Two whole hours later , the ball had come to a close . After the Marco fiasco , Maggie had dessert served to distract and ease the guests again . The Duke and his , ego wounded , son were excused to a private room where servants tended to him but it would need an ice pack at best . Playing pretend and not dwelling Marco' s disrespect to the Duke' s son seemed to have got everyone back on track and , soon enough , the time had arrived for the guests to leave , one at a time .
When only a handful of guests remained , Benjamin emerged from the private room with the Duke at his side . His jaw had sported a maroon bruise that would , no doubt , develop into a purplish blue come tomorrow morning . I looked at both of them apologetically when they paused a few steps away from me .
Benjamin di
