My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 211: Honeymoon Phase

Chapter 211: Honeymoon Phase

The honeymoon phase that Leonor and Desmond were never able to experience seemed to hit them all at once as they entered this new phase of their union.

If they thought that they couldn’t get enough of one another before, they realized they hadn’t quite known the full extent of such possessive possibilities before.

Even at dinner the very evening after participating in such a thing with one another, Leonor constantly felt a foot against hers under the table or Desmond’s gaze burning into her as she did something as benign as eating.

She hoped that the hosts didn’t notice, but the two of them seemed to be occupied in their own love story considering they were both far more calm than the last time Leonor and Desmond saw them the previous evening and even that morning.

Desmond wondered if his words to take care of his wife had resonated with the marquess. Perhaps the words the marchioness said to Leonor were enough to vent out her frustrations and she gave her husband an easier time after he took care of her.

Although, after knowing of the marquess’ infidelity, Desmond would never look at him the same way again.

He could never imagine wanting to climb into bed with another woman. Even if the issue of an heir was on the line, there were so many other ways to go about it, infidelity would have never crossed his mind.

These thoughts caused Desmond to cling to Leonor by sliding his foot underneath the table they ate at with the other couple. He needed to touch her, feeling suddenly guilty for all the sins of men and realizing how good of a reason she had for never giving herself to him before then.

Being a woman in the noble world was so impossibly terrifying.

When he was a child, he thought noble children had it easy. As he grew up, he realized it came with its own slew of complications that he never had to think about until he himself became the duke.

For once, Leonor was appreciative of her husband offering her silent support as she tried to sit still at a table with other nobles while they enjoyed a meal together. She was still feeling a bit shaky from using parts of her body she wasn’t used to using.

There was also a piece of her finding it impossible to focus. She didn’t realize just how different she might feel after giving herself to Desmond.

She battled with lustful feelings as a teenager when she first kissed him and now that they truly had done it, she was petrified at how much more she was beginning to want as well.

The way she was longing for the trip to be over with so she could spend winter with her husband with little responsibility outside of the letters she would likely have to start sending to further establish herself in social circles and start ventures of her own as Duchess de Montclair. It felt so embarrassing to be so uncontrollably eager.

As she wiped her lips politely with the cloth napkin provided, she gave Desmond a small smile but she couldn’t look at him for very long.

"Is the food to your liking, your grace?" Marquess Herbert asked Leonor directly.

"Yes, my lord," she responded quickly. "The further south we get, the more I’m reminded of Burien’s cuisine. It’s closer to that of the capital besides all of the seafood. However, I would never complain of the food we have in the far west. I have been exposed to such wonderful pickled, dried, and canned foods. My palate is constantly expanding."

"How wonderful, your grace," the marquess responded, clearly admiring the young duchess. "It’s vital to be open to trying new things, isn’t that right, my lady?"

However, his gaze had turned to his wife and his sweet smile to Leonor became slightly more forced when addressing his wife.

Leonor had noticed that Letizia had quite a particular palate, but it didn’t seem worth bringing up someone’s tastes.

Desmond realized in that moment, perhaps he was wishing the marquess and his wife had healed. He was looking at situations with the rose colored glasses he looked at Leonor with.

He wanted everyone on earth to experience the love he had. It could heal even the most wicked, in his opinion.

Leonor felt somewhat responsible for defending the other woman and she gently placed down her fork, deciding to be done eating.

"It isn’t such a bad thing to be set in one’s ways," Leonor admitted. "We’re all products of the environments we came from."

With diplomatic words from the duchess, the topic was settled and they moved on to more serious conversations regarding the rest of their trip.

It seemed fitting that a topic about food that seemingly reminded the marquess about his irritation with his wife was one of the last conversations they had before having to return to their guest room so they could leave early the following morning.

Leonor hoped to remain connected with Letizia if not simply to make sure the woman was keeping her head above water and not suffocating from the seemingly harsh pressure of being married to someone who had broken her heart in such a way.

Perhaps the money and being a gateway to the central part of Castille was enough for her to stick around forever.

Divorce wasn’t unallowed, it was simply frowned upon, but evidence of Herbert’s infidelity would be very apparent if a mage of the king performed a genetic test through magic. He would owe Letizia a lot of money for the damage to her reputation and having to survive after such a thing.

Leonor imagined there was some sort of deal between the couple that kept Letizia at Herbert’s side yet he somehow still got out of his wrongdoings completely unscathed.

Noble marriages were far beyond Leonor’s understanding and she had no desire to know more.

As she returned Desmond’s foot pressing against hers with a gentle push of her own foot, she decided she would only focus on her relationship and the new horizon they had breached.

Despite all of the bumps at the beginning of their relationship, Leonor felt it was mostly ironed out and she was excited to stand at Desmond’s side with his support as she explored more aspects of her life.

Oftentimes, the answer to Quinn and King Stephano requesting her as the mage over Montclair was a resounding yes that sat at the tip of her tongue. Motherhood was far in her future if ever and her path was wide open to do as she pleased for a while.