Page 31 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“In that case, I shall pack today, so we are ready to head out tomorrow morning at any time you wish,” she assured him.
“That sounds perfect.” He nodded again, confused beyond belief.
He had no idea what caused this compliance. With her, he felt as if he were walking on slippery ice. At one moment, he had control over the whole situation, but at another, he felt that he was falling down. Still, she had agreed to come with him and that was enough.
“Well, all right then,” he said, feeling once again like a lost little boy who had stumbled into the room of his governess while she was changing by complete accident, and now he didn’t know what to say. “That’s settled then.”
“Yes,” she nodded again, utterly grave. “And thank you for the breakfast.”
“Of course,” he replied. “Like I said, if you need anything else, just let Mrs. Jenkins know. Or me. That’s also fine.”
He thought he saw a flicker of a smile, but then she was serious again.
“All right,” she said. “Thank you. I will.”
He nodded one last time, before he opened the door, lingered for a moment, then let himself out. Breathing as if he had just been running a race, he wondered what had just happened. What was that strange effect she had on him, without even trying? It was as if, when she was cold and detached, he yearned for her evenmore, to prove to her that he wasn’t as bad as she thought him to be. A part of him wondered if he would even be able to show her that.
He raked his fingers through his hair as he headed down the corridor towards his study. If they were going to spend a few days away visiting his aunt, he needed to wrap up a few business matters that he had been dealing with.
Chapter 16
The following day, Catherine found herself in the carriage with her husband on the way to Bath. It was to be a three hour long journey, which meant that she could not be avoiding him and his stare for the entire duration.
When they discussed this trip the previous day, she could see that he was shocked to see her so compliant. The truth was that she didn’t want to antagonize him. While she did marry him and that should have been enough to consider her brother’s secret safe, she couldn’t help but think that perhaps, if other conditions inside the marriage were not met, the duke might remind her of her promise in other ways.
He might threaten her with her brother’s secret again. So, it was best to agree with him, at least in regards to things that were expected of her, such as visiting relatives together and attending social events.
What surprised her the most were the oscillations of emotions she had regarding him. There were times when she thought him the worst, for blackmailing her into this marriage and then demanding her to play the role of the obedient wife.
But then again, she noticed glimpses of his character that seemed secondary to his confidence and arrogance, like, for instance, his hobby of clockmaking. She still couldn’t believethat something so private, so peaceful, could be of interest to someone like him.
“… so far.” She suddenly heard his voice, but in her mind, she was a thousand miles away, so she didn’t catch his words.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she turned to him. “I didn’t hear you. I was lost in thought.”
“I said, I hope you find our journey agreeable so far,” he repeated, his voice hesitant, but determined. His words hung in the air, tinged with a palpable sense of awkwardness that seemed to envelop them both.
“The countryside is quite picturesque,” she replied, not wanting to respond affirmatively or negatively to his question for the very simple reason that she herself didn’t know whether she was enjoying herself or not. It was a strange sensation to be seated next to this man, to whom she felt such a strong, undeniable attraction, and yet, for him, she felt so much rage.
Still, there was no point in her perpetual anger. That left her trapped in a vicious cycle, which in turn made her feel even worse. She could at least be civil to him. That would make it easier on them both.
“Yes, it is,” he nodded. “The rolling hills, the lush greenery… it is truly a sight to behold.”
“Did you travel a lot to your aunt’s home when you were little?” she inquired politely, realizing that she was actually curious about his answer. She wasn’t asking merely to be polite or to fill out their time with something other than uncomfortable silence. She actually wanted to know things about him. This frightened her. What would happen if she fell in love with him? What then?
No. No. No.She denied it to herself several times, and that was the end of it.
“I, umm, spent a lot of time there as a child, yes,” he responded. Something told her that there was more to this story, but he seemed reluctant to talk about it.
“I didn’t have any aunts or uncles growing up,” she shrugged. That was where she, too, wanted to end her story. She didn’t have a mother or a father either, only Reginald, but she didn’t wish to reveal that to him. It didn’t matter.
“Did you wish you had any?” he wondered.
She almost smiled at the silliness of their conversation, but she realized that those were the only conversations they could have with both of them feeling comfortable. Snapping back and forth was reserved for arguing. And they were neither friends nor lovers to share deep, personal matters. So, only silly topics were left, and somehow, Catherine was quite all right with that.
“I suppose,” she shrugged. “When you didn’t have something, it’s hard to imagine what that is like.”
“True,” he smiled. It was one of those matter-of-fact, simple but deep smiles he bestowed upon her so rarely. Usually, his smiles were victorious or playful grins. Reluctantly, she had to admit that she liked those as well, but these genuine smiles were her favorite.
