Page 36 of An Orphan for the Broken Duke

“You did well today,” Violet said. “You ought to be proud.”

“Thanks to you, I did,” Rhys said seriously. “Without you…” He shook his head and then he was sure to look at her. “I owe you, Violet. Truly, this is all because of you.”

He walked right beside her, and he looked at her in a way that had Violet’s cheeks flushing. It was a look of gratitude that he offered her. It was a look of respect. But there was something else there too… the way he smiled… how it found his eyes… and how they were happy for the first time since she had met him. What was more, there was a sense that he knew it was thanks to her.

He held her in that look, and Violet felt it wash over her. She liked how it made her feel, and not just because she wanted the best for Lucy. As she looked down at her and smiled, as they walked together, Violet felt something pass between her and Rhys that she could not have expected. It was⁠—

“Oh!” Her foot caught a piece of the pathway, and she fell forward.

“Violet!” Rhys swept towards her, catching her just before she fell.

One arm wrapped around her back, the other on her waist. She was suspended in mid-air, held in place by his powerful arms, and when he caught her, Rhys looked down at her with eyes that were mere inches from her face…

“I… that was…” she stammered, hardly able to speak, a little too aware of his arms around her.

“I seem to have a knack for saving people today,” he said, his voice a soft purr as if he wanted only her to hear it.

“Y—yes,” she stammered awkwardly. She tried to look away from the deepness of his eyes, but she was trapped by them. And his hands, still holding her, felt a little too safe. “You do.”

He held her for another moment. He looked at her as if to make certain that she was fine. He seemed to want her to know that he was there for her, to protect her, to keep her safe, and that so long as he was, nothing could go wrong…

And then he quickly lifted her back up and planted her on her feet.

“That was close,” he said with a chuckle. “Best watch where you are going.”

“I…” Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was heavy. She looked away, embarrassed and unsure of her own thoughts. “Yes, I should.”

She did not know what else to say, so she said nothing. Down the pathway, Rose and Lucy still walked, so she hurried to catch them. And as she did, she felt Rhys watching her. He was worried, and he wanted to make sure that she was safe.

For so long, it had always been Violet who looked after others, so to have someone else that might finally do the same for her…

It is not nearly as bad a feeling as I thought. Not even a little bit…

Thirteen

Rhys spent the following two days avoiding Violet.

It was not something that he wanted to do, because Violet was constantly with Lucy, and he wanted nothing more than to spend more time with the little girl who was now his daughter. And after their moment by the pond, where she had hugged him, he felt that they had finally crossed the barrier which had once separated them.

She is starting to trust me… possibly, she is starting to love me.

Alas, to spend more time with Lucy was to spend more time with Violet, and doing such a thing was not a price that Rhys was willing to pay.

It was what had happened between them in the garden which started it. When she had tripped, and he had caught her… had held her… had looked into her eyes as his arms wrapped around her body…

They had started to become more than what he’d expected… so much more.

Two days later and he still felt her body in his arms. Two days later and he still felt that same tightness in his chest as he pictured the look in her eyes when he had caught her. It was more than just gratitude. It was more than relief at having not fallen. It felt like… it could only be… it was the very last thing that Rhys wanted.

This was always meant to be a marriage of convenience, and that is how it must stay.

Rhys could no longer deny that he felt a deep attraction to his wife. But that was not exactly a new revelation. Since the first time he met her, there had been something about Violet that had captured his interest, making her impossible to ignore, and even harder to forget.

A small part of it was her cantankerous, argumentative nature. How real she was. How she cared not for propriety or what was expected of a lady of her station. But that was no longer the case. Lately, she had calmed down towards him, willing to show a gentler and softer side to herself. She wanted to help him.

The larger part of his attraction was obviously physical. And because it was, Rhys knew that the only way he could avoid thinking about her like that was to avoid her altogether. Not what he wanted to do, but what he had to do. At least for a time.

It had been a hard two days.