CHAPTER FOUR
“Ibeg your pardon?”
Jane turned to the viscount, looking away from the Duke who had just leveled her with a proposal so casual as though they had known each other for so long and it all made sense to him.
“Father? Are you quite all right with this?” she asked the man although she knew the answer to her question.
His huge smile that spread across his face, widening his face in a way that she had never seen before was all the answer she needed.
“Certainly, my dear Jane,” he said softly, as his admiring gaze turned from the Duke and focused on her dazed one.
Jane shivered at the sight, tempted to take several steps back until she was out of the room. All of this was quiteoverwhelming, although no one else seemed to be overwhelmed by what was happening.
“I fail to see any other outcome that could be better than this one, do you?” he asked her with a smile.
Jane struggled to keep her face from showing all the many emotions that were running through her mind, none of them good. It was such a weird feeling to see him smiling at her since they were always at loggerheads.
She turned to the Duke. His eyes were fixed on her form, staring intently at her. It was nothing like Lord Pennington’s stare that seemed to undress her with his eyes, however, she couldn’t tell which was worse. She feared the Duke could peer into her soul with those dark green eyes that possessed so much depth.
“The Duke has come all the way here to ask for your hand in marriage and you will do well to consider it,” he said, his smile thinning his lips.
The veiled threat behind his words were quite easy to detect. Not only had she revolted against Lord Pennington’s proposal but it clearly seemed to her father that she was about to do the same with the Duke and it was clear that he did not plan to allow it.
Unable to stop herself in time, she clutched her chest as her heart beat fast, threatening to free itself of its restraint and burst out of her.
‘Calm yourself, Jane.’
“I must admit that I do not know what to say, Your Grace,” she said, finally turning away from her father to look at him.
“There is only one way to proceed, Jane. And that is to accept the Duke’s proposal,” her father chimed in from behind her.
Jane closed her eyes and counted in her head as she struggled to not engage in a screaming match with her father once again. While the Duke had clearly borne witness to just how hard-headed she could be, having being on the receiving end of it himself, she did not want him to witness her and the viscount in an argument.
“Do hurry, Jane. You must not keep the Duke waiting now,” he added, his tone chiding as it usually was whenever he addressed her.
Her hands folded into fists by her side as she fought to ignore him.
“I suppose you could say yes to my proposal,” the Duke said amusedly.
Jane narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. Of course, he would find her dilemma amusing. If only he knew just how much she had worried in the past two days since their eventful meeting in the gardens.
Before she could answer, he turned to her father, his hands clasped behind his back in a way that accentuated the muscles in his arms.
“I do apologize for the slight inconvenience, Lord Dowding, but if I could have a moment alone with your daughter, that would be greatly appreciated,” he said with a small smile.
“Ah but you might need me here to persuade her to accept your suit,” he said, his eyes bulging in a show of desperation.
Jane swallowed back the slight contempt she held towards her father in that instant. How was she not his first concern? Or the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be left alone in the company of some man she barely knew, Duke or not.
“Thank you but I do believe I am capable of convincing the lady myself, Lord Dowding,” he said, leaving no room for refusal on the viscount’s part.
“Very well, Your Grace. I shall leave you alone. You only need call out if you need me,” he conceded, heading towards the door without a glance in her direction.
“Father, you cannot possibly agree to this,” Jane said, annoyed and perplexed at her father’s ability to toss decorum aside as though it were of no consequence.
He whirled around immediately, almost as though he had expected her protest, and leveled her with a gaze that caused her to take a step back.
“I shan’t be too far away, my dear. The Duke means no harm as you have seen and it shall only be for a short moment. Moreover, you can call on your sister or I if you feel threatened,” he said, before quickly adding, “Although, I doubt the Duke has such intentions.”
