“You know very well why I am here.” He walked toward her, his voice deep.
She was angry once again, furious at his good looks and the way her stomach somersaulted as he came so near to her. She decided to keep silent as he stopped beside her, pouring out another glass of port from the carafe which rested on the table beside her.
“You know I have come to propose.”
A sudden fury overtook her. This cold and insolent man clearly expected her to say yes. She wished to throw every insult at him that she could. She wished to rant that she would never want to be married to a man so cold and unfeeling, yet how could she? This was her one chance to save her family’s reputation.
If I do not marry him… then what will become of my younger sisters? What will be their marriage prospects?
She chewed the inside of her mouth to stop her angry rants.
“My father is not here to give his blessing,” she managed to say eventually. He took another sip of port.
“That is good. I am sure he will agree to the match, no matter what. What father will turn down the offer of a duke when his daughter is tossed in scandal?”
Her anger spiked again. She bristled, though she said nothing.
“It is right that I speak to you first, so you understand what this is.” He downed the rest of the port and placed it down on the table, then turned to give her his full attention. “This is a matter of business only, Lady Margaret. It will be a marriage on paper and nothing more. You understand?”
She nodded, but he continued on in his cold tone. “I need a wife to make me look reputable. I do not ask for affection or, God forbid, companionship or love.”
“You have made yourself quite clear,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Good, then I shall leave you.”
“Now, you intend to leave now?” She couldn’t let him leave so quickly. “You have not intimated why you are happy to have a marriage of convenience.”
“Are you asking me why?”
“Yes,” she said plainly.
“I still do not intend to give an answer.” His curt response made her fidget, shifting her weight between her feet.
The swiftness of his proposal made her even more furious, but she bit her tongue, refusing to give way to her ire. Instead, she persisted with more questions.
“Are you truly prepared to tie yourself to me? After my reputation is now scandalized?”
“It is scandalized because you were caught alone with me.”
“And many a duke would run a hundred miles before they bowed down to such social expectation. You are a duke. You could marry any number of ladies. Why pick me?”
“As I said, you were scandalized because of me. It is right I remedy this wrong.”
She blinked. He was taking a certain amount of responsibility for what had happened, even though she knew it had all been mere accident. Was this an act of kindness?
“Besides, it makes the matter easier. I needed a marriage of convenience, and you are the answer to that problem without having to hunt for a bride.”
“Hunt!?” she spluttered.
I take it back. There is no kindness here. He is a man who just wanted any woman who came along.
“Do you intend to take a bride as a mere ornament? Or as a doe for sacrifice?” she asked, trying her best to control her voice and keep it low.
“Neither,” he grunted, though she was not convinced.
His use of the wordhuntwas telling indeed. She felt very much like a doe at the end of his shotgun, ready for slaughter.
“And this is to be your proposal?”
