My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 64: Safe by His Side

Chapter 64: Safe by His Side

Desmond thought he had been subtle. He waited for her to settle in each night before setting up his camp in front of her carriage. When the sun rose the next day, he would see the curtains in the carriage still drawn. He thought she hadn’t seen him.

The only explanation was that she must have woken up in the middle of the night to see him.

His rough voice was quiet as he tried to conjure up a feasible answer.

"After years in Letum, I know what sort of horrors lurk in even the most unsuspecting forests," he explained with a strained voice. "What sort of husband would I be to not see to my wife’s safety personally?"

He spoke so insistently, his throat hurt.

Leonor was tired before but his answer woke her up. She slowly nodded at his answer, accepting it at face value.

However, he seemed to be defensive and she assumed it had to do with how often he must have to defend his character since the entire kingdom had somehow villainized him. She felt sympathy for him, not realizing he was defensive because he felt he was almost caught since he was unable to hide his true intentions with her.

"Thank you for considering my safety," she said. "I’m unfamiliar with someone considering my safety like this."

Desmond nodded but he realized he wasn’t supposed to know that she had a lack of protection in Burien Manor.

"As the Count’s daughter?" he asked, trying to save face.

"Ah..." she uttered, realizing she had probably said too much. "Burien is safe. We have plenty of guards around so I don’t need a personal one."

The late hour was causing her to become less guarded. She was starting to feel like she was talking to a familiar friend rather than someone she had only just met. She had to correct herself.

Even if her father thought he was a monster, he would still worship the ground duke Desmond walked on considering he was one of the King’s favored men. She was unsure of how connected he was to her father. The Count would likely pretend to be a doting father and check on her periodically.

Her worst nightmare was the two of them forming some sort of alliance where he felt he could openly talk about her to the Count. If her father found out she said she was mistreated, she wasn’t sure what he was capable of. Perhaps the Count would convince the Duke to believe his lies.

It was hard for Desmond to pretend that he didn’t know her secrets. Even though he didn’t know the extent of her discipline when they were caught in the garden, he knew she was mistreated even before that point.

His plan was to slowly build him up to someone she could trust even if she couldn’t love him. It would have to happen slowly. It was clear she was more guarded than when he first met her.

He couldn’t blame her caution considering his appearance and reputation.

"When we arrive at my estate, please prepare yourself to be guarded more often," he responded vaguely.

"I will," she said and lowered herself back onto her pillow. "For now I’ll rest."

Desmond nodded.

"Goodnight," he uttered.

The conversation had exhausted him. The defensive stance he had to take made him feel unnerved.

Since they had gotten married, there had already been so many unavoidable situations where they were forced to be around one another. He was relieved to know she had her own space in his estate and he might be able to breathe a bit easier. She likely would too.

The next day they would arrive late in the evening, but they would have staff to help them to their rooms and she would be busied enough that she didn’t have to focus on him any longer.

As long as she was away from Burien, he considered her safe. There wasn’t a person in Montclair he didn’t trust.

For quite a while, Desmond stared at the ceiling as he willed himself to calm down from their short conversation. She wasn’t being accusatory yet he still got defensive.

He gained the courage to look at her.

When he started, he couldn’t stop.

Her chest rose and fell while she slept. Her perfectly shaped mouth was open slightly and he couldn’t take his eye away.

In what felt like a past life, she welcomed his affection with open arms. The kisses they shared were the sweetest in the world. To have to pretend he didn’t know what she felt or tasted like was his own personal hell.

He fell asleep with those thoughts but, because he was distracted from his usual train of thinking, there were no nightmares. He didn’t dream of fire or the battlefield.

Duke Desmond slept hard enough that he woke up at an appropriate time and not unusually early like he often did. When he stood up, he was relieved to see Leonor still sleeping in the same position as he last saw her.

As long as she rested well, he didn’t care about anything else.

With Leonor still sleeping, Desmond quietly got into fresh clothing. Considering they would get to his estate by evening, he didn’t feel riding pants were necessary anymore. He would look more distinguished in front of the staff who lived in his estate or they would accuse him of not taking care of himself as they did before.

It was Gideon’s pestering that resulted in the staff fussing over him unnecessarily.

The outer coat he wore was black with gold buttons that closed gold strips across his chest. If the wind picked up and caught the edge of the long outer coat, one would see that the inside was made of a deep gold material. His pants matched perfectly and black boots were pulled onto his feet.

There were a few coin shaped pendants on the right side of his chest. His time in the military was underrepresented on his clothing but there wasn’t a person in Montclair who didn’t know who he was.

He rewrapped his face and found a thin cloak that would hide him.

Before Leonor could wake up, the Duke escaped the room and placed one of his guards in front of the door so Leonor wouldn’t be unguarded while he retrieved breakfast for her.

She seemed happy to eat the night before and finished everything on her plate. He decided food would be how he appealed to her.

Since they never had a normal relationship before and weren’t able to get used to each other in a more domestic sense, he would use his new opportunity to observe her from afar in that setting.

By the time Leonor stirred, she was met with breakfast already on the table and an empty room.

It was time to travel to the place that would be her home for the foreseeable future.