Chapter 7
Seven
“Welcome to your new home…” The duke stepped ahead and opened the doors to the manor. “Your Grace, the Duchess of Eastmoor.” He grinned as he spoke the words, seeming amused by them. Or perhaps it was the nervous look on Margot’s face that brought such a reaction?
Margot hesitated before entering. It was a strange thing, but until right now, none of this had seemed particularly real; as if she might close her eyes and wake up to find it all a dream. Only once she stepped across that threshold, there would be no going back…
“Is something the matter?” he asked, noting her hesitancy.
“I…” She frowned as she considered. “Before I do, I would like to confirm a few things.”
“A little late for that, no?”
“Perhaps,” she agreed, not at all liking the amused look in his eyes. “Still, I have some questions – one question specifically that I would like for you to answer.”
“Hmm…” He rubbed his chin. “Is this a question I will like?”
“Only if you have nothing to hide,” she shot back.
“I suspect I have many things to hide,” he said with laughter. “But isn’t that the point of marriage? To learn about the one you are now bound to for eternity. After all, we have a lifetime to learn such things.”
“Better that I do now,” she said, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow at him. “So as to avoid any surprises.”
“And if you do not like what I have to say?”
She narrowed her eyes, her anger growing because he was not taking this seriously – indeed, he seemed to take pleasure in frustrating her. “For your sake, I hope that I do.”
Margot had yet to decide fully how she felt about her husband.
To understand him on anything more than a superficial level.
The few times they had spoken, the duke was playful and deprecating, never serious, as he did anything he could to turn the moment into a joke. It made him damn impossible to read.
It had been the same at the post-ceremony breakfast, from which they had just come.
For the entire morning and early evening, he had avoided her as if she were the plague, leaving her to sit alone and watch him as she tried to figure out who this man was.
And most importantly, what he wanted. Oh sure, they had spoken about that already, but that was weeks ago, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had not been nearly clear enough about what was expected.
But what do I expect? A marriage of convenience, obviously – which he promised to give me. But that can mean so many things, and before I step across that threshold, I need answers. I need… I need to know what I have gotten myself into.
“When you agreed to marry me, you said this was to be a marriage of convenience,” she said to him.
“I did.”
“And…” She clicked her tongue. “Well, I wish to confirm what that means.”
He frowned down at her, still amused by her antics, still not taking her seriously.
It made her feel uneasy, the sense that this was all a game to him.
And when considering his reputation, she wondered if this was how he treated all the women he had seduced.
Lure them in with false security and then pounce.
“What would you like it to mean?”
She blinked. “That – that’s not what I asked.”
“Yes, it is.” He was standing back three feet, room for her to step forward and through the doorway.
Only then, moving quickly, he stepped into her so that they were less than a foot apart.
He stood a foot taller than she did, towering above and looking down while blocking her off from the world.
She gasped and thought to step back, but her feet hit the top of the stairs, trapping her.
“I told you already what is expected of our marriage, yet you are the one who seems unwilling to accept it.”
“I…” Her heart started to race to feel him so close to her. She was forced to crane her neck to meet his eyes, and that same heart tried to leap through her throat as he locked her into his mischievous stare. “I… I do not know you…”
“Which we have the rest of our lives to fix.”
“And based on everything I have heard –”
“Do you not know by now not to listen to rumors?”
She swallowed, her heart beating faster. “I just want to confirm what you said about this marriage. That…” She swallowed again, wanting to look away but unable. “That this is merely a marriage of convenience.”
“Is that all?”
“It… it is what was promised.”
He smirked, the look in his eyes as wicked as it was suggestive. And as he did, his hand moved to her waist. She gasped and then caught her breath as his grip tightened around her. “Are promises not made to be broken?”
“I…”
“Things were promised, I do not deny that. But Your Grace…” He purred as he gently pulled her closer. And Margot, unable to fight it, allowed herself to be pulled so that their bodies were touching. “We are man and wife. And as I am sure you know, certain things are expected…”
“Th – things?” she stammered, unable to think about anything other than his hand around her waist. “What… what do you mean?”
“Do not play coy with me.” He flashed his eyes and licked his lips. “You know exactly what I mean…”
Oh no… Margot caught her breath as her mind raced toward the obvious.
It was just as she had feared! This rake!
This scoundrel! He had duped her. Lured her into a marriage under false pretenses, and now that he had her, he meant to do what he did best – what everyone said about him!
He was so charming, so smooth, so confident in how he lowered her guard so that she was his to mold and do with as he pleased.
Worse, too, Margot was nowhere near as combative of the duke’s advances as she had hoped she would be. Not even close…
She felt a tingle spread up her limbs and through her body.
She felt her pulse quicken as a warmth swept her.
Her knees began to tremble. And her mouth salivated as her eyes flicked toward his lips, which were so close, all it would take was the slightest movement and he would be on her.
She knew it was wrong. She hated this man!
The last thing she wanted was to give in to her urges.
Urges which she did not fully understand. And yet…
In the moment, common sense did not seem so common, and she knew, as she knew anything, that if he wanted it, he could do as he pleased.
“Not that you have to worry about such things.” Suddenly, the duke released her and stepped away. “As I told you, this is a marriage of convenience, and we are bound together by little more than a signature on a piece of paper.”
“Wh – what…” Margot stumbled, and her breath caught in her throat. She was leaning forward, lips puckered, and she had not even realized she was doing it!
“As I told you, there are no expectations.” The duke could not look more pleased with himself. “We are married in name only. And where we must live together, it will be as if we are…” He shrugged and then winked. “Friends. Why? What did you think I was going to say?”
Her mouth was hanging open. Her body was still flushed and running hot. Margot’s first instinct was embarrassment, because she could see now that the duke had been toying with her. But as was so often her way, that was quickly replaced by anger.
“How dare you!”
“What?” he asked innocently. “What did I do?”
“You know what you did!”
He touched his chest as if hurt. “You asked me a question, and I answered it. I thought you would have been pleased.”
She glared daggers at him. “You… you… You were toying with me!”
“Was I?” he frowned. “I did not know you would be so easy to toy with. Why…” He pretended to gasp. “Your Grace, are you saying that you wanted me to –”
“No!” she cried over him. “Do not be absurd! I do not – I have no desire to –” She caught her breath, forcing down the explosion set to erupt from her lips.
“I was merely caught off guard. You are the one who…” She narrowed her eyes.
“I am glad that we have come to a mutual understanding. Thrilled by it.”
“Which is?”
“Our marriage of convenience. Although if you think we are to be friends…” She laughed without humor. “I would not hold my breath.”
“Huh…” He tilted his head and studied her, his eyes still dancing with humor. “If that is the way it is to be.” And then, without another word, he turned and walked inside.
Margot stayed where she was, gaping at him stupidly.
What was that! Oh, she knew what it was.
She just wasn’t certain how it had happened.
For all her talk of wanting this to be a marriage of convenience, at the first instance that it might devolve into something else, she had lost control and very nearly given in.
She was embarrassed. She was confused. And most of all, she was furious.
“Where are you going!” she stormed into the manor after him.
The duke was halfway across the foyer, but he turned to hear her coming. “What? Did you expect me to stand around so that you could insult me? This will be quite the hostile marriage if you insist on treating me like a whipping boy.”
“I am doing no such thing!”
“Shall I show you my hide…” He indicated to his rear. “For it is red and raw from the lashing you just gave it. Strange…” He winked. “Usually, I am the one who deals out that sort of punishment.”
Her cheeks flushed at the comment. “I… I did not mean to…” She clenched her jaw, unable to believe that he had turned the conversation such that she was being forced to apologize. Unbelievable! “I am sorry. I should not have accused you of…”
“Of what?”
She sneered at him. “Nothing worth repeating.”
Again, the duke looked beyond delighted. His smile was large, his eyes twinkled with amusement, and he practically danced across the foyer as he made for her. No swagger. No sense this time that he was going to try to seduce her again. He was having too much fun for that. God, he is impossible!