Page 57 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
“What?” James snapped so harshly that he actually felt sorry for Dennis when the man entered with his head bowed low, looking apologetic.
“Forgive me, Your Grace, but you have further callers.”
Mr Colton shall live another day,he thought even as he told Dennis, “Please, fetch my cheque book.”
He glowered at Mr Colton as he said the words. Dennis, though looking suspicious, did not say a word as he dipped his head and left the room to do just that.
Though James felt a clawing in his gut that told him he couldn’t trust the gentleman before him to remain entirely quiet, he was certain that for now he could placate the man. And the sooner he wrote a cheque, the sooner he could be rid of him.
Yet that did nothing to dispel the rumours of himself and Lady Florence that were still making the rounds, not to mention that he still could not remove all thoughts of Miss Thornton from his mind.
Am I to be forever plagued by this family?James wondered, imagining what his life might be like had he never asked Miss Thornton to dance with him that very first night of the Season.
Chapter 30
The morning after the Fyling Ball, even before breakfast, Melody’s mother dragged her before her father in his study. It was clear from both of their expressions that her father had already been made aware of all that had happened the night before. And as she stood there, Melody found she could not look either of them in the eye.
“What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?” her mother demanded after Jenkins had been dismissed from the room. It was made very clear to her that they had no desire for anyone else to learn of what had happened.
For the first time in her life, Melody was scared to be left alone with her parents. She had spent so long trying to please them, even agreeing to marry Mr Colton simply because they were desperate to see her well-cared for, that she had no idea of how to face them now.
“Mama, I…I can explain.”
Speaking the same words that she had the evening before, she felt utterly stupid. The truth was, she had no idea of how to explain herself because she had no clue as to why it had happened. It simply had.
She had spent half of the night tossing and turning, trying to figure it out in her own head and yet every time she came to the same conclusion, the duke had to have been playing games with her.
But every time she told herself that, there was a feeling in her gut that told her she was lying to herself. The words that the duke had spoken to her the night before felt more real than anything she had ever experienced and no matter how much she tried to tell herself that he had been lying to try and get something out of her, she couldn’t quite believe it.
“I think you had better,” her father stated and though he had always been the sterner of the two, Melody was terrified by the look in his eyes. She had never seen him quite so angry. The redness to his cheeks and the way they puffed out, the way his hands were clasped white-knuckled on the desk before him, suggested that it was taking all he had in him not to rant and rave at her. “And fast.”
“The duke and I…we…”
“We do not need to know what you were doing!” her mother snapped, cutting her off before she could even come up with the words to explain herself. “What we need to know is how you allowed it to happen!”
The woman stood to her husband’s back with a hand upon his shoulder as though she too was looking for any way to contain herself.
“Is this why the duke came in here spouting such vile rumours about the Coltons?” her father demanded, slamming his fist down on the desk so suddenly that it caused Melody to jump. Her legs trembled so violently that she wished there was a seat close by. Her parents had ordered her to stand.
“Did he mean to break off this engagement as some…some perverse way to keep you as what? His mistress?”
Nauseous with her father’s accusation Melody blurted, “No, papa! The duke would never do such a thing!”
“Then what?” her father asked, his voice so filled with anger that it made Melody tense up entirely. For the first time, she was frightened of her own father. “Has the duke made mention of marriage?”
“Has he proposed?” her mother added. She sounded almost hopeful though there was still an edge of anger to her voice. “Surely he must have proposed before such anencounterlast night?”
Melody’s insides twisted. She thought back to the night before and all that had happened. She could still hear the duke’s words repeating over and over in her mind, reminding her of all the passion and honesty he had offered to her, all of the things she had longed for in life.
The words, ‘what about me?’ lingered in her memory. Could she possibly take that for a hint towards marriage? After all, that was exactly what they had been talking about when he had uttered the words to her.
I cannot make any promises to them,she knew and so she hung her head and shook it, admitting, “He did not offer any proposal.”
“Then we had better come up with a way to contain this before something terrible happens,” her father declared. “Melody, you must never see the duke again!”
Her father’s words shattered her heart into a thousand tiny pieces. Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes and as an obedient daughter, she dipped her head. “Yes, papa.”
Pain lanced through her heart anew and her stomach twisted with such fury that she almost doubled over. The thought of never laying eyes upon the duke again made her feel as though her entire world was falling down all around her.
