Page 28 of The Duke's Gamble
She frowned. “Your Grace.” Turning towards him, she watched as, yet again, he walked up and down the room past her. “Is there something troubling you?”
“Yes.” He looked at her for a moment, then flung one hand through his hair, only to shake his head. “No. That is to say… I am not sure. I think… well, this is a little unorthodox but might we speak privately, Florentina?”
It was the first time he had ever spoken to her in such a way and Florentina’s skin prickled lightly, turning to look to her mother who, after a moment, rose to her feet.
“We will take a short turn through the house and then come to join you both again,” Lady Haddington said, as Florentina’s heart began to beat wildly, now concerned as to what it was the Duke wished to say to her. “Pray do not be too long in your discussions, Your Grace. Even though you are engaged, recall that thetonare not aware of it at present and I do not want even the smallest whisper to touch Florentina’s reputation.”
“Of course, of course.” The Duke bowed again but then continued to pace, leaving Florentina to sit alone now, watching and waiting for him to say something. Her fingers twisted together in her lap, a strange tension now coursing through her as the Duke mumbled something to himself. She could not understand what he was doing here, nor what sort of state he was in, for he appeared confused, upset and perhaps even angry, all at once.
Her stomach twisted painfully.
“I am here, Lady Florentina, because… well, because it has become clear to me that Lord Allington wishes to pursue you.”
Florentina blinked rapidly, a cold sweat breaking out across her forehead as the Duke came to a stop, turning his head to look at her directly. “I—I beg your pardon?”
“It is just as I have said.” The Duke threw up his hands. “It seems as though he has decided that you are a lady without compare and, given that we are friends, he thought it best to inform me about his intentions.”
Shuddering lightly with the shock of the Duke’s words, Florentina swallowed thickly, trying to make sense of what the Duke had told her. “Lord Allington has been attentive but I did not ever imagine…”
“My only question is now what you are going to do about it,” the Duke interrupted, lifting his chin a notch as he held her gaze. “You are betrothed to me but I shall release you from it, if you so wish.”
It took a few moments for those words to hit Florentina but when they did, she was flooded with such a hot anger that instantly, she rose to her feet, her hands curling into tight fists as she narrowed her eyes. “How dare you?”
The Duke’s eyes flared. “I—I do not—”
“How dare you come here to offer me such a thing?” Florentina interrupted, her whole frame tight with fury. “Are you trying to torment me? Are you trying to offer me a happy future with a gentleman who truly cares for me in the hope that I will accept him and turn from you? You do so not because you care for me but only because you desire the house for yourself, do you not? This is your way of recovering back your foolish offer but I tell you now, I shall not stand for it!”
The Duke’s throat bobbed. “Then you will not accept him and turn from me?”
Florentina shook her head. “No, I will not.”
“I see.” The Duke licked his lips, then, grasping the back of the chair with both hands, let his head drop just a little as his shoulders rounded. Florentina, breathing hard now, simply watched him without saying another word, the anger beginning to lessen though her upset remained.
“That is…” After another pause, the Duke cleared his throat. “I suppose that is not unexpected. You are a lady who has an iron will, I believe.”
“Once I have made a decision—or, in this case, a promise—then I have no intention of turning from it.” Slowly, Florentina moved back to her chair and, watching him still, sat down. “Why do you wish to injure me so, Dartmoor? Have you not caused enough pain already?”
The Duke’s head shot up, his eyes rounding as he stared at her. After another moment, he shook his head furiously, then, much to Florentina’s astonishment, crossed the room towardsher and, sitting down in the chair next to her, leaned nearer still. “I did not come to tell you this in order to cause you pain.”
“No?” Florentina lifted one eyebrow lightly. “Forgive me if I do not immediately believe you.”
“I came here to offer you a chance of happiness with a gentleman who is, though something of a rogue, a good deal better a character than I,” the Duke continued, speaking with a gentleness to his tone that caught Florentina by surprise. “Yes, I will admit that it will give me the house but I could not tell if, after some time of consideration, you might then have changed your mind. I know that many a young lady seeks to have a gentleman by her side who truly cares for her and given that I appear to be the sort of fellow that most wish to avoid, the opportunity for happiness might not have been one you wished to pass over.”
Florentina shook her head. “I do not think of my own happiness, as I have said so many times.”
“But you agree, then, that I am the sort of gentleman that most in society wish to avoid?”
Biting back her first answer, Florentina looked away. “I cannot say that you are the sort of gentleman that I have found to be particularly delightful, as you well know, but I will not speak for society.”
The Duke closed his eyes and let out a long breath. A swell of sympathy rose in Florentina’s chest and, a light frown on her face, she watched him steadily. “Is there something that has happened which makes you think such a thing?” She was not entirely sure as to why she asked this but mayhap, she thought, it might have come from the strange demeanor he wore at present.
“I have lost two friends, both in quick succession.” The Duke lifted his head and looked back at her, a heaviness in his eyes which spoke of truth. “They have both thrown certain remarks at me and, much to my shame, I have begun to realise that theymight well be correct in their view of me. That is not a pleasant experience, Lady Florentina.”
Surprise jolted her heart, but Florentina kept her expression just as calm as she could. “I can imagine it must be rather difficult.” This was so unlike the Duke that she knew, it left her overwhelmed. Her thoughts raced, wondering if he was saying and doing this to gain something from her—perhaps to end their betrothal and regain the freedom he craved. Was this a game to him? A ploy? Or, for the first time, was she seeing him as he truly was?
She could not decide.
“I was not always like this.” With a rueful smile, the Duke looked away and then rubbed one hand over his chin. “My father… well, he was known to society but not held in high standing. It was the shame of that which made me quite determined to be the opposite of all that my father had become.”
