Page 1 of Married Off by the Duke
LONDON, SPRING OF 1882
CHAPTER 1
You shall endeavor to find a husband at the earliest opportunity, read the letter from her guardian.
“I will do no such thing,” Emma muttered, and tossed the crumpled ball into the fire. A pity that her thoughts could not reduce its author to ash along with it. Lord Maximus Aloysius Tremaine, the sixth Duke of Ardennes, deserved to burn for eternity.
Or longer.
Unfortunately, Emma had no power to send her cursed guardian anywhere. He, however, had the authority to order her anywhere he wished, and the duke was not afraid to wield it.
Where he wanted her right now was in London for her first Season. He couldn’t have been more insulting about it if he’d tried.
I have neglected your situation long enough. Between your piddling dowry and your advanced age, you will be lucky to attract any suitor at all. Leaving it for another year won’t do.
As if she were some sort of fancy lady instead of the illegitimate daughter of an earl’s second son.
Emma was accustomed to being unwanted. At least the previous Duke of Ardennes had been a kindly man. His son, the current duke, was a different story. Max had treated her with arrogance and disdain from the moment they first met. Until now, he’d been content to let her molder away in the countryside, out of sight and out of mind.
Summoning her away from school in the middle of the spring term would impact her students. As if her teaching didn’t matter.
To the Duke of Ardennes, it didn’t. Nothing mattered except his whims. Inexplicably, he’d decided now was the time to divest himself of responsibility for her welfare. No doubt he would hand-select London’s most loathsome toad for her husband. On purpose.
Why?
She wasn’t a troublesome ward. They rarely interacted.
Clearly, the duke despised her more than she’d ever imagined.
“Likewise,” Emma muttered, watching the paper crumble into ash. “I certainly won’t be shackling myself to the first man who asks, simply to appease His Gracelessness.”
While she didn’t want a Season, she did want to be free from her pompous, arrogant guardian forever, ideally before she was legally emancipated at the age of twenty-five. On this point, they were in profound agreement.
Unless…
What if she could frustrate him into granting her control over her inheritance early?
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. A diabolical plan unfolded in her mind. Max’s desperation to be rid of her presented Emma with an opportunity.
She felt certain she was up to the challenge of annoying Max into granting her freedom on a much quicker timeline than the four years she would otherwise have to wait. Matrimony was out of the question. Emma was done with being a perpetual burden to others. She had no intention of locking herself into a loveless marriage for the duke’s convenience.
“Miss Willis, your carriage is here,” the headmaster informed her.
“I am ready.”
Ready to wage war.
CHAPTER 2
Max eyed Miss Willis’ plain gown and unflattering bonnet with skepticism. He’d sent her funds for adequate clothing before the school year started, but she hadn’t spent a farthing of it, apparently.
Marrying off Willful Miss Willis might be harder than he’d anticipated, and he hadn’t expected marrying off his vexing ward to be easy. He’d already put it off until the Season was well underway.
“An appointment with a dressmaker is the first order of business.”
“Is that how you welcome visitors these days?” she asked acerbically.
“Men like pretty women, not dowdy vipers.” Emma’s features were delicate; whenever she wasn’t scowling, she wasn’t unappealing. Still, her appearance could be improved with a decent dress and a bit of deft hairstyling…
