The Mad, Bad Duke (Nvengaria #2)(83)

As Meagan waited for them, she thought about the letter she’d written that morning, another of her steps toward making Alexander see reason. Penelope this spring had sent her a plain-looking notebook of drawing paper, explaining that it was magic. Whatever Meagan wrote on the paper would reach Penelope in far away Nvengaria in a matter of minutes. Penelope had a sheaf of such paper in her study and she could return the message. Prince Damien’s advisor, a small man called Sasha, had been working for months to perfect the spell.

Meagan had not used the paper until today, not certain she believed in Sasha’s magic, but this morning, she’d decided it could not hurt to try. She penned the letter swiftly and left it where the efficient Mr. Edwards or Mrs. Caldwell would not find it and try to post it.

In the letter, Meagan had explained to Penelope that she wanted to be a good Nvengarian wife and asked that Penelope give her some guidance. Nvengarian wives, Penelope had once told her, were exceptionally skilled at pleasuring their husbands in bed. Entire volumes had been written on the different ways a woman could make certain her husband had everything he wanted in the bedchamber.

Penelope had even written her an amusing letter about this soon after her marriage to Damien—then the tone of the letter changed as she hinted that many of the techniques worked very, very well.

Meagan gazed across the green at Alexander, feeling an odd catch in her heart as she watched him steady Alex in the saddle. Alexander loved his son, that was evident, loved him with a fierceness that made the world’s fear of Alexander seem foolish. Alexander was a passionate and deeply caring man, which plainly showed as he leaned protectively over Alex.

When father and son returned to the phaeton, Meagan smiled at Alexander, a true smile, not a challenging one. Alexander handed Alex back into the phaeton with only a sharp look for Meagan, then he bowed to them both and rode off, Alex waving after him. Meagan watched Alexander’s graceful body as he cantered away, disappearing in the mist on the other side of the park.

Meagan arrived home to find that the letter she’d written on the special paper had vanished, and an answer from Penelope rested in its place.





Chapter 21





“Nikolai!” Alexander shouted into his dressing room.

“Your Grace?”

Alexander stood in the dressing room’s doorway, staring into his bedchamber. It was three in the morning, several days after his last encounter with Meagan—Nikolai had just helped him undress and tied him into a dressing gown. Alexander had entered his bedroom, already dreading his sleep but knowing he needed it.

Dreams of Meagan made his nights hell. In the dreams he’d begin by loving her slowly, making her smile a sultry smile that meant she loved his touch.

Then the dreams turned ugly. Alexander lost control time and again, ravishing her until she screamed for him to stop. But Alexander wouldn’t stop. He was hurting her, and the wildness in him couldn’t be tamed.

Thus, Alexander slept fitfully and stayed as far from Meagan as he could during the days, making certain he took his meals out. He knew that disappearing from the house angered her, but far better that Meagan was annoyed with him than physically hurt.

Nikolai emerged from the dressing room looking bewildered, but also a touch guilty.

“What is this?” Alexander made an angry gesture at his bed.

The thick covers had been folded back as usual but rose petals were now strewn all over the linens. A half-blown red rose stood in a vase next to the bed, and a pristine handkerchief lay spread on one of the pillows.

“Um,” Nikolai ventured. “Someone has decorated? Sir.”

Alexander barely held on to his temper. “This is seduction Number Twenty-Eight in Adolpho of Nvengaria’s Book of Seductions.”

Nikolai considered the bed again and nodded. “Yes, Your Grace, I believe it is.”

The book had been required reading at the temple of Eros. It could have been subtitled Three Hundred and Twenty Ways to Please Your Nvengarian Mate in Bed.

“Who gave my wife Adolpho’s Book of Seductions?” Alexander demanded, stopping short of a roar.

“I really don’t know, Your Grace.” Nikolai looked relieved that he did not know.

“Why was she even allowed into my bedchamber to prepare it? I gave strict instructions that Her Grace was not to enter here.”

The guilt in Nikolai’s eyes flared, and he ducked his head. “I let her in. I beg your forgiveness, sir.”

Alexander absently loosened his dressing gown, his eyes on the waiting bed. “Explain to me why you did so.”

Nikolai cleared his throat. “Because Her Grace … looked at me, sir.”

Alexander swung around to pin him with a steely gaze. “I beg your pardon? She looked at you?”

Nikolai flushed. “The Grand Duchess, she has a way of looking, sir. You find yourself backing down, and you do not know why. It seems absolutely wrong to disobey her. Sir.”

Alexander relented. “Yes, I know. I’ve seen the look.” Sweet stubbornness, red hair and freckles. Meagan was difficult to resist.

“Shall I clear it away, Your Grace?” Nikolai asked hesitantly.

Alexander heard blatant reluctance in his tone. Nikolai was a romantic, as most Nvengarians were, and no doubt longed to see his master and mistress on the best of terms. Nvengarian servants were always pleased to come across their employers kissing madly in the halls.