Page 34 of When her Duke Returns
Alexander chuckled darkly. “I imagine Antony was rather inspired by your fall in his attempted orchestrating of mine. Let us count ourselves lucky that Cecelia didn’t catch you arguing further up the cliff.”
“I will tell Antony the truth, then,” Mary resolved. “If it will spare you any more of his madness, I shall look to make things right.”
“And what is the truth?”
Mary felt her ears and neck grow hot. “That I do not want to wed him, and that none of the blame lies with you. That he and I do not go together in the ways that count.”
“I cannot allow you to do that,” he muttered.
“It’s no concern of yours. Is that not the point?”
“He will ruin you and your family, and you will not find another husband for many years.”
Mary sucked in a breath. “Not even you would want me.”Alexander shut his eyes, and Mary thought he might cry. If he did, the current would sweep her under as well. She knew it was not proper to speak of such things with a man, but surely, they had breached the wall of civility long ago.
“I can’t, Mary.”
“Why?” she asked, swallowing down her anger. “What has all this been, then? A joke? A game to busy yourself with?”
“No,” he hissed back. “Do you truly think so little of me?”
“Well, did you mean everything you said?”
Alexander looked up in confusion. “When?”
“When you came to my rescue, last week at the fountain.”
“Some of it,” he replied.
Mary scoffed. “Which parts?”
“Only the good ones.”
Mary felt her heart burst. “So,” she sighed and cleared her throat. “You do want me.”
“More than I can say,” the man replied, and the rise and fall of his chest quickened.
“Then, if things were different…?” she let the rest of her sentence hang in the air:if things were different, I would be yours.
“Yes,” Alexander smiled. “But they are not, and I will not let what could be a passing ship in the night destroy us. The price is just too high.”
Mary nodded. She supposed she understood, but her regard for her reputation was dwindling by the hour. She tried to change the subject, fearing that nothing more could be said that would be of any benefit to either of them. “Do you need to fetch anything for your arm? You sounded quite burdened by it.”
“How so?”
“Your shouts.”
“Oh,” Alexander said, his deep brow knitting together. “No, they were… It does not matter.”
Mary concluded that relieving the Duke of any sort of information was like drawing blood from a stone. “Things would go so much quicker between us if you allowed yourself to speak quite candidly. It would be the least of our issues, I assure you.”
Alexander seemed to like that. His eyes danced back forth between her face and the floor. “I have trouble sleeping. I have for years. The night terrors are sometimes more than I can manage.”
Mary felt her cheeks flush pink. She had never thought of the Duke as particularly vulnerable though his mangled face was perhaps sign enough of his humanity.
“Is there anything I can do?”
The man simply shook his head. “It would not do for someone to catch you here, besides. Never you mind.”
