Page 11 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“I know that being on good terms with him could help your political career, Reggie,” she suddenly remembered.
Her brother waved his hand dismissively. “I do not plan on grounding my career on connections and favors. I want to roll up my sleeves and actually make a change for the better, led by integrity and authenticity to my own self and those I plan on serving. I do not need to know anyone for that. I will be able to do it on my own if need be.”
She smiled, pride beaming from her eyes. “That makes me so happy to hear, Reggie. Because if I am to marry, I want to marry for love, not for status, connections or anything of that sort, andI am so grateful that you are not the sort of brother who would sacrifice his sister’s happiness for his own advancement.”
“Never, Cate,” he assured her tenderly. “I love you more than anything, and your happiness matters more than my own.”
The rest of their journey home was spent planning out the following days, and Reginald remembered their plan to go to the theatre.
“I think I shall skip this one,” Catherine felt a sudden change of heart, although she was usually happy to go.
“Why?” he wondered, slightly worried.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. With the ball a few days ago, and this dinner party, I feel socially exhausted, and just want to spend an evening with a book by the fire.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Reginald nodded.
She smiled. “But I know you wouldn’t miss that show for the world. Don’t worry, I will be fine in my own home.”
“Are you sure?” he wondered. “I could stay, I’m sure that—”
“No, no, you go on and enjoy the show,” she replied tenderly.
They arrived home soon after, and that night, as Catherine got ready to go to bed, she realized that, although she had already given him her response, the duke’s proposal echoed through her thoughts like a lingering melody she could not get rid of.
Both flattered and outraged by his behavior, she felt as if she was somehow under his spell. However, that didn’t make him any less annoying. In fact, she believed that the duke’s only concern was himself and getting everything he wanted exactly when he wanted it.
“Well, you won’t get me,” she smirked in the darkness, unable to keep this comment to herself.
She closed her eyes, still with that satisfied smirk on her face, drifting off into slumber.
Chapter 6
“Why is it bothering you so?” Lord Timothy Hallifax, the Earl of Charlbury, spoke with a distant tone of shock, as he was sitting in Dominic’s study.
Timothy had been Dominic’s longtime friend, a person who sometimes knew him better than himself. That came with both its upsides and downsides. This time, the downsides were more prominent. Timothy was shocked that Dominic would still be so caught up with a lady who showed very little interest in him.
“Because it is,” Dominic frowned, swirling the amber liquid in a glass he was holding. Timothy’s glass was already empty, as it rested on Dominic’s mahogany writing table.
Timothy eyed him, then burst into a chuckle. “That is not the response of a duke, but rather a spoiled child.”
Dominic frowned. “You’re not helping.”
“You want me to tell you that you’re right,” Timothy replied playfully. “And you know I won’t do that.”
Dominic remembered that Timothy was the only one whose honest opinion truly mattered to him. And worst of all, Timothy knew that. Their friendship had always been one of playfulteasing, but when a situation demanded seriousness of them, both men would step up immediately.
“I don’t see what makes her so special that you keep thinking about this even days after it happened,” Timothy expressed his surprise. “You completely forgot how obsessed Lady Elizabeth O’Hara is with you, or Lady Julia Sturges, for that matter. I could list more ladies if you’d like me to.”
“No need.” Dominic shook his head as he got up from his chair. It squealed gently as it became free of the weight of his body. He proceeded to stroll through the room, walking up to the open window.
He knew very well that he could start courting any of those ladies as soon as that very evening. Even sooner, for that matter. But they lacked that something… something he could not quite put into words. And Lady Catherine seemed to have that… something. But how could he explain that to someone like Timothy, who needed a rational explanation for everything that happened to him and others around him?
“She mesmerized me from the moment I saw her, Tim,” Dominic tried to explain something he found unexplainable himself. “I told her that. I told her how beautiful she is, how I want to court her, and she refused me, just like that.”
Timothy shrugged. “A lady is entitled to her own opinion.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “But that doesn’t mean that I can’t get that lady to change it.”
