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Every Lady Wanted the Duke — But He Chose the Chubby Girl Who Didn’t Even Notice Him

Every Lady Wanted the Duke — But He Chose the Chubby Girl Who Didn’t Even Notice Him

Chapter 24

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Lucien continued carefully: "Not in my house, not in society, not beside me."She had expected a duke to praise her eyes; she had expected him to claim that he preferred women with substance. She had not expected him to understand the shape of the cage people built around her.Mabel kept her voice quiet. "You are dangerously observant."Lucien kept his gaze on her. "Only when it concerns you."The first rule broke completely; Mabel didn't notice this time. She reached across the pillow and touched his hand; Lucien did not move away.In the morning, she woke with her head on his shoulder and his hand curled around hers. The pillow lay under the bed.Mabel looked at their hands. "Your rule has failed."Lucien opened one eye. "Which one?"Mabel nodded at the bed. "The bed arrangement."Lucien closed his eye. "That was not a rule."Mabel raised an eyebrow. "It was an agreement."Lucien kept his voice dry. "Then we should renegotiate."Mabel studied him. "You are very calm for a man holding his temporary wife."Lucien opened his eye again. "I'm trying not to frighten you."Mabel smiled. "You look frightened yourself."Lucien nodded. "That is because you're sitting on my left arm."She sat up. "You might have said so."Lucien rubbed his arm. "I was enjoying the use of my right arm."She threw the pillow at him; he caught it.They returned to London with the bridge evidence, but Silas had moved first: he had arranged for the newspapers to publish the forged letters alongside a story claiming that Lucien's wife was a greedy impostor.By evening, Mabel's face was on every street corner. The illustrator had given her a nose large enough to command its own carriage.Mabel studied the drawing. "At least he has made me symmetrical."Lucien looked murderous.Mabel pointed at him. "Do not threaten the newspaper."Lucien kept his eyes on the page. "I am not threatening it."Mabel raised an eyebrow. "You are staring at it as if planning a funeral."Lucien nodded. "It is a respectable funeral."Mabel folded the paper. "We need to use the attention."Lucien looked at her. "How?"Mabel smiled slightly. "Give society something else to discuss."She proposed a public dinner at Caldermir House. Lucien objected that the house had already suffered enough dinners; Mabel insisted that the event would bring the trustees, the railway investors, the newspaper editors, and Silas into one room.
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Every Lady Wanted the Duke — But He Chose the Chubby Girl Who Didn’t Even Notice Him

29 Part