Page 26 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

“Enough,” the duke growled and stepped forward. He fixed her in a glare that she felt in her chest, wincing back and looking away. “The fault is not with your sister, and she should not bear the brunt of your malice.”

“We must do something!” her mother continued, panic growing. “If anybody were to find out?—”

“I am the one who has erred,” the duke spoke over Daniel. “I am the one at fault. And for that reason...” Again, he met Caroline’s eyes, holding them so that she could see the fury. This was her fault, and he needed her to know it. “For that reason, I propose that she and I wed.”

Again, shock rang through the family. Daniel, most of all, stumbling back as if he had been slapped.

“A small wedding,” the duke continued. He was staring at Caroline now, and she could feel the heat coming from him. “To be held as soon as possible. That way, any rumors that might choose to make themselves apparent will be nipped in the bud.”

“Yes!” Caroline’s mother blurted. “We accept!” She could not have looked more delighted. “A marriage! A perfect solution.”

“Mother!”

“Think, Daniel!” she hissed. “This is the best we could have hoped for.”

She was right, and even Daniel could not deny it. He glared at his mother who raised her eyebrows back in warning. He grimaced, his teeth still bared, and his anger apparent, but good sense silencing him enough that he forced himself to look at the duke.

“Fine,” he said. “A wedding it is.”

And, through it all, not once did Daniel or her mother or the duke care to ask Caroline of her opinion. They didn’t so much as consider her. As was always the way, she was forgotten—a boat left adrift in the storm, moving to the whims of those around her. One would think that, by now, she might be used to it.

ChapterNine

For the second night in a row, Caroline found herself standing outside the duke’s bedroom door.

She had been there for several minutes now, trying to work up the courage to knock. Last night, she had not hesitated, needing to see the duke and tell him of her plans so that she could be done with him.The difference that one night can make and now I wonder if this is such a good idea after all...

It was not as if she had much of a choice. Certainly, she could not simply turn around and leave. After what had happened today, and the events which followed, Caroline knew that if she did not see the duke right now and implore him to change his mind, she would regret it forever.

But the idea of being alone with the duke again, of putting herself in that position... her body trembled. Not with fear. It was something else. A feeling that made her body turn hot and her heart race so that she found it hard to breathe.

No!I must do this. My mind spoken, not to be changed or intimidated. And I will not leave until I get what I want.

Also, and this was most important, she needed to prove to herself that she could be around the duke and not give into temptation. That he did not control her...

Thus, Caroline took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

The door swung open a second later, revealing the duke on the other side. Blessedly, he was wearing a shirt this time. Predictably, he did not look happy to see her.

“Lady Caroline.” He could not have looked more surprised…and is that worry?A shadow passed behind his eyes, what she might have read as fear if she didn’t think the duke to be a man who would never experience such a thing. “What is the meaning of this?”

“We need to talk.”

“You cannot be serious,” he said, blocking the doorway. “And you should not be here.”

“It won’t take long.”

“I do not care.” His brow tightened and he looked past her. “It is actions like this one that are the cause of this mess we have found ourselves in.”

“Which is why we must talk.”

“And as I said, we will not. There is nothing that needs to be discussed. Now...” He stood taller somehow, over her, bearing down upon her like a dragon guarding its lair. “I ask you again—no, not ask. I am telling you to leave.”

She knew that she should have listened to him. Every single time she either thought of the duke or found herself in his presence, she was besieged by feelings of desire and want the likes of which she had never known—that she had felt a lifetime suppressing. To risk coming into those feelings again was foolish of her, the antithesis of everything she believed.

And still, despite her best instincts and what she knew was right, she could not bring herself to stay away…

Caroline looked past the duke; a pang of worry felt in her chest as she remembered the last time she had been alone with him and how that had made her feel.A sensation that will be common, if I do not make him see reason. She did not want to do this. She simply had to.

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