Duke by Day, Rogue by Night (39 page)
He was too late. He'd failed to win his wife when he had the chance. She hated him. Believed him incapable of telling the truth.
Constance looked up at him then, and froze. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “He jumped in front of me. He saved my life,” she cried.
Stunned, Percy felt a mix of disgust for himself and compassion for his old friend. Though Guffald had betrayed him, he'd put his life on the line to protect his wife and child. He owed the man everything. Everything!
“What will become of him?” she asked, holding her hand out to him. Percy moved forward to touch her hand, noting the blood stained creases in her knuckles. “Henry's blood, not mine,” she assured.
He glanced quizzically into her green eyes. “Your quick thinking has surely saved his life, my gel,” he said, with a nod to the tourniquet.
Constance gazed up at him with red-rimmed eyes. His heart sank. He knew she would never forgive his lies. How could he blame her? It was too much to ask.
“What am I to do, Your Grace?” she asked. “I'm in love.”
His heart plummeted into his abdomen. “Listen to your heart,” he said.
“I'm in love with
two
men.”
Two? Thinking she spoke of Guffald, his gaze fell to the man at their feet. He hated Henry all the more. “Whatever shall you do?” he inquired, certain he would rather see her happy than forced to live a life she despised.
“Come closer, Your Grace,” she said.
He took a knee. She raised her hand to gently rub the stubble on his face. With one touch she had the power to disarm him. He closed his eyes, putting her touch to memory. He inhaled her scent â roses and a hint of despair. The moment cut him as deeply as Frink's intended blade.
“I shall love them both,” she admitted.
“Both?” Had the woman gone daft? Perhaps the situation in the cabin had sent her over the edge. Did she propose to entertain Guffald and him, together? By all that was holy, what was she suggesting? She was a married woman. He'd be damned if he was going to share her â with anyone. He'd spent too much time sharing her with a pirate as it was.
The look on his face must have put sense into her. “Silly man!” she said. “What shall I call you? Thomas or Percy?”
Understanding dawned. What she proposed was scandalous â enticing. “Percy,” he said, “but only in public.”
“And what shall I call you in private?”
“Thomas.” He winked. “But only when we make love.”
“Are you suggesting that I love a duke by day and a rogue by night?” She giggled.
“I only ask that you love two men who share one heart.”
Her eyes searched his. “And what is in your heart?” she asked.
He reached for her and drew her close. “I love you, Constance. Both of us are most definitively yours, my gel.”
She put his hand over her slightly swelling stomach. “His as well?”
“His too.”
Consumed with an urge to kiss his beautiful wife, Percy's lips sought Constance's most urgently. It no longer mattered where they had been, where they were or what they'd been through. He no longer needed vengeance as a means to live. His heart now belonged to his wife, his child. And offering Constance a rogue by night for the rest of his life was bound to be his greatest pleasure.
Katherine Bone has been passionate about all things historical since she was an Army brat traveling all over the world. Initially, she dreamed of being an artist, but when she met and fell in love with Prince Charming, her own dashing Lieutenant vowing duty, honor, and country, she found herself saying “I do.” Not long afterward, she was whisked away to Army bases, castles, battlegrounds and cathedrals, where tales of swashbuckling characters and unforgettable adventure filled the lonely gaps when the Army called Charming away. No longer nomadic, Katherine set down roots in the south where she and Charming have raised four children and live with their fluffy Maine Coon.
Katherine Bone can be found at her website:
www.katherinebone.com
or on Twitter at:
@katherinelbone
.
In the mood for more Crimson Romance?
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Once a Duchess
by Elizabeth Boyce
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