Page 11 of Married to the Ruthless Duke

With that, he left her and walked out of the drawing room, leaving her a mess of hormones and intense embarrassment.

By the time Helen had gotten herself together, he was long gone. So much for confronting the Duke. She was the one who was reduced to a puddle at his feet.

Her hands touched her lips subconsciously, and even though she hadn’t been kissed, her lips tingled. She knew if he had kissed her, she would not have stopped him even though they stood in the drawing room, where anyone could see them—such was his power over her.

* * *

Later that evening, Helen had dinner with the family. She was distracted by her thoughts, and the dining table was unusually quiet, with her father also being unusually preoccupied with picking food and placing it in his mouth with a faraway look in his eyes.

While she was sure that Margaret might not mind having a quiet table at dinner, she preferred to use dinner time for family discussions, since it was one of the few times when the family was together.

“I am going to meet the Duke for lunch tomorrow. I wonder if he mentioned anything of that sort to you, Father?”

“Yes.” The Viscount nodded. “He agreed to my proposition that he takes his time to get to know you. I guess this is his way of doing so.”

She nodded and was about to say something when she was interrupted by Mr. Biggins, who presented her with a letter from the Duke which had just arrived.

It was an invitation to a meeting at her favorite tea shop for luncheon. She wondered whether he knew that or it just happened to be his favorite tea shop too. The invitation was written in a neat masculine cursive and signed simply as A. O. She wondered if that was his Christian name and decided she would ask him when they met. Maybe even torture him with it, since in her experience, most names that began with the letter O were usually atrocious.

“I was actually very surprised when he said he was offering for you instead of your elder sister. Do you have any idea why he would do that?”

Helen shook her head in denial.

The Viscount turned to Margaret. “This goes back to what I was saying. You have to be more welcoming and sociable to attract good suitors. Under normal conditions, your sister is not supposed to get married before you because it will further reduce your chances of getting married, but this situation has taken the decision out of my hands. You have to do better, my dear girl. Do better.”

Helen looked at Margaret, and while her elder sister maintained a stoic expression, there was a sheen of moisture in her eyes, and Helen suspected that Margaret was minutes away from weeping. So, she decided to change the topic.

“How is your venison, Papa? I think mine might be a tad undercooked.”

It worked. Her father’s face became guarded.

“It is fine as always,” he answered, not meeting her eyes. “It suits my palate very well.”

“All right.”

But she was not quite sure that was completely true because she had noticed a drop in the quality and quantity of the fare they got these days.

She had brought it up to her father and the cook, and they just brushed it aside. Maybe the cook was losing his touch in his old age. Monsieur Frederick had been with them since she was a child, so he might just be suffering the effects of aging.

“Thank you, Father, for the meal. I would like to retire early above stairs,” Margaret said, standing up.

He just nodded without looking up as he polished off his coffee and read his newspaper. Helen looked at Margaret’s plate and saw that she hadn’t eaten much of her meal, but Helen didn’t want to draw attention to that to avoid providing further ammunition for her father to scold her sister.

She decided to retire too because she felt Margaret required consolation.

“I believe I will retire too, Father,” she said, rising from her seat. “I have an early day tomorrow.”

At that, he raised his head. “No stay. I have some things to discuss with you.”

She nodded, and Margaret left the room at a sedate pace while Helen reclaimed her seat at the table.

“You are going to be meeting the Duke tomorrow over luncheon, and I would like for you to be on your best behavior and try to get to know him. Also, I’m not unaware of his looks and charm. Don’t be foolish, dear girl, and avoid doing anything that would bring you shame and this family ruin,” he said with such seriousness that Helen was stunned.

She could not believe how little her father thought of her. There was no way she would succumb so easily to the Duke when she already disliked him with a burning passion.

“Have I made myself clear, Helen?”

She nodded.

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