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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 26

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Lucien rose beside her. "We have enough."The printer produced his records, Jasper produced the map, and Mrs. Crest produced the brass button. Then the messenger who had been waiting near the door stepped forward and identified Silas's secretary as the man who had ordered the false shipment.Silas reached for the papers; Mabel moved first and took them away. Mabel held the papers against her chest. "Do not touch evidence."Silas pointed at her. "You are a vulgar little nobody!"Lucien's expression changed. Mabel put one hand against his chest. "No."Lucien looked down at her hand. Mabel kept her voice calm. "Let him finish. People reveal themselves when they believe they are winning."Silas laughed. "He will tire of you. Men always do."Mabel felt the room waiting for Lucien's reaction. He did not shout: he took her hand from his chest and held it.Lucien kept his voice steady. "I have tired of many things: bad weather, bad accounts, bad pudding. I have never tired of Mabel."The silence that followed was enormous. Mabel forgot the evidence, she forgot Silas, she forgot that three ladies were staring at her as if she had personally stolen the Duke from the entire female population of England.Lucien looked at her. "Was that sufficiently clear?"Mabel nodded slowly. "It was alarmingly clear."Lucien smiled slightly. "Good."Silas tried to leave. Mrs. Crest blocked the door with a carving knife. Mrs. Crest kept her voice flat. "The magistrate is on his way."Silas pointed at the door. "You cannot hold me here!"Mrs. Crest did not move. "I can hold the door."The dinner ended with Silas under arrest and three investors demanding new safeguards. Reverend Thorne asked for the pudding recipe. The trustees withdrew to deliberate.Mabel escaped to the kitchen. Lucien found her there, standing beside a cooling tray of tarts.Mabel kept her eyes on the tarts. "You said you had never tired of me."Lucien nodded. "I have not."Mabel looked at him. "You said it in front of everyone."Lucien kept his gaze steady. "They needed to hear it."Mabel raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"Lucien stopped. The kitchen fire crackled. Somewhere behind them, Mrs. Crest shouted at a footman for polishing a spoon incorrectly.Lucien stepped closer. "Yes."Mabel tried to make a joke; none arrived. Mabel folded her arms. "You hired me."Lucien nodded. "I know."Mabel pointed at him. "You wrote a rule."Lucien nodded again. "I know."Mabel narrowed her eyes. "You broke it."Lucien kept his gaze steady. "I know."
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Every Lady Wanted the Duke — But He Chose the Chubby Girl Who Didn’t Even Notice Him

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