Page 20 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“I know, I know,” she assured him, trying to calm him down. “I’m just letting you know what transpired. And he… he told me that he would keep your secret.”
“He would?” Reginald didn’t sound convinced, and she knew why. She purposely allowed him a moment to come to his senses as she delivered the final blow.
“Yes, under one condition… if I married him.”
“That scoundrel said what?” Reginald exclaimed angrily, his fingers curling into fists. Catherine realized that it was fortunate that the duke had left, because Reginald was ready to fight him right then and there, even challenge him to a duel. The very thought frightened her to death. It was one thing to lose her reputation, even her freedom, but it was something completely different to lose her brother. It was a blow she believed she would never get over.
“Calm down, Reggie,” she said, but her brother barely heard her. He was lost in his own world, swimming in the sea of troubles hehimself had created. However, she knew better than to tell him that.
“I can’t calm down! This is intolerable! I won’t stand by and let that duke manipulate us like pawns in his game! I should challenge him to a duel to defend our honor!”
“No, no, absolutely not!” she exclaimed back, pressing her hand on his shoulder. With that simple, tender gesture, she became a beacon of calm in the midst of her brother’s storm. He was already in enough trouble as it was. The last thing they needed was a duel that could end tragically. She shuddered at the thought. “I understand your anger, Reginald, but escalating the situation won’t help. A duel won’t solve anything. It might only make things even worse.”
“I must defend your honor, our family’s honor!”
“And then what?” she shouted back at him fervently. “What if you die? Do you want to risk leaving Annabel without her love, Rosie without a father, me without a brother? Is our honor truly worth all that?”
His eyes were ablaze with frustration as he replied. “But Cate… we’re at his mercy… and it’s all my fault.” He shook his head, turning away from her. “I’m so sorry, I never wanted this to happen…”
“I know you didn’t,” she assured him, forcing him to turn around again and look at her. “And I won’t let anything happen to you, Annabel or Rosie, if I can help it. The duke is… I don’t have any words for him. We may not have control over his actions, but we can control our own.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She smiled reassuringly. “I will marry him to protect us all, our family name, but mostly, to protect your family and keep you all together until you can figure it all out.”
“But then we’re doing exactly what he wants us to do. I mean, what he wants you to do,” he said helplessly.
She could only imagine how he must have been feeling at that moment, a man unable to protect his family. Her heart was breaking for him, for both of them. However, she knew that if she could do something about it, she could not sit down and cry over her fate. She had to act bravely, even if it was at the expense of her own happiness. At least, she would ensure her brother’s. She would take care of him, just like he had taken care of her all their lives.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we’re powerless,” she reminded him. “I still don’t know how, but we’ll find a way to weather this storm and emerge with our dignity intact. I promise you that.”
She knew him well enough to know that he was still seething with indignation, but she could also see the calming influence she had on him. He was beginning to see things from her point of view and eventually, he would agree. After all, that was the only way out of this predicament.
“I can’t stand the thought of you being forced into this, Cate. If I only I could find that wretch of a man and set things right. It’s not right for you to suffer because of my mistakes.”
“No, Annabel and Rosie are not mistakes,” she shook her head.
“You know what I meant,” he smiled, grateful for her comment.
“I know,” she nodded, returning the smile. “I also know what it would mean for you, for Annabel, and for Rosie to have this secret leak into the very center of the ton. No, we have to protect them from the brunt of the public scorn.”
“You are so selfless, Cate,” Reginald spoke with his voice on the verge of breaking. She knew that he was fighting his own self by accepting the state of affairs as it was.
“We’ll face this together, Reggie. You and I have weathered storms before, and we will endure this one as well. But we must be strategic in our battles, not driven by anger.”
“You’re right,” he nodded with a powerless sigh. “I just feel like you are sacrificing your happiness for my sake. I don’t deserve that.”
“This is my decision, Reggie. You have always been the one to keep us both safe and protected. Now, it is my turn.” She spoke those words, and she meant every single one of them. Although she could immediately feel their weight. She knew exactly what they meant. She feared those consequences, but she knew that the alternative was even worse.
She soothed herself with the fact that she would not be the first, nor the last lady who would enter into a marriage of convenience. Well, convenience or blackmail, sometimes the difference was blurry. She would set the rules early on. They would live their lives separately, connected only by their family name and nothing else.
But do you really want to live away from him?She hated how that little voice always knew which questions to ask. Her mind flooded with the heat of the moment when they kissed and shamefully, she knew that she would not mind if it were to be repeated. She hastily banished the thought, focusing on what a horrible man the duke was, not how handsome or how charming he could sometimes be. Those thoughts were dangerous.
Silently, Reginald wrapped his arms around his sister, pulling her into an embrace. Cate smiled, closing her eyes. Thatwas a rare, precious moment that allowed her to forget the predicament they were in. They remained like that for a long time, with neither of them willing to let go. The weight of their decisions still hung in the air around them as they grappled with the complexities of duty, sacrifice, and the bonds that held their family together.
The impending union with the Duke of Fairhaven loomed as a choice that went beyond personal desires. Catherine knew that she would never marry that man under any circumstances.
But perhaps it wouldn’t all be that dark. She could lead a life separate from him. It was not the married life she had envisioned for herself, but at least her brother would be happy with his own family in a life they had created for themselves. Actually, a life they were allowed to create for themselves, because it was society who deemed an actress a woman not fit to wed.
