Page 83 of Married to a Frozen Duke
"No milk, a little sugar."
"See? Progress. I now know one personal thing about you."
"You know more than that."
"Do I? Let's see. You're a duke. You value propriety above all else. You despise my family. You have excellent posture. That's about it."
"That's not..." He paused, seeming to realize she was right. "That was rather limited."
"What do you know about me?"
He considered. "You're a Coleridge. You arrange flowers. You're kind to servants, probably too kind, in my opinion. You snort when you laugh."
"I do not snort!"
"You absolutely do. Small, delicate snorts, but snorts nonetheless."
"That's mortifying."
"It's actually rather..." He stopped abruptly.
"Rather what?"
"Nothing."
They sat in almost companionable silence for a few minutes, sipping tea and not quite looking at each other.
"Your brothers," he said eventually. "What should I expect?"
"Chaos," she answered honestly. "Charles and Edward are... exuberant. They don't mean any harm, but they also don't think before they speak or act. They'll probably say inappropriate things, help themselves to your brandy without asking, and treat the house like they own it."
"Wonderful."
"They mean well. They're just..."
"Coleridges?"
"Young men who've never been taught proper behaviour because our parents were too busy trying to climb socially to notice their sons were growing up wild."
"And you?"
"I was the quiet one. Easy to overlook when there's so much noise around you."
"But you weren't overlooked. You're here."
"Because your grandfather's will named me specifically. If there had been any other option..."
"You wouldn't be here."
"Neither of us would be here. We'd be living our separate lives, probably much happier."
"Are you so unhappy?"
She looked at him and realised that he seemed genuinely curious rather than offended.
"I'm... adjusting. It's hard being somewhere you know you're not wanted."
"I never said..."
