Page 6 of His Wild Duchess
Penelope raised a brow, wanting to take offense to how blatantly he admitted that. Not a bit of her cared enough, though. It wasn’t like she was looking for a love match, either. “Very well,” she said. “I will marry you.”
“I’m surprised,” he said, smirking at her. “From how the Ton talks, I thought it’d be like pulling teeth to come to an agreement.”
“I wasn’t finished.” Penelope ignored the idea of the Ton gossiping and finding fault with the way her life turned out.
The Duke laughed. “Is there something else you’d like to add?”
“You have placed my brother’s future in some doubt,” Penelope said. “And for that, I have some conditions I expect to be met if I am to follow through on this contract.”
“Ifyou are to follow through?” the Duke repeated, raising a brow. “I don’t think the Caney name could withstand another scandal.” His lip began to curl devilishly as he teased. “Do you?”
“You underestimate my family.”
The Duke laughed louder this time. “You have such a sharp edge, my Lady. Take a deep breath and calm yourself.” He shrugged, still smirking. “I expected you to have conditions. I only teased.” Waving a hand at her, he added, “Let’s hear them.”
Ignoring the way his bantering got beneath her skin so quickly, Penelope held her hands behind her back, repeating what she wanted to say in her mind. “I want a cottage,” she said. “To live out my days independently. There needs to be a small stable, large enough for a single mare. And a yard, one that is parallel to expansive woods, if possible.”
The Duke slowly nodded. “Very well, then, I -”
“Once again,” Penelope interjected, irritation laced in her voice, “You have spoken as if I said I was finished.”
He huffed. “Apologies, my Lady. Please,” he said sarcastically. “Go on.”
“Where will we live after we are wed?”
His eyebrows raised.
Finally,Penelope thought,I truly surprised him.
“The townhouse in London.” The Duke looked out the window, and his lip curled unpleasantly. “ItisLondon Season, is it not?”
Penelope nodded with a shrug. “What’s your point?”
“Why are you here, in the country?”
“It isn’t any of your business,” she snapped, holding her chin up. She hadn’t attended aristocratic society in years, and for good reason. When Owen began courting his fiance, he resided alone at the townhouse, with their mother visiting to attend a ball or two. Penelope remained at Egerton, ignoring their efforts to convince her to do otherwise. “If we will live in the townhouse, I will need to bring my animals with me.”
“What kind of animals?” he asked apprehensively.
“Dogs, and one cat. As well as my mare, Fiona.”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t pry. “So be it. I can make the arrangements.”
“And…” her voice trailed off, the confidence wavering for a moment. Perhaps her leverage would soon run out, and she pushed too far. The Duke already seemed so nonchalant about the lack of propriety in the drawing room, and she feared society’s standards would suddenly return to him. Penelope fidgeted in place, searching for the words again.
The Duke watched expectantly, passing by the table to shorten the distance between them. “Yes?”
“And I need an end.”
His eyebrows wound together. “End?”
“You seek a marriage.” Penelope drew herself upright. “To improve your relationship with the Ton. To seem a respectable Duke. Correct?”
The Duke nodded.
“Then when you have achieved your goal,
I would be free to go live in the cottage.Alone, with only my animals.”
