Page 12 of Married to the Icy Duke
“I think you’ve made yourself entirely too clear,” Charlotte retorted. “If even a fraction of this conversation were made public knowledge, my reputation would be destroyed forever. Every single door in Society would be closed to me. My life would be over. Even my brother, aduke, would be compromised by his proximity to me. Although perhaps not my brother. Men are never hurt by these things, are they? Women, however… perhaps it is my sister-in-law, the duchess, who would be hurt.”
His face did not change either way. His eye rested on her, steady and unblinking. She wondered, briefly, whether the eye beneath his eyepatch blinked. That, she supposed, would depend on whether an eyelid was left. Judging by the scars running underneath the patch, she suspected his injuries were severe.
“Let me be clear,” he repeated, his voice soft. “I am offering you a way out of all this nonsense. You saw today how you were treated entirely differently when I offered you protection. And that protection was just the passing courtesy that every gentleman should extend to their guests. Imagine the protection I could offer if you were my wife. If you, my dear, were the Duchess of Arkley. Think on that.”
For a moment, Charlotte did think on it. She had seen firsthand how Thalia was elevated after her marriage to Gabriel, how differently she was treated. The plain facts were that a married woman had status, a sort of respect which was not conveyed to single women. A married woman with a title was something else entirely.
“You would be free,” the duke whispered, his voice catching in the back of his throat in a rasping sort of way. “Your reputation would be restored. No one would dare offer insults towards you, not if you were the Duchess of Arkley. Not if you weremy wife. Nobody dares look me too intently in the eye when I pass through a ballroom. They cringed away from you when I extended a hand of protection towards you. If you were married to me, well. They wouldn’t dare look you in the face, let alone offer you insults.”
She said nothing. He was right, of course. He was absolutely right.
My life would change overnight,she thought, heart thudding.He is right. I would be respected. Things would be different.
“And in exchange for this great rise in your fortunes,” he continued, his voice cool and even, “I ask for very little. Only your hand in marriage. And in return, you’d take whatever time you need to attend to my nephew. You’ve already displayed a remarkable knack with children, and …”
“I don’t know that I would be a good mother,” Charlotte interrupted, suddenly afraid. A chill ran down her spine, and she felt a wave of nausea shoot through her. “I don’t …”
“Well, I am not asking you tobe a mother, am I? I am asking you to help raise my nephew. I require no heir; I already have one. It would be the easiest thing in the world.”
The easiest thing in the world.Charlotte did not believe that. She did not believe thathebelieved that.
And yet she stood where she was, staring at him, thinking.
He is serious.
Until that moment, Charlotte was not sure that she believed that he was serious. His single good eye fixed on her, unblinking, and she realized in a rush that he meant it. He meant every word.
I could be a duchess. I could be the Duchess of Arkley, and nobody would shoulder past me in a ballroom ever again.
But in return, I must marry this man. I would be out of reach of the whole of the ton, but not out of reach ofhim. What does that mean for me?
Her heart fluttered, chest constricting. Charlotte found that for once, she couldn’t find a response. The clever retorts which came so easily to her lips were lacking.
The duke broke the spell first, letting out a long sigh and leaning back.
“I shall let you think on it. It’s quite an offer to consider, is it not?”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned shortly away from her and strode towards the door, yanking it open.
“I imagine your brother is tearing up the ballroom in search of you,” he continued coolly. “Go and join him now and think about my offer. I shall expect your answer tomorrow. Good night, Lady Charlotte.”
CHAPTER 5
Charlotte had slept poorly. It was to be expected, of course, after the night she had had. She must have dozed at some point, since the Duke of Arkley’s face wound its way into her dreams, grinning wolfishly down at her. She dreamed that he lifted his hand to remove his eyepatch, and her heart thudded with anticipatin.
He never did remove it, though, although the dream carried on in expectation that he would at any moment. It was a strange and confusing dream, and Charlotte was glad to wake from it.
She rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom. She had recently painted the whole room a jolly shade of sage green. Charlotte supposed she had hoped that this would make her feel more at home and less like an unwanted guest now that Thalia was here.
Closing her eyes, Charlotte placed a cushion over her face and groaned into it.
It wasn’t Thalia’s fault, naturally. It was the way of things. Before, when Gabriel was unmarried, Charlotte was the lady of the house. Now that Thalia was here,shewas the lady of the house, and Charlotte was demoted to the position of spinster once more.
Unwanted. In the way. An embarrassment.
Of course, Gabriel and Thalia had never made her feel that way, not even for an instant. Charlotte was sure of her brother’s love for her, and she knew her sister-in-law loved her, too.
But that didn’t change the fact that there was no longer a place here for her.
