Page 13 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

The duke, she was coming to understand, was a complete mystery to her and this moment right here was but another layer to a man whom she could not begin to fathom.

ChapterFour

The duke sighed. “If you are going to continue to look at me like that, ask the question and be done with it.”

“Wh—what question?” Caroline balked, not even realizing that she had been staring.

“The one that is on your mind,” he said. “And do not tell me otherwise, for I can see it in your eyes. Unless you are staring at me for a different reason?” He cocked an eyebrow and that smirk from yesterday returned; the sense that he was mocking her.

Caroline felt her cheeks flush bright red, thanking God that in this instance she was not staring at him for reasons that had anything to do with his physical appearance; she found him handsome, of course, and she doubted there was a woman alive who wouldn’t. Brooding and dark, she wondered quietly why she was so drawn to these qualities when they should have frightened her.

Lucky that for once, her mind was far too busy to be wasted on such fancies. Sitting across from the duke, the carriage moving at pace down the winding road, Caroline’s thoughts were still back at the inn, the request he had made, and what on earth he was thinking by asking such a thing of her.

“I think you know what is on my mind.” She cleared her throat and looked warningly. “Theonlything.”

He exhaled sharply, the smirk fading. “Go on then, before I change my mind.”

“I am struggling to understand exactly what it is that you require of me, is all—and I am not slow,” she spoke quickly, widening her eyes at him and glaring. “I understand the request, for you made that perfectly clear. What I do not understand is why.”

“Why I wish to marry?” He was sitting with his legs crossed, his comfort a perfect contrast to how awkward Caroline was feeling. “I would say the answer to that is perfectly obvious.” He looked plainly at her, and she indicated for him to continue. “I am a duke, thirty and one years of age, and single for my entire life, but marriage is expected of me. The real question should be why I would not want to marry.”

“That is not—” She caught her tongue, stopping her first thought because it was brimming with anger. “It just seems odd, is all. The suddenness of the request. That you should ask me to help you.”

“You said that you owed me.”

“Not this!”

“Speak plainly, Lady Caroline, for as much as I enjoy seeing you flustered, even I have my limits.”

She hesitated as she considered how to frame the question. It was clear to her that there was more going on here than a mere desire to marry because the duke thought it the right time and the proper thing to do. Based on what she had seen of the man, he did not strike her as one to care one wit about social expectations, nor did he seem the type who would burden himself with a wife because he thought it proper.

Her mind wandered back to the rumors she knew of him. The Cruel Duke and the things he was said to have done.Is that why he wishes for a bride? Someone else whom he can trap and torment... and then kill?She shuddered at the thought.

“You just do not seem like the...” She clicked her tongue. “Like one who cares for marriage.”

“Do I not?”

“I admit I do not know you very well —”

“Yet you speak as if you do,” he cut over her, his tone turning cold; it brought a chill through the carriage, and she shivered. “Which leads me to suspect the true nature of your hesitation.” He sat himself up and looked right at her, his lips pressed together, and his expression as cold as his tone. “Shall I ask what you have heard of me, or do you wish to pretend as if you do not know about what I speak?”

She gasped, her hand moving to her mouth to try and keep it from turning to a frightened cry. “I... I do not... what I have heard of you?”

He scoffed. “You are a terrible liar, Lady Caroline. And regardingthatlittle nuisance, it is of no concern, nor is it something with which you need worry yourself.”

“I do not know what you?—”

“I am not seeking a love match,” he cut her off, suddenly annoyed. “I am not interested in falling for my wife and living a happily ever after, so you can dispel with the notion. What I want, theonlything, is a marriage of convenience and nothing more. Is that understood?”

It was the first time he had gotten truly angry with her. He had been annoyed by her before. Frustrated. Even short tempered. But in this, she saw a hint of why the name which people called him was very likely a fair moniker, well earned. Strangely, the fact that it annoyed him so spoke volumes, suggesting that perhaps he wasn’t a fan of the name.Which makes sense, for why would he be?”

“A marriage of convenience,” she said. “I think I understand.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am just trying to deduce the parameters of whom I should find for you, is all,” she said. “You have asked for my help, and I intend to do my best. What do you look for in a wife? Physical? Emotional? Her pedigree?”

“As I said, it does not matter.” He smirked again. “Unless you are considering putting up your hand for the position?”

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