Page 39 of A Bluestocking for the Wicked Duke
“But there is a reason my father is the Duke and not her. Her opinion is of little importance,”
William leaned back into the chair.
It must be well past noon now. The sun isn’t so high anymore.
He brought out his time piece and looked into it. It was a few minutes past 2 o’clock. Time had flown by so quickly.
“So what do you do now?” William asked her
“I want you to help me William,” she replied.
William looked at her. He was confused.
“How do I come into this?”
“If we end this now, my father’s curiosity would be pricked. And the man is more dogged than a dog with a bone. I need us to keep in contact. Help me to feign a relationship of maybe a month or more. If it ends after that time, any reason I give him would be believable.”
William smiled wide.
This arrangement is so convenient. We could both keep up a show of a relationship, satisfying her father and my mother.
William looked at Esther and smiled again when he saw how apprehensive she was.
She doesn’t know how convenient this is for me too. This is exactly what I want.
William didn’t want her to detect his eagerness to enter such an arrangement. He bent his head over, holding it in his hands. He looked at the ground, counting the specks of sand he could see between his feet.
She probably thinks I am ruminating over such a difficult arrangement.
When he raised his head he had steeled his smiling face, wiping off the silly expression to wear a serious one.
“Our parents must never find out of this arrangement,” he said.
Esther shook her head vigorously.
“They won’t. This is between you and me, no one else,” she replied.
William stood up. He nodded his head gently, signaling his agreement to her.
“I will do it for you. Everyone deserves a chance at love.”
William was not ready for Esther as she threw herself at him in a crushing embrace. She squeezed him tightly, jumping in complete excitement. William allowed her jump for a few seconds before he held her down.
“Calm down Esther, this is only a third of the process. We still have to pretend like we are in a courtship for a period of more than 3 weeks. Bridle your excitement a bit, will you?”
Esther stopped jumping but still held tightly to William by his waist.
“I’m sorry for the emotional outburst. I was scared you would say no. I didn’t know you would agree to it because to be frank before I suggested it to you, I asked myself if there was anything in it for you. I found none,” Esther said.
William shook his head in fake comprehension of what she said.
There’s so much in it for me, you wouldn’t believe it.
“If there isn’t any other issue we need to discuss, I would like to take my leave now,” William said to Esther.
She moved back from him in a sharp response and looked straight into his face.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
