Page 29 of The Heiress Gets a Duke
“Looking for me?”
She whirled to see him lounging against the doorframe of a darkened room off to the side. His ankles were crossed as if he had been waiting for her this whole time. Satisfaction that she had found him warred with her displeasure that she had fallen into his trap so easily.
“Yes.” Her voice was sharp as a whip, and she silently congratulated herself on that accomplishment. She would prove to him that she wasn’t some simpleton who turned to mush at a smile from him.
He pushed the door beside him open further to reveal the spines of leather-wrapped books set into a bookshelf and flashed a grin at her before he disappeared inside. It was an obvious challenge, one she was eager to accept. Stiffening her posture, she made it all the way to the doorbefore hesitating. Fingers of trepidation tickled their way down her spine. Somehow, she knew that her life would be irrevocably different after this conversation.
But knowing him had already changed her in ways she couldn’t articulate. It was too late to turn back now. Taking one last look around to make certain that no one saw, she followed him into the room and pushed the door closed behind her.
Chapter 9
It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.
Jane Austen
The very air in the room altered when she entered. She was simply stunning wrapped in her Worth gown and her confidence. She pulled the door closed behind her, her chin parallel with the floor and her shoulders squared to face him. It was almost as if she had been born to be a duchess.
“You are angry with me.” Noting the way her small hand kept a secure hold of the doorknob as if she intended to leave at the first sign of trouble, he stayed where he was so that he would not frighten her. He wanted many things from the woman before him, but her fear was not one of them.
Eyes bright with her fury, she said, “Of course I am. Do you have any idea what you have done?”
Even though he knew that it would only goad her, he could not stop the smile from twisting his lips. “I presume you mean the waltz?”
“You know precisely what I mean. Everyone thinks that you intend to propose to me now instead of Violet.”
It was terrible of him, but he could not resist himself when it came to her. Smiling widely now, he leaned a shoulder against a shelf and said, “You did ask me to not dance with her tonight, if I recall.”
She violently let go of the doorknob, if such a thing was possible, and crossed her arms over her chest to pace the short distance to the low-burning fireplace. The library was a small but comfortable room with dark oak paneling and a seating area with several overstuffed chairs and low tables set before the fire. Aside from the bookcases framing the mantel, and the row of them at his back, they were the only furniture in the room. Had she kept the chairs between them because she feared being alone with him? A twinge of guilt made itself known that she was probably right.
“I should have realized you would make this into another sparring match. Whatever your reasoning, you have made everyone believe that you intend to propose to me. Why would you do that?”
She could not look directly at him when she asked that. Her gaze had settled somewhere along his ear. Interesting. Also of note, the color on her cheeks was higher than when she had walked into the room. Partially due to her anger but, he would be willing to bet, also because she was as attracted to him as he was to her. Watching the myriad of expressions on her lovely face during their waltz had made him suspect as much. Now he knew for certain.
Tipping his head slightly to attempt to force her to meet his gaze, he explained, “Perhaps because I do mean to propose to you. Have you considered that?” He was surprised to find that his heart was pounding with those words.
Breath lodged in her chest as she jerked to meet his gaze. “What? No.” Her lips parted as she appeared to struggle to form her next words. “I... I do not accept.”
Not yet, but she would. “I have not proposed to you, yet.”
Having overcome her apparent shock, she drew herself up. “That hardly matters. I won’t accept when you do, so you shouldn’t bother.”
“Thank you for the fair warning, but I rather hope to change your mind.”
She laughed at that. Laughed as if he were a lowly servant asking for her hand rather than a duke. “Impossible.”
For the first time that night, a glimmer of anger burned in his chest. “I am a respected peer with four estates and—since I lack the requisite excessive weight and want of hair of others in my position—more than a passing attractiveness.”
She took in a breath and closed her eyes briefly before catching him with that directness he found both enticing and unsettling. “The fact that you believe those are the only things that recommend you as a spouse is both troubling and sad.”
He could only stare at her, taken aback by her opinion. “As troubling and sad as they may be to you, they are very sound reasons for marriage. Why would you not want to marry me?”
Crossing her arms over her chest again, she asked, “Why on earthwouldI ever marry you? You truly cannot fathom a woman turning down your offer of marriage, can you? I do not intend to marry you, because I like my life as it is now. You have absolutely nothing to offer me.”
He swallowed thickly as he silently acknowledged that she was right. If she was not to be swayed by his title, estates, or handsome face, what else was there? If she were a proper aristocratic girl, the title alone might have been enough. He had never considered having to work so hard to secure a marriage, so he was momentarily flummoxed in the face of her logic.
Was Leigh correct that coercion of some kind was the only way? Evan had hoped to avoid that, but the stakes were too high to simply hope for the best. The town house was the only unentailed property left. Without a betrothal in place by the end of the month, Clark had hinted there would be no choice but to sell it. Evan would be fine with that, except his mother would be crushed. All notion of politely sidestepping the obvious downfall of their family in society would be gone. Their fall would be gossip for the tabloids as well as the dining rooms across Mayfair and Belgravia. Louisa and Elizabeth would have no hope of a stable future.
“Nothing is such a strong position.” He heard himself saying the words and moving forward without ever consciously thinking of what he was saying. “You like kissing me. The marriage bed will be no hardship for either of us.”
