Chapter 37.

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Her neatly tied silver hair was disheveled, her usually white face had turned a reddish hue, her lips were messy, and her makeup was ruined. Moreover,there was a red mark on her neck. However, all this seemed nothing compared to the feeling of pleasure and heaviness of her thighs. Judith was breathing heavily and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

«Are you worried that people might come here?»

The Duchess’s hands were wet with saliva, but Derrick still bit the tip of her finger as if it were a cigar.

«Your heart is beating so hard.»

The distance to the pavilion where the ladies were sitting was very small. And anyone could find the spouses in just a few minutes. Judith looked pointedly at Derrick, stifling a groan.

«If you know, stop it,» she felt so strange saying such a thing, but still tried to control herself.

This strange feeling was amazing: when you refrain from something so desirable. After all, it’s enough just to give yourself up to passion. But, fortunately, Derrick no longer pressed the Duchess and retreated. However, everyone understood that this was not the end.

The demon carefully wiped his own lips with his sleeve, smiling and pretending that nothing had happened. But Judith did not calm down, which is why Derrick told the guard standing nearby to call the maid.

«We’ll stop for now,» he said, seeing the girl running towards them.

Finally, after kissing Judith again, Derrick headed for the mansion. Having quickly appeared at the tea party and turned it into a spacious battlefield, the demon was satisfied and also quickly left. Accepting the maid’s help, the Duchess watched him go.

The maid adjusted her clothes, hair and makeup so that Judith could finally come to the tea party again. The Duchess could not tie her hair back because of the mark on her neck, so, having prepared herself, she entered the gazebo with a proud step:

«I’m very sorry that I had to leave you.»

It was clear from the expressions on the ladies ‘ faces that they still did not believe in what had just happened in front of them. But still one of them decided to break the silence:

«The Duke cares so much about you, madame.»

«Yes, I was also surprised that your husband does such things…»

«I agree!»

One by one, the girls picked up the idea.

«According to rumors, Duke Derrick is a very ridiculous and rude person. But today it didn’t seem like the truth at all!»

Everyone around had doubts, because everyone in society knew that Derrick’s true love was Sylvia. But, nevertheless, after such a thing, none of the ladies would dare to mention the duke’s affair. Every time the subject of her husband came up, Judith’s breath stopped. But now she felt very calm and free.

Strangely enough, the Duchess received stability not from her late husband, but from a demon.

«Did you think that if the rumors were true, Sylvia would have been invited to the funeral?»

The girls all continued to discuss this topic, refuting any information about Derrick’s affair.

«No way,» Judith said. «I have never invited  the Madame to the funeral.»

All conversations abruptly died down. The girls looked at each other, not quite understanding what was happening. However, Judith did not say this to embarrass the guests. She really did not do this, because she personally approved the list of invited persons.

«But that day…»

The lady who had first spoken of Sylvia hesitated a little, not knowing what to say in her own defense.

«I also saw Sylvia. But not in the garden, but in front of the main gate.»

«I happened to see her there too!»

«You know, if you think about it, I saw her near the gate after the funeral.»

«Was she near the mansion on the day of the funeral?» asked Judith in surprise, not understanding why Sylvia had come. To find out about Derrick’s condition?

No matter how you look at it, this is the perfect candidate for the role of Hannibal. However, there was no point in him coming to the mansion on the day of the funeral. Or was it? What was happening was more like a terrible puzzle that Judith needed to put together.

The tea party quickly returned to its usual, friendly atmosphere, when the ladies moved on to other topics. But more than that, Judith simply could not concentrate on talking to the guests. Each time, she returned to the idea of the funeral.

It was pouring torrential rain, and everything was shrouded in fog. And in this hazy memory, there was no Sylvia, about whom the others were talking. Therefore, Judith could not say for sure, because she was not a direct witness.

Fortunately, the tea party ended successfully. Judith gave each lady a bouquet of flowers from the garden and a small present when they left the mansion one by one. All the girls were pleasantly surprised by such attention and, of course, smiling, accepted all the gifts, thanking the hostess of the tea party for her hospitality.

Judith did this to soften the temper of the guests, who will definitely want to tell about what happened in the social circles. And this, at least, could be a small bribe that would make them think, is it worth talking about the relationship between the Duke and the Duchess?

«Today was fun,» said Dyer, receiving her gift.

«I liked everything too,» Judith also politely replied.

«I’m sorry.»

Judith didn’t understand what the Marchioness was apologizing for, but she didn’t say anything, and she continued:

«Until now, I thought that the rumors about you were true. After all, many people talked about it, so I didn’t even doubt the information. Of course, I didn’t talk about it too much – this is a very delicate problem, but it was still wrong of me to think about you like that.»

It was the first time Judith had ever heard an apology from someone.

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«Thank you,» the Duchess nodded, accepting the apology.

«And today you looked great together. Therefore, I do not understand where such rumors could come from.»

Judith knew perfectly well that Derrick was a different person now, but she couldn’t say it. Although sometimes she really wanted to. As the Marchioness said, there were many rumors about the couple in high society. And now the Duchess was glad that many of them would disappear.

And the most unexpected thing for the evening was the behavior of the Marchioness Dyer, who seemed to be a very calculating woman in high society. It was she, and not someone else, who opened the true heart to Judith. Such a polite and calm apology pleased the Duchess very much, touching her heart with its sincerity.