Daphne slipped her hand out of his hold as quickly as she could, but alas, the Duke's lips had already made contact with the back of her hand. She tried to wipe it clean without being too obvious about it but Atticus had no qualms about proverbially slapping the Duke in the face.
He took out a handkerchief, wiping the back of Daphne's hand with it before chucking it behind him in a bold act of littering on royal grounds.
"Don't you think there are an awful lot of dukes in your father's kingdom, dearest?" Atticus whispered subtly over to Daphne, who snorted a little in an attempt to shield her laughter. She successfully contained it, thankfully, but barely so.
"Father hands out the titles like candy," Daphne replied, whispering. "He thinks it's good to have more people helping around the court."
