Deborah was left fuming as she put down her cards. “Can you believe him? He could not bear to lose again, so he has concocted a ridiculous story so that he appears to have the upper hand still.”
Nicholas laughed, amused by what was unfolding in front of him. “I do not blame him. You get very prideful whenever you win.”
“You are supposed to be on my side.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What business do you have supporting the Duke over your own sister?”
“I suppose it counts as payback for all the times that you have beaten me at Piquet.” Nicholas chuckled. “Besides, it is far more satisfying to see you riled up like this.”
Deborah could not contain her anger anymore. Not only was the Duke self-absorbed, but he was delusional in the truest sense of the word. He seemed to have made a habit of accusing her of strange things. First, he had accused her of trapping him in a marriage, and now, he was accusing her of cheating in a card game.
Her nostrils flared up, and she got up from the table to leave the parlor, having played enough games for the night.
“I am going to retire to my chamber now,” she announced and hastily made her leave.
“Calm down, Deborah.” Nicholas followed her out. “It was just a game. You are doing it again.”
“Doing what again?” She shot daggers at him, annoyed that he had followed her out all the way into the hallway.
“Letting the Duke get to you,” he replied. “I must say, though, you seemed to have a similar effect on him. Perhaps he shares the same fascination with you, as you do with him.”
“You must stop saying these ridiculous things to me,” Deborah warned him for a final time.
“Are they really that ridiculous?” he asked. “I can spot chemistry between two people from a mile away, and you two seem to have enough of it to spark a fire.”
“There is no way I would ever be interested in someone as vapid, delusional, and self-centered as the Duke,” she maintained.
“That is no way to speak about someone whom you like secretly,” Nicholas teased.
“Stop it,” she hissed. “I have no more patience left to entertain you. Perhaps you should go and make friends with him. It is clear the both of you are cut from the same insufferable cloth.”
With that, she stormed off, leaving her brother still laughing in amusement.
CHAPTEREIGHT
“Iheard that your card game with my brother yesterday caused quite a stir,” Emma said to Deborah the next morning as they sat at the dining table for breakfast.
“Oh, I was on the verge of beating him fair and square,” Deborah stated calmly. “But he refused to finish the game and instead accused me of rigging it.”
“Oh, that sounds quite unlike my brother,” Emma said, confusion furrowing her brow. “Perhaps he misunderstood. I know he would never falsely accuse you of cheating if he did not actually believe so.”
Deborah shrugged. “I am not sure about that.” Her mind reeled back to when the Duke had accused her of trying to trap him in a marriage.
It seemed to her that distrust towards other people was a common theme with him. She wondered what the reason behind this lack of trust was. Perhaps it came with the territory, as being the Duke meant many people would try to use him for his position. For a moment, she found herself feeling sympathetic towards him.
“Well, I do hope the two of you have more opportunities to interact with each other in the coming days.” Emma smiled optimistically. “You both have gotten off on the wrong foot, but I assure you, once he decides to open up to you, you’ll find that he is very good company.”
Deborah was amazed by the way Emma always stood up for her brother. But she realized that she would perhaps do the same thing if it was for her own brothers. As annoying as they could sometimes be, she always had nice things to say about them behind their back.
“How are the plans for the wedding progressing?” Deborah changed the topic.
“Oh, it’s all chaos at the moment.” Emma chuckled. “Everyone seems to have their own opinions about how the day should go.”
“I hope you do not give in to the pressure. It is your wedding day, and you deserve to have it exactly as you like,” Deborah advised.
“I am trying.” Emma smiled. “I will speak to my brother soon about the guest list. But beyond that, there are too many aunts and uncles with conflicting schedules that I will have to deal with.”
Deborah found herself sympathizing with Emma. The whole ordeal of planning a wedding seemed too chaotic, and she did not know why someone would willingly put themselves through such a thing.
“I suppose the experience will only make you wiser,” Deborah said after a moment, focusing on the positive. She did not want to sound overly pessimistic and project her own views of marriage onto the bride-to-be.
