Chapter 22
The instant she recognized the tall man blocking out the moon, Irene let out a scream.
“Mm…!”
Or rather, she tried to. Before she could, a large hand clamped mercilessly over her mouth. The man muffling her cry spoke slowly, enunciating each word as though biting it off.
“Don’t make a scene.”
When Irene gave a reluctant nod, he removed his hand.
Her round eyes narrowed into a glare as she shot Dominic a look.
“What is this all of a sudden…?”
“We need to talk.”
“About what? What could we possibly have to discuss in private?”
“Come with me while I’m still asking nicely.”
“No, thank you. Why would I go anywhere with Your Grace at this hour—”
“Come quietly. Before I expose your shameful hobby.”
Dominic’s voice dropped into a warning growl. Irene stared at him in disbelief.
“My shameful hobby? I don’t have one.”
Shameful or otherwise, Irene barely had any hobbies at all. She could only look at him in confusion. Yet, for some reason, he took her response another way. With a scowl, he swept a contemptuous gaze over her.
“You truly are… something else.”
It was unmistakably sarcastic. Though she had no idea what he was talking about.
Just then, Dominic seized her arm and yanked her closer. Thrown off balance, Irene instinctively reached out with her free hand to brace herself against his shoulder.
“What exactly are you making Chloe read?”
“…What do you mean?”
“<Miss Lamour’s Scandalous Secret>.”
The instant he enunciated the embarrassingly provocative title with perfect clarity, Irene’s head snapped up.
“How does Your Grace even know about that…?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
His blue eyes burned with fury as he stared at the woman who didn’t even attempt to deny it.
“What exactly are you doing to my sister? How can someone calling herself an educator put something like that in front of a child?”
“What?”
Irene was utterly dumbfounded.
The Duke of Whitmore had gotten the situation completely backward. It was Chloe who had been introducing those dime novels to her.
“Well, actually…”
Forcing a smile, Irene was just about to explain the misunderstanding when a thought suddenly struck her.
Chloe’s library was piled high with stacks upon stacks of dime novels. The duke clearly knew his sister spent most of her time reading.
But he didn’t know what she was reading?
All he’d have to do was walk into the library and glance at the titles scattered across the table. How could he not know?
Unless… Was Chloe hiding it from him? It didn’t seem like something she’d do, but who could say? People often tried hardest to conceal the parts of themselves they found embarrassing from their own families, especially in conservative noble households.
If Chloe had been deliberately keeping her true reading tastes hidden from her brother, Irene couldn’t very well expose her on the spot. There would still be time to find out the truth tomorrow and decide what to do.
“Your Grace, it’s rather late. Wouldn’t it be better if we discussed this tomorrow? I’ll explain everything properly then…”
“Don’t try any tricks. You’re not getting out of this.”
“I’m not trying to get out of anything… Just let go of my arm first.”
She tried to pull herself free, but the obnoxious man only tightened his grip.
Feeling unfairly accused, Irene let out a short sigh and glanced around. Thankfully, no one was nearby. Still, they were standing right outside the annex. There was no telling who might come by and witness the scene.
“Then let’s at least go somewhere else. Not here.”
“I told you to come with me from the start.”
His voice was as prickly as ever. Rather than argue, Irene merely puffed out her cheeks in silent annoyance.
He’s seriously the worst.
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