The Duke's Forbidden Lover (Forbidden #1)

Chapter 10.

Her head and body were stiff as she turned to see the Duke angrily striding towards her figure.

There were people who had stopped to see what the Duke was doing near a shady area.

But they also looked scared out of their minds. She had noticed how frightened even the calm Byron looked every time the Duke was around and this time was no exception.

Some women with big dresses and a few men crowded around each other, pointing and whispering loudly.

She could make out what some people were saying in the silence that had occurred:

"Isn't that the Duke of Birmingham?!"

Duke of...what? Nalini didn't know what meant or what that signified.

"Oh my," another voice squealed, "he is the terrifying man that murdered his own sister!"

"Do not get any closer, dear, we shan't have any clue as to what he would do were we to approach him. I have heard he slaughtered his poor sister's husband, too."

"O' my word!"

Nalini's eyes widened at the whispers. They seemed so far stretched but the rumours wouldn't be going around if there wasn't a small hint of the truth.

She felt bad for thinking like that, but the Duke seemed like a man that was capable of anything.

Especially murder.

The whispers stopped as soon as the Duke turned, his large stature and his stony face enough to send them scattering away. The Duke didn't even seem to care that he was being loudly gossiped about though, and turned back around, his eyes revealing nothing as they were fixed solely on her.

It was as if he was used to it - like it was a daily occurrence whenever he was out.

She gulped, wanting to know more about why they were speaking about him like that, but not wanting to risk being yelled at. All she knew was that she was doomed. She had a feeling that he wasn't going to believe anything she would have to say about why she was where she was.

Nalini's eyes glanced over his shoulder to see Byron with a hint of guilt on his face. It made her feel bad for making him go against the Duke for her selfish needs. Beside him, there was another carriage - possibly the one that the Duke arrived in and Nalini gulped as he walked right up to her. He stared at her, cold eyes piercing into anxious ones.

"I-I-" Nalini tried to explain herself; she knew she needed to come up with something, but she couldn't. The Duke clenched his jaw and brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Remove yourself from the well and we shall have a very good talk," he said through ground teeth, his anger resembling that of a live animal's. She knew that the 'talk' involved her being scolded. The urge to cry in defence was strong - but she pushed it down.

Biting her lip, she turned herself around carefully and swung her legs over the other side, jumping a little to get back on solid ground. Her eyes were fixated on her feet, avoiding the Duke's stone-hard gaze. He was furious; the dark aura he was giving off displayed it openly.

When the silence became too much to bear, she lifted her head and opened her mouth.

She spoke tentatively, "Your Grace, I-" He turned, dismissing her coldly as he strode back to the carriage he came in. Nalini would have been shocked at his rude behaviour but she knew she deserved it.