Page 2 of Wedded to the Deviant Duke

“Ah…so you’re still making appearances, then?” Giles asked. “I know our last conversation ended quite sourly—truly, I hadn’t intended your social circles to cut you out so viciously.” He shook his head, as if such a thing were only inconvenient for him and him alone. “The things women will do to each other—why, it makes the acts of war look like child’s play!”

His words rubbed against her skin like sandpaper. Thalia found she could only offer a slight smile in return, quickly lifting her cup for another sip.

“I suppose we wouldn’t want your image tarnished any further. So, if you simply must refer to me by title, I won’t stop you.” He leaned forward in his chair, his eyes leering between the dessert trays. “Still, if you had taken me up on my previous offer…”

His words lingered heavily in the air. Thalia set her cup back against the saucer, suddenly feeling uneasy.

Then, just as quickly, Giles’ expression brightened once more. He sat back into the settee, his hand waving in the air as if brushing the tension away.

“Ah, but I’m being a poor host. Please, settle yourself before we discuss the reason for your visit! I’d hate to impose myself upon you straight away.”

His grin turned wicked, as he produced a pipe from his vest pocket and eagerly watched Thalia. “Go on, don’t be polite on my account. I’m sure you will hardly get the chance to indulge like this back in Whitechapel. If you decide to return, that is; I think you’ll find my proposal quite to your liking.”

Thalia took another sip of tea instead, focusing on the scald against her tongue instead of whatever snappish remark she wished to hurl her cousin’s way. “Forgive me if I sound impudent, my lord, but there is much that still needs doing at my end. If you have a reason for my summons, I beg you to move past these pleasantries and enlighten me.”

Gile’s jaw visibly tightened against his smile. “Yes, well…I suppose you have quite a bit to do, what with the new move and all.” He lit the end of his pipe and inhaled deeply, staring through Thalia as smoke lingered between his lips.

Then, after a beat, he set the pipe against a platter, rising to cross the room once more and dig about the nearby shelves. Thalia watched with bated breath, nearly spilling her tea across her dress given how much she’d leaned forward in her seat.

“I do hold remorse for my actions, you know.” Giles continued shuffling through various folders, producing a packet of paper before closing the drawer behind him. “But you must understand—I have a very demanding position now, and being rejected by you in such a public way…well, a man can’t be expected to hold fast to his temper after such an attack.”

Thalia wanted to snort; “public” was a gross exaggeration, and he well-knew it. But she remained silent, leaving Giles to continue his performance.

“That is why, when I found these papers–” He took the seat next to Thalia this time, offering the stack her way. “I thought to myself, ‘Giles, this is a sign from God, it is.’ A chance to make amends for how…poorly things were resolved between us.”

Thalia’s brow furrowed, and she set her tea against the table, accepting the papers against her lap. She quickly skimmed through the lettering, a spark of hope beginning in the depths of her heart. “This…is my grandmother’s handwriting.” She looked up, tears pricking the corners of her eye. “These are estate deeds under my maternal family—Giles, where did you find these?”

He looked obviously pleased at her response, chest puffing out in slight exaggeration. “The family lawyers discovered them while organizing my new office, kept in some miscellaneous journals. I was just as surprised to find them myself.”

Thalia leaned against the settee, suddenly quite dizzy. Estates under her mother’s maiden name; it was exactly the light she’d hoped for at the end of the tunnel. And though she was certain Giles had tried every trick to claim them as his own first and foremost, the fact he ended up showing these to her had to mean something.

“Oh, m-my lord—this is incredible! There’s quite a number of properties listed here—I could convert some into boarding schools, take children off the streets who need a proper second chance!”

She shouldn’t have judged him so quickly. She should have had faith that, deep down, her cousin was a kind and just person.

“There’s just one matter that needs to be resolved, first.” Gently, Giles took the papers back from Thalia, radiant smile lowered to a warm glow. “Just a simple legal matter; one that can be taken care of today. Do that, and the deeds are yours to do with as you see fit.”

Thalia nodded, trembling hands clutched against her chest. “Of course—what do you need from me… Giles?”

His expression brightened at the use of his name. Thalia was willing to give him that small win, especially after everything he was doing for her. The flutter in her heart quickened as he took her hand, thumb gently rubbing across her knuckle. Then, he spoke four words that brought everything crashing down around her.

“Marry me, Thalia Sutton.”

CHAPTER2

Thalia blinked furiously, tears all but dried as she tried to pull her hand free from Giles’ grasp. “I…” her breath caught in her chest, as her cousin’s grip tightened. “Giles, I—you already tried proposing to me.”

“But, I hadn’t known of the properties then,” Giles insisted. “Now I do! And you very well can’t reject me now, can you? Not with Oslay Halls and the properties within your grasp.”

The world began to spin again; Thalia squeezed her eyes shut, hoping briefly this was all a terrible nightmare. “What does marriage have to do with my grandmother’s estates? You—I don’t need your partnership to claim them; they are already mine by law.” Again, she tried to free her hand, only to let out pained gasp as Giles squeezed harder. “G-Giles, stop. You’re hurting me.”

He seemed in a daze, the ice in his eyes seemingly creeping through his veins and causing an unnatural rigidity in his posture.

“Giles—?”

“That’s ‘lord’ to you,” Giles hissed. “If you will not take the title with me, you’ll show it the courtesy it deserves.”

A shiver ran down the nape of Thalia’s neck, and her eyes flickered around Giles; the documents sat just on the edge of the seat. Her cousin followed her gaze, quickly snatching the papers up with one hand as the other kept a vice-like grip around her wrist.

---