Page 74 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

The silence between them built steadily. They looked at one another as it did, Caroline smiling, Anthony studying her with a discerning look. If not for how close he sat and the way he held her hand, she might have worried that he was here to dissuade her of her romantic fancies. But she knew Anthony well enough by now to know that he would not do such a thing. If he did not want her, he would simply stop talking to her.

It was because of this silence that Caroline felt the urge to repeat what she had said the last time they’d spoken. Foolish, she knew. A slip of the tongue, even if she had meant every word. But to admit that again might scare him off. So, she held back, as hard as it was to do.

“So...” she began. “What have you been doing to?—”

“I was thinking,” he spoke over her. Not cutting her off, but more as if he hadn’t heard her begin. “Tomorrow, how it might be nice to invite your family for supper.”

She blinked in shock. “You have?”

He hesitated... “Yes. We have been married for two weeks now and it is right that they pay us a visit. That is…” He hesitated further. “That is what normal married couples do, is it not?”

“Is that what we are?” Caroline smiled. “A normal married couple.”

“I would like to be,” Anthony said, although his voice cracked as if he wasn’t quite certain of what he spoke.

Still, Caroline saw this gesture for what it was. Despite the way he had acted this past day, avoiding her, a decision had clearly been made by her husband, and that decision was that he wished to be with her. That this marriage was far from over.

“Me too,” Caroline said, smiling further. “I would like that very much.”

“Good.” Anthony rose suddenly and started across the room. “I will leave you to?—”

“You’re going?”

“Oh...” He paused, as if only just realizing what he was doing. “I... I thought you might need to rest. I did not want to disturb you.”

“You could never disturb me, Anthony. I hope you know that by now.”

Again, there was that sense that he wasn’t certain of what he wanted. Caught between going and staying, his expression turned serious and contemplative as he looked down at her. Behind his eyes, she could see him at pains to decide what to do and how to do it. The new him fighting with the old.

“I am not leaving you...” He walked to her, took her hand, and gave it a kiss. This sent a warmth through her arm, touching at her heart. She sighed with relief and smiled. “But if we wish for your family to be available, it is best I send word tonight, rather than wait for tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense.”

“I will see you before I turn in for the night,” he then assured her. “I promise.”

“And I will look forward to it.”

He kissed her hand again, holding his lips to her skin. She held her breath, meeting his eyes as he kissed her, wanting to lean up and take him by the face and kiss him on the lips, but not having the strength.Why is he not kissing me as he did in the glade? He is worried he might hurt me? Or is he being careful not to be too forward...?

Once he released her hand, he started toward the door...

“Anthony,” she called out. He turned back to look at her and again, Caroline felt that urge to tell him how she felt. She was more confident this time that he would return it. Now, she was positive that he was committed in ways that he might not have been the last time he was here. Only... “Thank you,” she said instead. “For everything.”

“Of course.” His smile was tight lipped. “I will see you soon.”

“I’ll count the minutes,” she said with a soft laugh.

He then stepped from the room and closed the door behind him.

Well, that was certainly more awkward than I had hoped.

Still, Caroline took heart from the exchange, reminding herself that for how new all of this was for her, it was the same for Anthony. He had spent a lifetime alone, cut off from others, convinced that all he wanted in this world was to be alone—convinced that he was what people said. Now, with their feelings developing and their relationship growing, he would never be alone again. Clearly, it wasn’t as simple a thing to overcome as she might have hoped.

But he was overcoming it. And he was doing it for her. That was what mattered.

Tomorrow night, her family would visit them, seeing them as a married couple for the first time. This, Caroline realized, would be the ultimate test. To prove to Anthony what married life might be like and what the future for them might hold. Proving to the world at the same time that their marriage was nothing short of a success.

Caroline’s stomach twisted, however when she considered the other side of the coin, that her family were far from ideal dinner guests, or bastions of familial bliss. Together, they were chaos, and that twisting of her stomach tightened as she wondered how exactly she and Anthony were going to get through the night without reverting to their old selves—arguing and fighting, that is.

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