My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 116: Lonely

Chapter 116: Lonely

The trouble with drinking and sitting meant someone couldn’t tell the true extent of how much they had to drink until they got up once again.

Leonor was experiencing that as she continued to drink and thought she didn’t feel it, so she would continue to have more.

Desmond, with more experience around drinking and a bit more control, started turning away the drinks that Louis offered. He felt he should take the reins of the situation if they were to make it out of there in one piece.

Even though it was getting dark and the lights were focused on the town square, he didn’t want Leonor to slip up in front of people she wanted to give a good impression to.

Despite his rushing thoughts, he knew he needed to be the one to have control of the situation.

All evening he hadn’t been able to focus as he thought of how she acted that suited her feelings, at least according to her. She leaned into him in the carriage and held onto his arm as if it were natural for her.

It begged the question of what she thought of him as Desmond. Was the affection because she believed it was the right thing to do or because she liked him? It went beyond the bounds of the friendship they had.

At one point, he promised never to touch her, yet she never promised not to touch him. With his lack of self-control, he realized he should probably have forced her to make that promise as well.

The moment he realized he still let her drink more than she should was when he felt the duchess lean against his arm and he glanced down at her in shock.

"Everything alright?" he asked under his breath.

Leonor let out a gentle sigh.

"I started feeling quite a bit tired," she admitted softly.

She put her free hand to her lips as she tried to stifle a yawn. The side of her head rested against Desmond’s shoulder as if it belonged there. She hardly realized that she was unconsciously relying on him.

A drunk heart reached out to the one it trusted the most.

Knowing that she would likely feel guilty towards Valerio if she remembered how she was behaving, Desmond was tempted to put distance between them but he couldn’t bring himself to do that.

Putting his arm around her was a daring move he had resisted for a year. Yet he threw caution to the win and held onto her. His gloved hand pressed against her arm as he held her close.

"Should we get you back home?" he asked quietly.

Since it was dark where they were, his hood fell open more than normal and he didn’t stop it. She was hardly paying attention to him anyway.

A frown spread across Leonor’s lips.

"I wanted to go down and intermingle with the others," she admitted sadly. "I saw the beautiful beads the merchants arrived with."

Desmond stared down at her. He was captivated by her words considering she had never said a word about her desire to buy jewelry before. She was speaking about things she normally kept inside.

"We have the rest of the week," Desmond said gently, leaning into her so only she could hear him speak. "I promise we’ll buy whatever you want. They will save the best for the duchess."

Leonor seemed relieved by Desmond’s words and sat up straighter, removing her head from his shoulder.

Instantly, the duke wished he hadn’t suggested leaving at all. Perhaps then she would have stayed there.

Pushing himself to continue being responsible, Desmond stood up and he offered his hand to Leonor.

"Are you alright to walk?" Desmond asked her.

Leonor placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her up.

Luckily the shoes she wore weren’t difficult to walk in considering the skirts which hid her feet anyway. There was no point in wearing extravagant shoes when they wouldn’t be seen.

The second Leonor tried to step forward, she stumbled until she was chest to chest with Desmond, and a blush spread across her cheeks as she stared up at him.

His large hands stabilized her. She noticed how warm they were even through the layers of clothing.

Her mind felt fuzzy but there were moments of recognition where she knew she was behaving badly. If she had slightly less control, she might reach up and touch his face considering what she saw of it seemed so concerned for her.

She placed her hands on his arms and pushed herself away.

"I’ll be more careful," she uttered.

She managed to use a few moments of clarity to walk beside her husband, hanging onto his arm so she could rely on his balance to get them to the carriage that waited for them.

When they were in the carriage, she sat down with a sigh and leaned heavily into the seat with her head against the wall next to her. Fortunately, the walls had been brought back up since the ride back to the estate would be colder in the darkness.

"You can lean on me if you would like to," Desmond mustered up the courage to say.

Leonor took him up on the offer. His shoulder was far more comfortable than the wall.

He would find that, once she felt his warmth, she didn’t know how to let go. Her lonely heart was more easily seen when she was intoxicated.

When they made it to the estate sometime later, Desmond threw caution to the wind and lifted his wife in his arms. It would be much faster if he didn’t have to guide her everywhere considering there were quite a few stone stairs that went up to the front entrance of his castle.

Desmond swiftly brought Leonor to her room. He wasn’t entirely sure if she was awake or asleep until he placed her on her bed and took off her shoes. She sat up when he started to move towards the door.

"Are you leaving?" she asked with half-open eyes.

Desmond turned and nodded.

"I should go to my chambers now," he said.

"Can I ask a favor?" she asked quietly. "You can say no if you don’t like it."

He stepped towards her bed again as if to tell her he was listening.

"Could you stay here until I fall asleep?" she asked, unable to look at him after such a request. "I don’t want to be alone."

His heart was already feeling unstable and only became worse when she asked such a thing. It was a request for Desmond and not Valerio.

"Of course," the duke said.

He came closer and was surprised when Leonor reached for his hand and pulled him onto the bed. He kicked his boots off before he could come closer to her.

When he was sitting against the headboard with his back against pillows, she settled down at his side and placed an arm around his midsection.

She sighed as if relieved that someone was beside her. Having gone without affection for so long weighed heavily on her. People weren’t meant to live their lives without affection.

Desmond silently begged the universe that he was the only one she wanted there and she wasn’t thinking about another person.

Even though there was silence for a while, he didn’t think she was asleep quite yet.

He had a burning question after her behavior that day and couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Leonor," he whispered. "Do you care about me?"

The silence was suffocating until she responded.