Page 66 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
Wasshe alright?
Would she ever be alright again?
Part of her felt like she could finally rest, knowing that there was nothing more she had to run from. Her father had warned her not to let her grandfather find her. Now, thanks to Leo, she would be free of him for the rest of her life.
And she knew what happened to her mother. Not just her father and his suspicions, but hard evidence that her mother’s heart did not simply give out.
And she would marry the Duke of Devishire, the one man who had intrigued her since the very first time he walked her out of a book club she should never have attended.
There were worse things in the world than being married to Leo. She thought of how close she had come to being married to Christopher or one of the other men who had shown up for the auction.
How different would her life be if Leo had been a few hours too late, her hand already given in marriage to one of her suitors?
But she refused to say any of that to him. She could not summon the words, much as she willed herself to.
“Yes.”
It was all she could manage.
Leo looked at her intently and then helped her down from the carriage. She turned to look at him before turning toward the path to the estate.
“The wedding is tomorrow,” he said when she was halfway to the door leading into the kitchens.
She turned to face him, her eyes betraying none of her emotions. There was a storm inside her: excitement over the prospect of marriage and all that it would bring her, sadness for what she had lost, anger that Leo thought he could make this decisionforher.
When she did not speak, he added, “I will send word to Theresa and Aaron.”
“Are they not here?” Margaret asked, disappointed.
She had very much hoped that she would find Theresa inside, that she could confide in a friend as close as a sister, telling her about everything that had occurred.
“They took their leave earlier today,” he said.
Margaret detected the edge in his voice, but she could not figure out what had caused it. Her friend and her husband were supposed to stay for the party.
Was their ruse officially over?
“But—”
“No buts,” Leo said, the command back in his voice. “You’re marrying me, and that’s final. I will not tolerate any more threats to your life.”
“The only threat that I faced is gone now,” Margaret countered. “I am here at Devishire Mansion, but I no longer need your protection.”
“Wewillget married, but you will be free.” He shrugged, as if this was the only way things made sense.
Would she be so free as he seemed to think she would be? Certainly, the ton would permit her to do as she wanted with a duke as her husband. Theresa had built a good life with Aaron, and she seemed to love life here in London.
But something niggled at Margaret.
“What if I do not want that?” She willed her voice to remain even as she stared back at him.
If she showed even a tremor, a hint that she was so nervous to confront him, he would persuade her that she needed this.
“I do not have anything else to offer.” He raked a hand through his hair and left it mussed. “I will not go back on my word.”
Margaret rolled her eyes and heaved a long sigh. She could go back and forth with him all day, and she would never get through to him. Leo had this way of holding her at arm’s length that she detested.
She loved what he could do to her body. He had proven himself to be a very capable lover. The problem was that Margaret needed more than that. Lust was meaningless if she could never see his heart.
