Page 52 of Once Charmed, Twice Cursed
“Hmm,” Alverton says. “Not as vocal as you were last month, it seems.”
I inch back until my spine presses against the headboard. A rustle in the corner claims my attention, and I startle all over again.
Ramses lurks in the shadows, his arms crossed, his tricorn pulled low.
“Well, no matter.” The duke’s gaze is serene. “I don’t actually need you to talk. I only need you to put on that dress.” He gestures to the wardrobe. “As soon as the ceremony’s complete, you’ll accompany me to my office. I have some contracts that need signing. Entrepreneurial ventures you’ll need to ensure the success of. I’ve already put them on hold for far too long.”
I huddle into the pillows, wishing I could disappear. “No. No, that’s not going to happen. I’m sorry, but...” My tongue trips over itself. Why did I just apologize? I didn’t mean that in the slightest.
I gather a breath and try again. “I’m promised to someone else. It’s been decided. I’m marrying him, not you.”
The duke’s laugh holds genuine amusement. “Let me guess, that Null ruffian from your foyer? Go ahead. Marry him. I’ll only bring you right back here again. Because I waspromised a Charmed wife, and that’s what I’m getting. As far as I’m concerned, you’re already bought and paid for.”
Indignation blooms hot in my chest. “You can’t justbuypeople.”
“Can’t I?” He spreads his hands. “My contract with your brother would suggest I can.”
Brendan. Just thinking his name makes me want to scream. “I never agreed to that.”
“But your family did,” he says, all confidence. “And soon enough, so will you.”
I shake my head, my heartbeat a trapped, frantic thing in my throat. “I won’t. I want to go home.”
“Miss Bria, you’re already there.”
Words fail me, the sheer assuredness in his expression withering my anger to dust. Tears spring to my eyes. This has all gone so horribly wrong. As if my luck doesn’t even exist. Maybe it doesn’t, with another Charm in the room. Or maybe Ramses’ luck outranks mine, somehow.
“You’re fortunate,” the duke continues, placid. “Most husbands aren’t as lenient as I am. Most would wonder what you were doing with that highwayman, out there in the woods. Most would wonder why, when you found yourself alone, you chose to pick flowers instead of fleeing your captor.”
Wariness prickles along my skin.
“It’s enough to wonder if your Null lover and the man who stole you had anything in common.”
I clamp my teeth together, fear stitching my lips closed. I’ll die before giving Weston up.
But Alverton only chuckles. “Oh, Miss Bria, you’re far less clever than you realize. But I couldn’t care less about whatyou two did out there. You still have your Mark. That’s all that matters. And once we’re married, I’m willing to put this all behind us. You’ll spend your days in my office and your nights in my bed, and we’ll consider your past just that. That’s more than generous of me, I think.”
Bile rises in my throat, hot and stinging. “You can’t force me to marry you.”
“Oh, I have no intention offorcingyou. I’m going to wait until you ask.”
I bare my teeth. “That’ll never happen.”
“I doubt that very much. Because there’s only one way you’re leaving this room.”
All the blood drains from my cheeks. “What?”
“This”—he gestures around—“is your world now. At least until you put on that dress.”
A whimper claws its way out of me. “What? No. You can’t keep me here forever.”
“No, I imagine not.” Alverton stands and brushes imaginary lint from his lapel. “You’ll probably get thirsty after a day or so.”
My mouth falls open. “Thirsty? What, you’re going to keep me here without food? Withoutwater?”
His lips quirk. “Your change of heart will be a quick one, I think. Just put on that dress once you’ve decided, and we can move forward. I’ll check in on you tomorrow, all right?”
My fingers curl into the sheets, clawlike. He can’t be serious. He can’t mean to imprison me here.
