Page 31 of Fit for a Duke
‘Foolish child! You will become an object of sympathy, an inconvenience to your relatives and an embarrassment to them if you do not marry. Old maids are always looked upon in such a manner.’
‘Are they indeed? Even the wealthy ones who can afford to employ companions if they grow weary of their own company?’ Mark inwardly fumed as she taunted him with suggestions about her wealth. ‘Besides, I don’t believe I mentioned an aversion to matrimonyper se, Captain, but merely to marriage with you.’
‘Ouch! I say.’
‘If I was impolite then I make no apology.’ She absently snatched at a blade of grass with the hand not holding her parasol. ‘Had you not come here under false pretences, duping Lady Fletcher into believing that there was an understanding between us when no such thing existed, then I would have heard your proposal with politeness. Perhaps I would even have accepted it. Who can say? But I cannot abide underhandedness. I do not love you and anyway, I do not think that we would suit.’
‘Clio, please, I beg you…’ He grasped her upper arm but she sent his fingers an imperious look.
‘Let go of me!’ She didn’t raise her voice but spoke with enough venom to ensure that he complied. Manhandling her wouldn’t have the desired effect. He would have to think of something else. ‘I have given you my answer, and shall not change my mind. If you are half the gentleman you claim to be, then you will accept my decision and graciously withdraw your attentions. There are plenty of ladies here who appear to enjoy your society, some of whom even have healthy dowries,’ she added helpfully. ‘I will be happy to introduce you to any who find favour.’
‘I am no pauper, if that is what you presume.’
‘And yet you made no mention of the comfortable life you could offer me if I were to accept you.’ She sent him a curious look. ‘Is that not the done thing, or did you suppose that I don’t care for creature comforts?’
Ye gods she was a tigress, and against all the odds, Mark found himself even more determined to have her. The little madam was serious in her mocking rejection, though! He could scarce believe it. He had never proposed before, it was true, but no female whom he had favoured with his attentions had ever rebuffed them. And yet this prime piece, barely out of the schoolroom, was looking down at him with haughty disdain, tinged with a modicum of ridicule.
It defied belief.
And it could not be left there. Mark had no intention of withdrawing, gracefully or otherwise. There had to be a way to change her mind and there were six more days of this party to go in order for him to find that way, as well as discharging his other duties. The real reason for his visit.
The sound of laughter and of mallets striking balls greeted them as they turned a corner and saw the croquet lawn in the far distance. A dog came bounding up to them, that scrawny creature of Wickham’s, and Clio bent to make a big fuss of it. Salford felt a moment’s panic, worried that Wickham might not be far behind, then berated himself for his fears. Mark had merely been walking with the lady, there was absolutely nothing untoward about his behaviour.
Not on this occasion.
‘I hope we can still be friends,’ he forced himself to say, bowing in front of Clio when they reached the terrace and then forcing himself to walk away.
Chapter Nine
The interlude with Captain Salford had shaken Clio badly, so instead of returning to the party she retreated to the orchard in search of solitude. Alone, she paced up and down, mulling the situation over. His simmering anger when she declined his presumptuous advances had been extreme.
And highly disturbing.
‘There is nothing he can do to force my hand,’ she said aloud, in an effort to convince herself that she was worrying unnecessarily. What was wrong with her? She had told Ezra that she would try and discover if Salford had come here with the intention of killing him. Instead, she was in danger of crumbling at the first hurdle because the man had scowled at her. ‘Where’s your backbone?’ she demanded.
‘Are you all right?’
She swung around, furious because Salford must have followed her. Her mistake registered when she was confronted by the duke’s concerned expression.
‘I thought you were playing games,’ she said, more sharply than had been her intention. She absolutely didn’t want him to see her looking so flustered. He would never permit her to help him with his enquiry if she appeared so feeble, but she very much wanted to make herself useful, perhaps because she wanted to prove something to herself. What that elusive something might be, she had yet to decide.
‘The game you refer to is finished.’ He smiled at her. ‘I saw you with Salford.’
‘And thought I needed rescuing?’
‘It’s clear that he has overset you. That much was obvious from the language I just overheard when you were talking to yourself.’ He flashed another engaging smile. ‘Eavesdropping becomes remarkably addictive, I find.’
Clio sighed. ‘I thought I was ready for him, but there is something threatening about him when he doesn’t get his way that is highly disconcerting. He is not a man who enjoys being crossed, but I don’t suppose I am telling you anything you were not already aware of. Anyway, I have made my position plain, rejected his proposal and asked him not to bother me again. I hope he will accept my decision.’
‘Let me have a word.’
‘Absolutely not!’ Clio bent to stroke Merlin’s head when he bounded up to them, his tail wagging. ‘How would that look?’
Ezra took her arm and led her behind a row of apple trees when a couple of other guests briefly stepped into the orchard. ‘I feel responsible.’
‘Why?’ She sent him a challenging look. ‘Do you imagine that Salford came here solely for the purpose of irritating you? Well, even if he is that foolish, his pursuit of me would hardly serve in that regard, and I cannot imagine why he would presume otherwise.’
He sent her a searching look. ‘Can you not?’
