Page 32 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

“Our marriage,” she said. “I need to...” She bit into her lip. “There is something we must discuss. And no, it cannot wait.”

“If your intention is a repeat performance of the other night, I shall save you the hassle. Nothing has changed, nor will it. And badgering me incessantly might not be as clever a stratagem as you think.”

“That is not my intent. What I wish to speak about...” She considered and Anthony could see the effort it was taking her to stand up to him. On the way over, he had seen fire and brimstone burning behind her eyes as no doubt she had spent some time working up the courage for this little assault.

Now that she was before him, she was wilting. “It concerns the expectations of our marriage. What it is that you require of me. Of us.”

Anthony could not help but notice a few eyes drifting in their direction. Although he did not care what others thought of him in the traditional sense, he was still a duke and he still had a reputation to protect. It would not do to be seen bickering with his soon-to-be wife.

“Not here,” Anthony said, his voice low. “And not now. In the coming days, I will apply for a marriage license, and once it is acquired I will be sure to pay you a visit. When I do, I will happily listen to whatever it is you simply must tell me.”

“That’s not good enough.” She did not so much as blink. “We will speaknow.”

As said, Anthony did not relish the name he had been given by his contemporaries, nor did he aspire to it. He had, however, lived with it for so long now that it had become a part of him, whether he liked it or not. That was why he was so careful to control his emotions, fearing that perhaps the name was as apt as people said.That I am indeed that monster…

No. He was not those things. A short temper, perhaps. And yes, he hated being told no—what duke didn’t? But he was not cruel or mean, and he certainly was not evil. He only wished that people could see that.

This, beyond anything, was why he struggled to be around Lady Hawkins so much. The way that she fought him. The way that she pushed against his indomitable presence. She forced him to react and assert himself like he had never needed to before, to delve into the depths of his anger for no other reason than he felt he must. And when she really tested him… he lost control completely, but not in the way he might have thought.

Even now, just to look at her, I find my blood pumping as if I had just run a mile. What terrifies me most of all is what might happen if she pushes me too far. What will I become then?

Anthony was not a savage, uncontrollable madman. However, for Lady Caroline, and the lust she inspired in him, he just might be…

“Not here,” he growled warningly at her. A glance about the drawing room and he spied a door across the way. “Come, we can speak in private?—”

“Here is just fine.” She took a step back. “This will not take long.”

“Less than a second, the way you are going,” Anthony said. “For there is nothing to stop me from walking away. Which, under the current circumstances, you should find yourself grateful for.”

“I wish for a quick conversation only,” she hurried.” There is no need for...” She swallowed and her eyes looked everywhere but at him. “For us to argue.”

Anthony scoffed. “If only that were true.”

She laughed at that. “Is it my fault that you bring it out in me?”

“Funny, I was going to say the same to you.” He almost smiled but quickly pressed it down as Anthony almost never smiled. “Go on then…” He took a sip of whiskey. “What is it that you wish to speak of? That could not wait for a more appropriate setting?”

She stood a little bit taller, proud that she had won this round. “It occurs me to that I have been...” She clicked her tongue. “That I have been unfair to you.”

“You… you have been?” Anthony said, stunned by the admission.

“I accused you of forcing this marriage on me as if it was your fault and then became angered when you refused to do anything to stop it. I realize now that in this life we do not always get our way and that sometimes there is nothing to be done but accept the reality and move on from it.”

“How very...” He frowned at her with confusion, surprised that she was being so honest with him. “That is…” He did not know what to say. “Very kind of you.”

She shrugged. “Sometimes, I have it in myself.”

“Better late than never, I suppose.”

Her face dropped. “I am trying to be nice.”

He gave his head a shake, forcing his attention back to the matter at hand. “You want something? Somehow, I doubt you came over here merely to apologize.”

She narrowed her eyes angrily and it got Anthony’s blood pumping.Why am I teasing her? I know what it will do to her. Just as I know what it will do to me...

“The point I am trying to make is that there is no getting out of this, so the best that I can hope for it to find a way to accept it. To live with it, as you must do also.”

“Meaning?”

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