Page 23 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
She sat back on the sofa, her frustration flaring.
What if she couldn’t find a husband at any of those gatherings either? As the matchmaker wrote in the letter, rumors were already circling about her family. Even worse, rumors in the ton traveled fast, so she wouldn’t know which man had or had not heard them.
She raised a hand and rubbed her forehead, feeling a megrim coming on. What had she even done to deserve this?
She thought about Nathan’s mysterious plan to make all their problems go away.
It wasn’t his first time saying that, and it also wouldn’t be her first time feeling uneasy because of it. After all, her brother excelled at making matters worse with his bad decisions and spending habits.
She deeply wished whatever it was he had up his sleeve wasn’t extreme and wouldn’t cause more problems; they already had enough to deal with.
With a sigh, Lily stood up to go upstairs.
One part of her plan might have gone down the drain, but there was still another. She might as well take the Duke’s suggestion and go prepare a dress for the ball he had mentioned.
CHAPTER 6
Magnus was standing at the window of his study when he saw Nathan coming into the manor.
Hastings had informed him how the Earl had acted towards his servants, and Magnus had decided to make some clarifications. He had brought his servants over to work for him, their master, not for the Earl. He wanted Nathan to know that he didn’t deserve to be waited on like a royal.
He waited for a while, giving him enough time to settle in so he would approach him when he least expected it.
When he finally got up and opened the door to go downstairs, he spotted Lily turning into the hallway.
He paused, studying her, though she hadn’t seen him yet. He could tell she was not happy about something.
“Lady Lily?” he called, completely forgetting about his initial plan to terrorize her brother. “You look grave. What is the matter?” he asked, genuinely worried.
Lily started, clearly she hadn’t been expecting to see him. She would have tripped on her feet had she not braced her hand against the wall. Worry was evident on her face but she quickly buried the expression and put on a placid look, shaking her head.
“It is nothing, Your Grace,” she replied.
And yet Magnus heard the lie in her voice. He was sure she was hiding something and he didn’t want to leave well enough alone.
He raised an eyebrow, his eyes boring into hers as though he could see right through her. “You seem troubled, My Lady. And I know that there is something wrong. What is it?”
Lily forced a smile. “Nothing,” she replied, her voice strained. “There is nothing wrong, Your Grace.”
She was lying; he could tell, but he didn’t know how. Something was definitely wrong, but he didn’t know what.
“I have reason to believe that there is something wrong you are hiding from me. And I think”—he took a step closer—“that it is in my best interest to know what that thing is.” His tone was firm, commanding.
Lily huffed, visibly annoyed at his insistence. She fixed him with a hard look, that softened when he shot her a look saying he didn’t intend to let her leave without an answer.
“You do not need to worry about me, Your Grace,” she said so calmly that he almost believed her. “I will find a solution. You can be sure of that.”
Well, two can play that game.
“Now, what if I say that I am not leaving you until you have told me what it is that has made you so crestfallen? Because I know that something is wrong.”
She pursed her lips in annoyance, and he almost cracked a smile just by looking at them.
She blinked and lowered her head.
“I will handle it, Your Grace,” she insisted. “You need not worry about anything.”
She’s still not going to tell me.
