Page 26 of A Game with the Rakish Duke
Catherine laughed. “I would not mind being a seal! Ilovethe water. Perhaps I truly am a selkie and have simply forgotten where I placed my seal skin, so I am now forced to stay on the land.”
“Just like the legend,” the Duke said in an amused tone. “It is a sad tale. A man watched a selkie climb ashore, shedding her skin, and when she was not looking, he stole it from her.”
Catherine raised an eyebrow, taking another long sip of her brandy. “He stole it? But why?”
“Because he did not want her to leave,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “He had fallen in love with her, you see, and knew she would disappear back into the sea if he did not hide her skin from her.”
Catherine frowned. “He forced her to stay with him?”
“He did,” the Duke replied, smiling slightly. “He was dying of love for her and could not bear to let her go.”
“I have a feeling this tale does not end well,” Catherine drawled, raising an eyebrow.
“No, it does not,” he confirmed. “She lived as his wife for many years, bearing his children, but always yearned for her life beneath the sea.” He paused. “One day, she found her seal skin where he had hidden it. It was old and shriveled. She knew at that moment he had betrayed her.”
“What did she do?” Catherine whispered.
“She left him,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “She slipped on her skin again and dived into the water, never to return. His heart was broken.”
“His heart deserved to be broken,” Catherine said in a hard voice. “She did not choose him. He made her stay with him.” She looked away. “The story proves that you cannot force someone to act against their nature. They will always struggle to be free again.”
Their eyes met and locked. Catherine felt a frisson all the way down her spine. She reached for her glass of brandy again, finding with dismay that it was empty. She jumped to her feet.
The Duke looked amused. “What are you doing?”
“I am feeling restless,” she stated, her heart thumping. “I need to do something.”
He laughed softly. “You could play the pianoforte in the corner. It is just gathering dust.”
Catherine made a face. “I am a poor player.” She shrugged. “But I suppose it would pass the time until the dinner gong sounds.”
She walked over to the instrument and sat on the stool, feeling awkward. She couldn’t sit there talking with him for a moment longer. With every passing moment, she felt herself beingfurther drawn in, as if he were throwing a long thread of web, reeling her in towards him.
“Any requests?” she asked in a falsely cheery voice.
“None,” he said, crossing his legs, one arm slung over the back of the sofa, staring at her in amusement. “Play what you will.”
Catherine put her fingers on the keys, gritting her teeth. She hadn’t lied when she told him she played poorly. And it had been months since she had last sat down to play the pianoforte. It would probably sound like the screeching of a cat abandoned on a high roof.
Finally, she thought of something she could play that might actually sound like music. Focusing fiercely, she started to play, feeling as stiff as a board. It wasn’t exactly flowing.
She was concentrating so hard on not missing a note that she didn’t realize he had gotten up and walked across the room until she sensed him behind her. She frowned but kept playing, trying to ignore him.
Suddenly, she jumped. He had put his hands on her arms, sliding them down so that they rested on her wrists. She felt his warm breath on her neck. She stopped playing, her hands hovering over the keys, her heart pounding hard.
“You look so adorable when you play,” he whispered slowly. “Did you realize that you stick your tongue into the inside of your cheek when you concentrate?”
“No,” she croaked.
His hands were caressing hers now, turning them over, stroking one finger at a time. It was a strangely pleasant sensation. She closed her eyes briefly, fighting for control.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was a strangled moan.
“You do not want me to stop,” he whispered. “Do you?”
In response, she suddenly took the hood of the instrument, drawing her hands out of the way, and slammed it down on his hands.
He yelped, glaring at her. “What was that for?”
