Page 35 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

Caroline could not allow even the most remote chance that the duke wanted more from her than a mere marriage of convenience. She feared that if she was put in a situation where her self-control would be tested, she would not be able to resist. And considering how little she believed the duke and his promise, she had every reason to fear that come the night of their marriage, he would do as she feared.And that I will not have it in me to say no.

Those next two weeks moved at a brisk pace.

During that time, not once did Caroline hear from His Grace. Her mother, she was told, had been in contact with him, merely to ensure that everything went ahead as expected. A couple of times too, Caroline thought to ask if the duke had asked anything about her... only to curb that notion because she did not care.

I do not care. The less he is thinking about me, the better.

Still, Caroline could not escape the nagging feeling that she was walking into a trap of her own making, and for that reason, she determined to speak with him one final time. To ensure that he was a man of his word and would not try anything once they were married… which also ensuring that if he did, she had it in herself to resist.

* * *

As Caroline rushed around the back of the chapel, she pontificated for a moment about how unlike her this was. Always, she was the well-behaved one. Never had she done anything that might cause alarm in her mother or even in herself. Yet these last few weeks, so much had changed in her. Changes she was yet to decide on whether they were positive or a trend which she needed to keep an eye on.

A worry for later as the necessity of it all means I have little real choice.

Her wedding was due to start at any moment. She was dressed in her gown; a canary yellow number with a billowing skirt, a tight bodice—always the case with her curves—and a modest neckline which she personally felt ran a little too deep toward her chest. The dress was hiked up as she hurried, her eyes on a tree which sat some twenty feet from the chapel’s entrance.

Keeping low, she darted for it, knowing she would not be seen as everyone was inside the chapel already waiting for the ceremony to begin. The only thing missing was the groom.

That is what Caroline was doing out here in the first place. She had left her mother behind, citing a need to visit the washroom alone. Her mother had fretted because the ceremony would begin as soon as the duke arrived, and she did not want to keep him waiting! Caroline assured her that would not be a problem. After all, she planned on intercepting the duke well before he reached the inside of the chapel.

Indeed, it was just as she ducked behind the tree that she spied the arrival of his carriage. Inside, she knew the duke to be contained, no doubt lamenting this entire day and wishing it to be over. She grimaced to herself when she pictured the shock on her face that was sure to appear as she popped up by his doorway.Desperate times, unfortunately...

The carriage came to a stop and Caroline acted.

She rushed the carriage like a bull at a red flag and it was just as the door was swinging open that she stuck her body between the open doorway and the exiting duke.

“Good morning,” she said with a sheepish smile.

The duke’s eyes widened in shock. “Lady Caroline! What are you?—”

“We need to talk.” She climbed into the carriage and closed the door behind her. Her heart was racing from the endeavor, and never had she felt more alive. That was until she turned to find the duke looking right at her; his legs spread, his hulking frame taking up nearly the entire carriage so that she felt tiny by comparison. Alone suddenly and this idea did not feel nearly as clever as she had thought. “… ah… if that is agreeable with you.”

“That depends on what this is.” The duke eyed her with curiosity as much as annoyance. “If this is another vain attempt to cancel the marriage…”

“No, no, nothing like that I swear.” She tried to meet his eyes but she found that she could not. Her mind flashed back to those nights in his bedroom, when he had stood over her, those same eyes locking her in place so that she could hardly breathe. “And I do not mean to cause alarm, but there is something I must ask you.”

“And it could not wait?”

“No,” she said. “It had to be now.”

The duke groaned and shifted in his seat. It was subtle, but it looked to her like he was moving back from her, as if he was the one who was worried.Why would that be? I’m the one who should be terrified to be alone with him.

“Tell me then,” he said. “And make it quick, because if this is how you plan on approaching our marriage, Lady Caroline, you would do well to remember that I am not one who cares for such immature nonsense as this. Peace and quiet, remember? Or have you forgotten?”

“That is exactly what I wish to speak of,” she said, forcing herself to look at him. She regretted it immediately, her breath catching in her throat. The duke’s hulking mass was shadowed in the confines of the carriage, such that she could barely make him out clearly, save for his sheer size and the breadth of his power which radiated from him like a hand wrapping itself around her heart and squeezing. She found it hard to breathe. Sweat began to form. And her body began to tremble...

“Well?” he said. “Are you going to speak? Or did you come here just to gawk?”

“This marriage,” she blurted suddenly. “I need to hear you say it again.”

“Say what?”

“That it is one of convenience only,” she said. “I know that we discussed it already. I know you told me that was what you wish for. And I want to believe you. I do. It is only...” She hesitated, looking away and biting into her lip. “I need to hear you say it one more time. I need to know it is the truth.”

He groaned and shifted again; the entire carriage swayed. “That is what this is about?”

“I had to see you again. I am sorry, I just could not walk down the aisle without you confirming it one more time.”

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