Page 49 of A Bride for the Forbidden Duke
Nobody answered, and she heard the squeak of boots on the polished floor. She would not let him get away with retreating from her once more.
“Your Grace,” she said again, firmer this time, running out of the parlor to find the Duke’s powerful back turned to her.
His shoulder tensed.
Annoyance simmered away at her. “I am grateful for all you have done for me and my mother, but I wish forsomethingmore.”
“A title, fortune, and a beautiful home are not enough?” he asked.
“Of course, they are. They are more than enough, but I wish for… companionship. I wish to speak with you about your day once ina while. Eat together perhaps once a week. Just to know that my security does not come at the price of loneliness.”
The Duke stiffened at her words. He half turned to her. “Duchess, I do not think you understand the meaning of true loneliness. You have your high spirits, do you not? Your mother. You speak with the staff here. You likely have friends in London, all parading around Dalton Square. Loneliness is a stifling shroud, and you should be glad you do not wear it.”
“Of course, I am lonely,” she shot back. “Ever since my brother disappeared, I have been deserted by those I called friends. Rumors forced both my mother and I into solitude, relying on one another and nobody else. But it appears to me, your loneliness has been somewhat self-inflicted. You have your aunt, who tries to reach out, and a Mr. Shawcross whom you tolerate. You have your business partners. You had—have—my brother, should you wish to call him a friend.”
She paused.
“And you have me.” Her hands wrung, distressed. “Should you wish to let out your frustrations about your days, please dine with me. If you have slept fitfully, break your fast with me. I am a very good listener.”
He paused, his eyes narrowing, as if he was considering her offer. Hope rose in her chest, light and disastrous, for she knew he would only break that hope. And he did, of course, and she was foolish to think anything else could have happened.
“No,” he answered flatly, and then he walked further down the corridor, away from her.
“Fine,” she said, her voice tight with restrained emotion.
I am only feeling vulnerable due to my fainting spell earlier.
“But is my future forever to be this erratic esteem you show me? One moment I am but a ghost, something to be brushed to the side and forgotten, and the next you give a semblance of care.”
“Do not mistake honor forcare. I would not have left you out there in the sun to bake alive, unconscious.” He met her eyes over her shoulder. “Good night, Duchess.”
“Good night,” she whispered, tears stinging her eyes.
Once he left to go upstairs, she waited several moments to ensure they would not pass by one another then she fled to her rooms.
Still, she hoped, deep down, for another late-night rendezvous in the hallway, so she might feel important beneath his gaze once again.
Chapter Fifteen
“The Duchess is in the breakfast hall, Your Grace,” Henry’s valet told him as he handed Henry his riding boots.
He had more meetings with tenants that day and was eager to get his day started as soon as possible.
He frowned. “She is?”
Glancing outside where the sun was only just rising over the tops of the trees in the distance, he pondered her wakefulness at such an hour. “That is unusual.”
“Her Grace has been doing that for several days now.”
As Henry fastened his waistcoat and shrugged on his jacket, he thought of Veronica’s words several days before when he had tried to avoid her once again.
If you have slept fitfully, break your fast with me. I am a very good listener.
His valet hesitated at the door. “Shall I pass on any particular message, Your Grace?” He gave Henry a knowing look, having worked for him for enough years to know when his feelings were colliding with one another.
Henry paused. “No.”
No, it was best to simply eat elsewhere and take his leave out to the village. There were far too many things for him to concentrate on without Veronica muddling his head once again.
