Page 16 of Her Duke By Accident
“Wait—”
She raised her hand to stop him. “I’m not finished. You are not the only one who has lost something in this union. This is not what I wanted, Your Grace. Owen has been pressuring me since the moment my father passed to find a husband. Not in the way my parents used to urge.
“He needed a man of wealth, a man of title. I needed someone good. I needed someone who loved me. It is what my parentshave always wanted for me. It is what I wanted for myself.” Alicia took a step closer to him, looking as though she was trying to reason with a wild animal. “You say other things are important, like succession. I am sacrificing this for my sister. If I have to give up my happiness, I will give it up for her.”
“Alicia.”
A stunned silence spread between them once more as they locked eyes. Alicia’s breathing got heavy, whether she meant for it to or not. She searched his dark gaze, seeing something other than the cold sternness he usually displayed. Though she could not pinpoint it, Matthew’s lips parted ever so slightly, and his gaze lowered before snapping back up to meet her own.
Matthew was the first to break their stare. He nodded at her. “I will not mention it again.”
“It–it’s all right.”
The duke met her gaze. “Why were you there?” he asked. “In the library.”
“Owen,” she began, forgetting herself. She closed her eyes and breathed, “the marquess has been struggling to repair what my father left behind. This Season is supposed to be the one that saves us. The pressure has been… heavy on my shoulders. The library was a moment of quiet within it all.”
A look of understanding crossed the duke’s face. He crossed his arms behind his back, gazing at her.
“How could I have known you’d seek the same solace?” she enquired.
“You are right,” he said, almost as if he didn’t want to admit it.
Alicia looked back at him, curious to see if he would remain open for the rest of their promenade.
The duke glanced at her as chattering voices carried into the gazebo. He went cold, stiffly raising his arm to gesture towards the exit, where the trio of chaperones approached. “This way, my lady,” he said curtly.
Alicia didn’t bother to try and talk to him anymore. There was a wall between them, one too tall to climb. The London spring breeze would not be taking the tension away, not on that day.
CHAPTER 6
Everything the duke planned came to fruition swimmingly.
Alicia stood in her bedroom for the last time at Egerton Manor, a light green gown falling from her shoulders. In the early morning, sunlight shone through the windows and scattered across the floor.
“You are so quiet,” Patience Caney, the Dowager Marchioness of Egerton and lady of the house, said as she pinned Alicia’s brunette curls. “I couldn’t stop talking on my wedding day.”
Penelope, who promised to help but resorted instead to lying across Alicia’s wide bed, rolled over until she faced them. “Luckily, Alicia isn’t like you, mother,” she teased. “I don’t know how much of her voice I could handle.”
“You won’t be saying that so confidently once she leaves,” Lady Egerton said with a smirk.
“Yes, I will!” Penelope snapped, finally sitting up. “This is the biggest room in the house!”
Alicia shot a look at her. “You willnotbe taking my room, Penny.”
“You’re not the lady of this house,” her little sister mumbled, playing with the ribbons lacing her dress.
Lady Egerton ignored her younger daughter's whine and turned until she stood directly in front of Alicia, blocking out her reflection in the tall mirror. Taking her hands, Lady Egerton gave Alicia a sad smile. “Tell me,” she said, “what makes you so sad on this day?”
Alicia lowered her gaze. “It is nothing, Mama.”
“Soon,” her mother said, “you will live in a manor with no one you recognize.”
Alicia felt her heart drop to her stomach.
“Take these moments while you are still here to talk to us,” Lady Egerton pleaded. “If you feel despair, let me take it off your shoulders. If it is joy, but you are wary of expressing it, be calm, my daughter, and let yourself be happy.”
“It isn’t important,” she muttered.
