Page 123 of His Grace, the Duke
She chuckled. “Yes, Your Grace. That is something friends do for each other,” she added. “We are still friends, are we not?”
Slowly, he nodded. “Yes, Cabbage. We are friends... in fact, I think you might be my only friend.”
She gave him another smile, knowing well the feeling of being alone in the world. She struggled to come up with the right way to ask her question. “I wanted to ask you about... marriage. What are your thoughts?”
He slapped a hand over his chest. “Saints alive, is this a proposal? I’ll need to fetch my smelling salts... and a pistol, for James is sure to hunt me until I’m dead.”
She laughed, stepping closer. “No, Your Grace. If you’ll remember, you are already engaged.”
“Oh, damn,” he murmured. “I’d nearly forgot.”
“You will marry Piety Nash intwodays,” she reminded him. “Surely, if one such as you is willing to place his neck in the noose, well, you must believe in marriage...”
He snorted. “It’s a goddamn nightmare. Can you imaginememarried to another person? Cabbage, do you know how many people I’ve slept with just since we announced our engagement? Can you even guess?”
She didn’t want to guess. “So, this will be a performance for you... a ritual act for the sake of society. You will not hold to the vows you take, and... that doesn’t bother you?”
“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a lord that hasnotbroken his marriage vows on at least one occasion. And I’m not just talking about the ‘forsaking all others’ bit. That’s a laugh.” He waved his hand, dismissing the idea entirely. “But there’s the bits in the middle about tending in sickness, honoring and cherishing, etcetera. What two people in today’s modern society marry with those goals at the center? It’s all about power, isn’t it? Who has the power... who wants more power... how two people can find power together.”
She pursed her lips. “So... you’re marrying for power, then?”
“I am marrying so my mother leaves me the hell alone,” he replied. “It seemed the easiest way to appease her. Piety is the power-seeking one in this match. I have no doubt she feels nothing for me. Oh, do not fret on my account,” he added,stepping forward to pat her shoulder. “It is just the way of things for our set. She seeks the power my position can give her. In return, we’ll fuck occasionally. I suppose the fucking will be more rigorous until she’s with child. But once she has a son, I can leave off it. I’ll deal with her living here, but it’s a big house. I have others. And I like to travel. I can still enjoy my freedoms.”
“And you would live that way, knowing you can do and be anything else your heart desires?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
She scoffed, hands on her hips. “I mean you are a man! You are a duke. As you say, you are practically royalty. There is no power you cannot wield, nothing you cannot have, and yet you’re making the choice to live this small life. This—this half-life,” she cried, gesturing around.
“Half?” he repeated, his mouth turned down in a frown.
“I don’t know about you, but I want more,” she whispered. “Ineedmore. I want to live fully. I want to live out loud. Boldly. Freely. I want to... run naked through a forest, scream in a crowded room, leap from a cliffside and splash into the ocean below.” She stepped closer, eyes glistening with tears as she reached for his hand, holding it in both of her own. “I see the same spirit in you, and it frightens me, George.”
“Why?” he whispered, his lips barely moving.
“Because if you cannot be brave, you who haseverything... how can I ever hope to be?”
57
Rosalie
Rosalie returned toher room, humming with nerves after her talk with the duke. She knew what she wanted; she just didn’t know how to get it. And it wasn’t entirely up to her. Three other people had to be willing to go along with her plans.
The gong had just rung, and it was time to change for dinner. She wasn’t going to bother with ringing for a maid. They were just eating at home, so she could change her own clothes.
As soon as she sat down at her vanity, there came a knock at her door.
Herotherdoor. “Enter,” she called.
Burke swung the door open, stepping through with a smile. “See how I improve?”
“Leaps and bounds,” she murmured, tugging loose a few of the pins holding her hair in a simple braided bun. At the very least she would update her style to something more fitting for the evening.
“We’ve been looking for you,” he said, coming around the end of the bed. “You need to get dressed or we’ll be late.”
“ThaswhatImdoin,” she replied, her teeth full of pins.
“Not for dinner. We’re taking you out on the town, love. It’s all been arranged.”
