Page 28 of A Duke's Temptation Poetess
“I see. Well, I have given some thought to our dilemma.”
“Dilemma?” Clarissa echoed.
“I had thought that I could get you invited to Lady Roswood’s ball, and you could spend the journey and event winning His Grace’s affections. However, I have realised that there may be a potential problem with that plan.”
“Oh?” Clarissa asked. She dared not hope that her mother had come to her senses and realised that trying to force Clarissa to seduce His Grace was a terrible idea. That seemed unlikely.
“We cannot wait for the ball,” Clarissa’s mother said. “Otherwise, he is likely to be distracted by more eligible women. No, we need to ensure that your marriage to the Duke of Hartingdale is arrangedbeforewe arrive in Bath.”
Clarissa sighed. “He is uninterested in me, and I cannot change that.”
The man who she had left moments before had beenveryinterested in her, but Clarissa had no intentions of revealing that to anyone, especially when her own mother might use it to her advantage.
“Then we must force him to marry you,” her mother said.
“How many times must we have this argument? It does not matter if he loves you or is interested in you. All that matters is that he weds you. You will have an opportunity tonight. You must sneak into his room and seduce him. There are many people in this inn.
Someone will doubtlessly see, and in order to save his reputation, he will agree to marry you. Lady Matilda would not allow any other course of action.”
“I have told you that I will not do this,” Clarissa said. “I meant my refusal the first time, and I mean it now. I shall mean it if you suggest it in the future.”
Her mother stared at her as if she were a madwoman. “Then you will doom us to a life of poverty! Why is that so difficult for you to understand, Clarissa? I am trying to save our family and its reputation! Why will you not help me with that?”
“Because neither is worth anything if we must trap an innocent man to save them!” Clarissa exclaimed.
“He is hardly innocent!” her mother argued. “The Duke of Hartingdale is a rake. Everyone knows that he is! I am sure that his reputation will hardly suffer from finally being caught in a compromising position. I am certain that most of the ton has already anticipated his inevitable scandalous end for some time.”
“And how does it preserve our family if we are a part of that?” Clarissa asked. “The scandal will be ours, too.”
“You are an innocent, young woman,” Lady Bentley argued. “They will forgive you in time.”
“They will know that we planned this,” Clarissa said, desperation curling like a snake inside her. “It will be too much of a coincidence. After five failed Seasons, I somehow manage to ensnare a duke?”
“They will not look that deeply into it. They never do, and it would be best for us all if you would just cease trying to make excuses and do as you are told!”
“I cannot.”
Her mother scowled. “Fine. We shall go to dinner, then. At least do your best to behave there.”
Clarissa swallowed hard and shook her head. “I cannot go to dinner either. I am not hungry.”
“Go anyway.”
As her mother stood, Clarissa took a vacant chair across the room. “I cannot,” she said. “I just—I am tired. And I do not wish to see His Grace after having this conversation. I will be polite to him, and if he chooses to develop some tender feelings for me, that will be lovely. But I will not trap him into marrying me.”
“You are such a disappointment,” Lady Bentley said, “just like your father was.”
Clarissa’s breath hitched, and her eyes burned. She averted her gaze, so her mother would not see the tears which threatened to spill over. “I am trying not to marry a man like father,” Clarissa said quietly. “I do not understand how you can blame me for that.”
“I do not blame you for that,” her mother said. “I blame you for not having the maturity to realise how limited your options truly are. It is the fate of women in our world to marry. That is how we survive. I do not know why you feel as though you are any different from the rest.”
“I do not think I am different,” Clarissa replied.
That was maybe not entirely true. She had often felt out of place among the women of the ton and in London, but perhaps those young ladies felt similarly. Maybe they were all only pretending that they wanted to be proper aristocratic ladies, while they all secretly desired for something more.
“Then you should have no qualms in doing what I am asking you to,” her mother said sharply. “I will make excuses for you at dinner, and I hope you will use this time alone to reflect on everything that you stand to lose if His Grace also does not want you.”
Clarissa said nothing, instead choosing to watch silently as her mother stormed across the room and shoved the door open.
