My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 90: Her Protector

Chapter 90: Her Protector

Her heart so affected was the last thing Leonor expected as she rode back to the estate.

The moment she told that woman off about respecting the hero of Castille, her heart was set ablaze and didn’t calm down even after she sat in the carriage. She had to resist the urge to put a hand over her chest as if she could manually force her heart to slow.

Unwilling to meet the eyes of Beth who occasionally cast her a concerned glance, Leonor’s attention remained out the window. She opened the window to get fresh air on her face or she thought she might be sick.

There was a rush confronting someone in such a way especially when so many people suddenly gave her attention after she had gone out of her way to conceal who she was.

However, as she thought of Desmond, she couldn’t sit back knowing how much he didn’t deserve to be spoken about like that.

She wondered if perhaps she felt bad after skipping dinner and their walk. Someone else had gotten the short end of the stick because she was already on edge.

Or perhaps she reacted in such a way because she cared for the duke far more than she expected to. He was her friend but the lines were blurred because he was her husband as well.

Leonor was getting so used to his kindness. She felt invincible as long as she had his steadfast support.

Once they arrived and the guard who followed them around that day helped her out of the carriage, Leonor immediately went through the front entrance without another word to anyone else.

When she made it to the stairs leading to the heart of the estate, she stopped a maid.

"Where is his grace?" she asked.

"He has been out since earlier this afternoon," the maid responded.

"Thank you," Leonor said quietly.

However, she didn’t make it much farther than the stairs that would take her to the upper levels.

Unlike how aloof she normally was, she sat down on one of the steps and rested her elbows against her knees as she stared at the front door. Something told her she needed to see Desmond and at least apologize for missing dinner the night before.

She wanted him to know how much she cared but she felt embarrassed by the realization. Of course, she should care considering how much he cared. It felt asinine to only just realize how important he was to her when hearing someone drag his name through the mud.

Before Beth could attend to something else, she asked if Leonor needed anything. The duchess said no and the maid moved along.

It was only another half hour before the duke returned but it felt like such a long time.

When Leonor met his eye as he first walked into the estate, he seemed taken aback to see her there. He gingerly took each step up towards her, worried that something was the matter considering she was on the stairs rather than somewhere more comfortable.

"Leonor?" he questioned. "What are you doing here?"

He couldn’t tell her how giddy he was to hear what she said about him. From the moment he heard her defend him so passionately against another person, he wanted to hug her and confess everything to her.

Yet seeing her in the flesh made him nervous. She looked terrified and he knew he couldn’t.

As he asked her why she was sitting there, Leonor’s sapphire eyes widened and she stood up, brushing off her skirts as she did.

"I-I..." she stammered then gently cleared her throat.

"I just wanted to see you" she wanted to say but couldn’t. He would be confused if she suddenly behaved that way. Only a few weeks before she said she wanted to get to know him. She never revealed any more about her feelings towards him.

"I wanted to apologize for skipping dinner last night without speaking to you," she finally gathered herself enough to apologize. "Going out yesterday was more tiring than I expected."

He wanted to hug her so badly.

As he peered at her with his eye, he observed that she was as bad of a liar as she had always been, but he wasn’t supposed to know that about her.

She had only told him a half-truth and he knew he should be upset that his wife was lying to him, but after overhearing what she said about him, he couldn’t help but wonder if she cared about him more than he originally thought.

She cared for the Desmond standing before her and not the Valerio he was in the past. The one so badly scarred in heart, mind, and body that he couldn’t imagine ever getting this far with her even if all they had between them were words.

"Take care of yourself," he said vaguely. "Your health is the most important thing."

"I will," she responded, suddenly getting shy.

Except she couldn’t look past something.

For some strange reason, he looked like he was going out to conceal himself in the darkness of night. In the middle of summer, wearing black clothing sounded unbelievably hot.

"Why are you wearing such dark clothing?" she asked suddenly. "It’s a bit too hot, isn’t it?"

For the first time, she witnessed him become embarrassed as he angled himself away from her and continued up the stairs, passing the stair she had sat on before.

"I realized that while I was out," he explained. "I returned intending to get into something lighter."

"Ah, sure," she responded. "Then I will see you at dinner?"

"Yes, at dinner," he agreed.

Leonor turned to watch him make it to the top stair and round the corner. She smirked after him as he left.

It felt like she had caught him doing something he wasn’t supposed to, though she wasn’t entirely sure what.

Despite how many peaks and valleys it felt like she had been through that day, she felt she had a better understanding of herself, him, and the both of them together.

Even if there wasn’t love between them, he was hers and she was his. In return for the safe life he had provided for her, she would defend him at every turn even if he didn’t ask her to.

Leonor finally went up the stairs and in the opposite direction from where the duke went.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

There wasn’t love, but it would be nice, she thought.