Arabella grew ever paler. She pressed her lips together into a thin line and stared down at her feet.
Something needed to be done. Something to put a stop to the rude comments.
Harry sighed and clapped his hands together once. “Thank you, Lord Hawthorn. I could not be happier, and I have my darling Arabella to thank. Thank you all for your kindness,” he said pointedly and looked around.
It took another second, but then the crowd erupted in applause.
The music swelled, and the orchestra played once more. Harry turned to Arabella. “Don’t look at anybody else. Let us dance, focus on one another, and that is it. We will forget all about these jesters.”
She smiled and followed him onto the dance floor. He placed one hand on her back and clasped her hand with the other, leading her in the dance.
It was almost as if she were not quite there, her eyes distant. No wonder, this had to have been a shock for her as well. If there was any doubt in his mind that she had been in on this, her reaction would have proven it because she looked genuinely in shock.
“I do not understand why you agreed to this—you did not answer me yet. Why?” she mumbled.
“Because I could not let a young lady be ruined because of something that was not her fault. Even if it was not my fault. Truth be told, I had no intention of getting married anytime soon, if at all. But I am a duke, and it is expected of me anyway,” he explained.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “I do not know what to say. I feel terrible that you have been drawn into all of this. This was my father’s doing. It was a trick played on both of us. I was not part of it.”
“I know. I believe I am a good judge of character, and I can tell that your father is…” He shook his head. He had almost said that her father reminded him of his uncle Richard, but it was better that she did not know too much about his family relations. “I know your father is unpleasant, domineering, and thinks he knows what’s best, even though he does not.”
Arabella looked at him, her lips slightly parted.
“It is perfectly all right to tell me the truth. We are engaged to be married—I would rather know what sort of family I am marrying into. And do not worry, I will not change my mind. The whole ballroom heard me declare that I am more than pleased to marry you.”
She paused, her eyes darting around the ballroom for a few moments before she spoke. “My father is a drunk,” she said quietly. “He decided that I had to find a husband tonight. I told him it was ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous, but he would not listen. He drove my brother away, my sisters hate him, and none of us can wait until the day we can leave the house. And if you had not agreed to marry me, we would have been sentenced to a life of misery in his house until… until we were released.” She said the last few words very quietly, but he understood their meaning.
Harry suddenly felt fortunate for having done what he did. He didn’t want to be married. Indeed, Arabella would most certainly complicate his life. But he couldn’t go back on his word now.
“Lady Arabella, I don’t like what I’m hearing. It must be dreadful to live a life like this. But rest assured that you will soon be moving out of your father’s house. As for your sisters… a connection to a duke is always advantageous, especially when it comes to looking for husbands.”
“I am so grateful. If I could find husbands for them with your help, perhaps we would have a chance of being happy… I mean,my sisters would be happy. Although I am sure life with you will be wonderful, indeed.”
“Oh no.” He had to stop her immediately before she got her hopes up. “Arabella, I promise you that you will not have to return to Hayward Manor again. I promise you that I will help you find husbands for your sisters. However, I must be very clear. I meant what I said. I did not wish to be married, and I do not want to be a husband. This is not a marriage that will ever turn into a love match of any kind. This is an arrangement. It will always be an arrangement.”
He paused and watched her quietly, noting the way her jaw ticked slightly.
“I will make you feel comfortable at my home. I will make sure that you are treated properly as a duchess, but you and I will not have any happiness of any kind. We will not live as man and wife. We will keep our separate quarters, and we will live our separate lives. As for an heir… that is something we can discuss in the future.”
The idea of having a child with her was disconcerting. She was beautiful, but he always thought of his dalliances with ladies as fleeting pleasures, not part of a transaction.
Pushing the thought away, he turned his attention back to her. “I thought it best that I am honest with you so that you do not get false ideas.”
“I do not have false ideas. I understand, Your Grace.”
She fell silent as they finished their dance. When they parted, he bowed to her and paid her farewell. A few minutes later, he saw her rush out of the ballroom, with her father and two sisters behind her.
There she went, his fiancée. Who would’ve thought?
“What have you done?” his uncle’s voice hissed behind him, and he turned around. “You are engaged to Lord Worcester’s daughter? Have you lost your mind? You could be married to a duke’s daughter. If we play our cards right, you could marry anyone?—”
“I have chosen,” Harry declared, cutting him off. “It is Lady Arabella Hayward. She is my betrothed. The whole ballroom knows it. Tomorrow, it will be all over the scandal sheets. I do not have to consult you about every little thing in my life, Uncle Richard,” he said, watching his uncle grow a deep shade of red.
“You… You… Everything I’ve done—everythingI’ve done… making the dukedom as powerful and as wealthy as it is now—it was all for you.”
“No. All of it was foryou. For your status, for your acclaim. And do not act as though the dukedom was in disarray when you took over. My father was a good duke, I am a good duke, and one day this dukedom will pass on to my son. Now I found a wife.”
The thought of having a wife had been disconcerting moments ago, but as part of a plan to antagonize his uncle, it was quite useful.
