Page 17 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
Lily had not considered how arduous it would be to live in the same house as the Duke of Blackmore when she had agreed to his condition and now it was increasingly clear with each day that passed that before their debt was finally paid to him, her sanity would be in shmables.
It was alarmingly impossible to escape him even in the large house, almost like he was everywhere at once.
He was there when she was embroidering with Summer in the drawing room. He walked in on them while she was helping Summer prepare dinner—and didn’t ask why she was doing that, which she was thankful for.
However, despite her anxiety around him, Nathan was doing a lot worse, as he wasn’t used to having his authority challenged. But deep down, Lily knew it was more than that. Nathan hated the Duke—andfeared him.
When she had stumbled upon a conversation between the two men, her brother had looked like a deer caught in a hunter’s snare with the duke being the said hunter. Fear had oozed from her brother in waves that seeped into her while the duke had maintained his cool confidence.
“I know I’m not in a position to ask this, Lord Medlin,” the Duke said, his baritone sending a shiver down Lily’s spine, “but do you have any plans to redecorate the manor?”
“I couldn’t, even… even if I wanted to, Your Grace,” was the response Nathan gave. It was barely audible, and, to Lily, it almost sounded like the Duke was speaking to himself.
He must be scared out of his wits, the poor lad.
But Nathan was the one who put them in that situation in the first place. So what if he had to deal with living with the Duke for a month!
“How disappointing…” The Duke turned to look at the portrait on the wall. “I would if I end up taking over,” he drawled.
Lily sighed at that.
Dear God, I hope he’s jesting.
She went back down the stairs, chuckling to herself as she thought about how her brother made a fool of himself around the Duke daily.
In an attempt to avoid him, she started spending more time than usual in the drawing room working on embroidery to pass the time, considering he spent most of the day in her father’s study. of skills needed to secure a match.
But on this fateful day, the Duke, for some reason, broke his daily routine and came down to join her in the drawing room. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw him walk towards her.
“Beautiful handcraft, Lady Lily,” he praised, nodding to her embroidery.
Lily stopped the needle halfway to avoid pricking her finger.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she managed to say as he walked past her to the double doors leading outside and pushed them open, letting the sunlight in.
She squinted her eyes at first, then, as she adjusted to the light, she went back to her embroidery, trying to focus her attention on the needle and not the man in the room with her. He sat on the sofa opposite her and crossed his legs, watching her intently.
He said nothing still, and the ensuing silence was deafening. She had to force herself to breathe in and out slowly. Once, she dared to raise her eyes for a second, and immediately regretted it when their gazes locked.
What am I supposed to do?
She thought of several lies to tell to excuse herself from the room, but none of them sounded believable.
Her heart was thudding hard against her ribcage, as though trying to burst out.
Why was he looking at her like that?
She briefly considered starting a conversation with him, to at least get rid of the awkwardness, but that too seemed like jumping into a bottomless pit.
So she stayed put, focusing her attention on her embroidery and hoping for a miracle.
Unlucky for him, Nathan happened to be passing by, and the Duke found a new victim.
My miracle.
Lily smiled inwardly.
“Lord Medlin!” the Duke called, as though he had been waiting for him. “There you are.”
