shouldn’t be close."
"What on earth is wrong with you?" Tears formed in her eyes, and I immediately felt bad. "I’ve been by your side for seven years. I almost died to save you. And you ... you think I’m dirty."
"I don’t think that at all. But I have a wife, Penelope. We should be more circumspect."
Tears fell, leaving little tracks on her white-powdered face. "Why do you care about Sophia now? You never have before."
Fabian clapped me on the shoulder. "I think I shall exit this lover’s quarrel. Good luck to you, my friend."
"We’re not lovers!" I said it a little too loudly and several people nearby turned their gazes to me. Ladies tittered behind their hands while men nodded knowingly. "Mind your business," I snapped.
Despite my own admonishment to Penelope about touching each other, I clasped her wrist and pulled her toward a more private space. She clamped my arms, nails digging into my flesh, openly crying now. My heart ached. Even though Penelope and I had never crossed the line, we had plenty of ambiguous interactions. Enough to cause misunderstandings. In society and in my marriage.
Before, I had always found her company to be more pleasant than Sophia’s. Penelope didn’t fill my ears with complaints or try to control my actions or pester me with endless questions. Penelope always made me feel like the only person in the room.
I was the most important person in her life.
The realization that Sophia had treated me the same way hit me like being struck head-on by a carriage. Had my wife not put me first in everything? Yes, she complained about Penelope, but she took care of the manor and my grandfather. The estate was run well under her care.
I rubbed my chest as guilt poured through me like cold water. What could I do? "Penelope ... would you like me to find you a husband?"
"Find me a husband," she said flatly. "Will you not soon search for a new wife? Sophia wants to divorce you. In fact, she seems quite set on it."
"She’s angry with me. When she calms down, she’ll forgive me and take back her words. She’s no doubt been thinking about how to apologize this whole time." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"Duke Stonehart is showing interest in her," said Penelope. "Do you think you are the better catch? He has title, wealth, and the emperor’s ear. Why would she pick you?"
I didn’t like Penelope’s assessment. "She already picked me. We’re married. She’s liked me since she was a child. Her and her parents visited Willowmarch all the time. She was barely five years old when she told my grandfather she wanted to marry me."
It was true. One spring day while we were hosting several families for quail hunting, she had burst into the house and announced that she wanted to marry the boy in the garden.
I was the only boy who lived Willowmarch, though I don’t remember playing in the garden with Sophia. Even as boy of seven, I wanted to avoid her.
"Jace," said Penelope. "I’m sorry. I was terrible just now. You must think I’m a monster."
I couldn’t stop myself. I cupped her face and looked deeply into her eyes. "You are not a monster."
She smiled.
