Page 14 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

Her cheeks flushed pink again and she looked away. “Of course I am not.”

“Good,” he said sharply. “Then none of that is cause for concern. What I require is a lady of the ton, one willing to marry me, and soon. Beyond that...” He exhaled sharply to himself. “I leave my future in your capable hands.”

“But —”

“We are done here,” he snapped at her, raising his eyebrows in warning, holding his glare on her to ensure that she did not push.

Caroline scrunched her brow and met the glare, because she did not appreciate being spoken to like this. So used to being ignored and walked over and treated as invisible, to suddenly be the object of focus like this, and done so with such venom, was perhaps an even worse fate.

The duke rolled his eyes and shook his head and then went back to looking out of the carriage window, and Caroline sensed that short of her slapping him across the face, he would do everything in his power to ignore her.

She fell back in her seat, still watching him, running through their conversation just now with keen interest and confusion. There was so much he wasn’t telling her. But was it because he really did not care about her opinion or who she chose for him? Or was there another reason, one which for reasons she could only guess, he was determined to keep hidden?

Why do I even care? He wishes to treat me as if I do not matter, I should do the same—I will do the same! I will find him a bride, as I owe him that, and I do not break promises.Beyond that most bizarre of tasks, Caroline decided in the moment that once she was done, she would do everything she could to never hear from or speak to the duke again.

Watching him still, the way he purposefully ignored her, she got the sense that this was one decision made that the two might agree upon.

* * *

They arrived at the Aldworth Estate shortly before noon.

It was a breathtaking piece of land, spread across acres of rolling green fields and farmlands. At its center sat the manor, which itself was one of the biggest Caroline had ever seen; the front doors alone stood two stories high while the colonnades that framed the home were each as thick as the carriage in which she rode.

The carriage trotted through the iron gates at the end of the drive, steadily making its way toward the manor which was nearly another mile in distance. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief to see they had finally reached their destination, as she and the duke had not spoken in hours, and she was just about ready to see him out of her sight for good.

This good mood of hers faltered, however, when the front doors of the manor swung open, pouring from inside her entire family who rushed the carriage like locusts devouring a field of wheat.

She grimaced, her eyes flicking to the duke, who she noticed was eyeing her family with an unreadable expression. Likely annoyance.

“My family,” she explained.

“I do not care,” he said simply.

She curled her lip at him, which he did not see.Why I waste any emotion at all on the man is beyond me!

The carriage soon came to a steady stop. Her family were still rushing for it, and Caroline took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the clamor. Back home, she might go days without being spoken to by her mother, practically ignored as if she was one of the help. Yet she had no doubt that, in this instance, her mother would treat her as if she was the favorite and her heart had broken to find her missing.

I would not be missing if she had looked for me in the first place. But I best not point this out, because that would only upset her further.

Thus, Caroline popped open the door and climbed down from the carriage, just in time for her mother to be on her.

“Caroline!” Her mother was on her instantly, pulling Caroline into a hug so tight that it knocked the wind from out of her lungs. “I knew you would be safe! I knew it!” She then took hold of Caroline by the arms and kissed her on both cheeks. “I did not worry for a moment.”

“Greetings, mother...”

“Did I not say?” Her mother looked back at the others, who were not quite as quick to crowd Caroline but were still coming for her. “Of all of you, if there is one child of mine who is not to be fretted over, it is Caroline.”

“That is simply your way of averting responsibility,” Caroline’s sister, Aurelia swept in next, kissing Caroline once on the cheek. “Which is what you have been doing from the moment you noticed she was missing.”

“I have not been!”

“It is good to see you safe,” Aurelia said before turning on her mother. “Perhaps next time you will save yourself the stress and not leave Caroline behind.”

“You can talk!” her mother blustered. “You were the one I asked to make sure everyone was ready. I cannot be expected to do everything!”

“Averting blame,” Aurelia shrugged. “There she goes again.”

“Caroline!” Her eldest sister, Violet came in next, shoving past Aurelia and her mother to hug Caroline; and thankfully cutting through their bickering. “What on earth were you thinking? Getting left behind like that.” Perhaps not the warmest or most caring of words, but that had always been Violet’s way.

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