Chapter 3
“We’re expected for breakfast,” Susan said.
She had gone to her sister’s room to find Marina sitting on her bed, still in her dressing gown, gazing out the window. Now Marina looked up at her, wide-eyed and clearly sad.
“I think you should tell Father that you aren’t going to go through with this,” she said quietly.
Susan closed her eyes briefly. “Marina, you know what will happen. Father doesn’t mean for me to have a choice in this matter.”
“But he can’t force you,” Marina insisted.
“Tell him you simply won’t do it. Tell him you won’t walk down the aisle, that you won’t say your vows, that the only words that will leave your lips will be I refuse.
Say it to Father. Say it to the Duke! He won’t want to marry you under those circumstances. ”
“I can’t do that,” Susan said. “I have to see this through, Marina.”
Her sister met her eyes. “Do you really think I don’t know your reason?”
Susan’s heart sank. She had hoped. “It isn’t what you think it is.”
“It’s exactly what I think it is, Sue. You’re doing this because you know I’m in love. You’re doing this because of me and Gilbert.”
Susan leaned against the doorframe. “What else can I do, Marina? I know he proposed to you. I know he’s a good man, and that you’re in love with him.”
Marina had come home positively dancing the night Gilbert Jones had declared his intention to ask her for her hand.
Technically, of course, the proposal had not really happened yet.
There had been no discussion with their father, who had made it abundantly clear that Marina would never marry until Susan had done so first.
It’s that awful family tradition, she thought darkly.
Yes, it was normal for elder daughters to marry before younger ones, but at least in other families, there would be some flexibility.
There was no reason Marina should not be able to marry.
She was old enough. She had a suitor who was interested in her, even if their courtship had not been permitted to become official.
They could have been married by the end of the year.
They could have already begun a life together.
If only I wasn’t standing in the way.
Well, she wouldn’t stand in the way of her sister’s happiness. She would step aside, in the only way her father would permit.
“I know you want me to marry Gilbert,” Marina began.
“You want it too,” Susan said. “Don’t try to convince me that you don’t.”
“Yes, of course I do, but not at the expense of your happiness,” Marina said. “It isn’t worth that. I’m not worth that!”
Yes, you are, Susan thought, though she didn’t say anything aloud—she knew better than to think Marina would listen. You’re my sister. You are worth everything I have to give.
The Duke looked up when they entered the dining room. His eyes fixed immediately upon Susan.
She nearly froze where she stood. She was sure, for a moment, that a reprimand was coming. He would scold them for coming to breakfast late. At the very least, he would ask where they had been in a tone that would make it clear he disapproved.
But he didn’t.
He didn’t speak at all. He just looked at her. And after a moment, the wary feeling in the pit of Susan’s stomach gave way to something else altogether—intrigue.
Why did he always look at her that way? He had done the same thing when she had first arrived at the estate, but she had assumed then that the look had had something to do with the way she’d spoken to him.
She hadn’t even said anything this morning, though, so why was he staring at her as if she was something shocking?
He broke the silence as she took her seat. “I’d like us to go for a walk in the garden today, Lady Susan, to get to know one another a bit.”
It was a reasonable request, and Susan didn’t think she had any grounds for refusal. Besides, she was interested in spending a little more time with the man who was to be her husband. She was curious about him. She wanted to know him better.
He misunderstood her hesitation. “We’ll have a chaperone, of course,” he said. “I’ll speak to a member of my staff about accompanying us. And perhaps your sister would like to join us too?”
“Oh, no, Marina doesn’t want to follow us around all morning,” Susan said.
Marina shot her a sharp glare. Susan knew perfectly well that her sister would have been only too happy to come along for something like this.
But after their conversation this morning, she didn’t know if she could trust Marina not to sabotage the arrangement.
For better or for worse, Susan had made her decision when it came to the Duke, and she intended to follow through with that choice.
“If you can have someone accompany us as a chaperone, I’ll be happy to come on a walk with you,” she said, trying hard not to notice the fact that her father was beaming at her.
It bothered her to think that he would view this as her trying to make him happy.
But the truth was, it was better for everyone involved if Father was happy.
Remember, the goal is to get Marina to the altar. That’s why I’m doing all of this. Once I’m married, I want him to look kindly at her situation. The more she could go along with the kinds of things her father would want to see, the better off they would be.
So when they’d had their breakfast, she got to her feet and followed the Duke out into the foyer. One of his footmen fell into respectful step behind them as they left the manor and made their way out to the gardens.
It was truly lovely out here, Susan thought as they walked along the path.
This was something she would be able to get used to, she thought—perhaps even look forward to.
This would be a nice part of living here at Heathmare.
She imagined afternoons spent out among the flowers, walking this path in solitude.
There was no solitude today, though. The footman was several yards behind them, giving them distance, but she was acutely aware of the presence of the Duke by her side. He didn’t say a word, but there was something loud about him all the same, as though his very existence was shouting at her.
“I’m glad to have you here,” he said at length.
She glanced at him. “Are you?”
“Of course. Why shouldn’t I be?”
“I’m surprised you feel anything at all about my presence here,” she said. “You don’t know me. I’m just a stranger in your house—a stranger you’ve agreed to marry for reasons that are beyond me.”
The words had slipped out before she’d been able to think through what she was saying, and for a moment she regretted it. That had been rude.
But then he burst out laughing, which was ruder still, and her regret disappeared. “You’re a feisty one, aren't you?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you mean by that,” she said, her voice growing tight.
Don’t rise to any bait. You need this man to like you.
You need to remain on his good side. He might try to provoke you.
He might be testing you to see if you’re the kind of lady he wants to marry.
Don’t give him any reason to reject you.
He raised his eyebrows. “You know what the word means, don’t you?”
“Of course I know what the word means,” she snapped. “I’m not a fool.”
“Well, I don’t know, do I? It’s as you said. I only just met you.” He smirked. “I was excited to be getting to know you, but you seem to feel that’s a nonsensical opinion to have.”
“Well, you don’t think I’m very sensible, if you don’t think I know the meaning of a simple word,” she pointed out. “Do I seem foolish to you?”
“Even if you’re not a fool, ladies don’t often read. And if you aren’t a reader, you might not have been exposed to certain words even if you do have a capacity for thought.”
She stared at him. “You’re very rude.”
“You speak that way to a duke?” He raised his eyebrows. She didn’t think he was offended—he seemed more amused than upset.
“If I am to marry you, I will be Duchess of Heathmare,” she reminded him.
“And when that day comes, I don’t imagine you’ll expect me to bite my tongue in your presence.
Although, if that is something you expect, perhaps you should say so right here and now, so that we can be sure we’ll be able to tolerate one another. ”
“Now you suggest I’m intolerable?”
“Clearly you were raised to think that ladies can’t read,” she said.
His face darkened. “I didn’t say ladies can’t read, I said they often don’t. That’s hardly my fault. And you can be as feisty as you’d like, but don’t you dare try to speak about my upbringing. You know nothing about that.”
Perhaps he was right, but she wasn’t in the mood to offer apologies. “You started this by questioning my ability to pick up a book,” she reminded him. “Maybe we should start over.”
He huffed out a sigh and turned his back on her. “Or maybe we’ve been too hasty here,” he grumbled. “I know we both want to make a good marriage, but maybe this marriage isn’t the right thing… for either of us.”
He turned and began to walk away.
A stab of cold fear shot through Susan. “Wait,” she managed.
He stopped and turned to face her, unspeaking.
He was going to make her say it. She hated it. She swallowed hard. “Don’t go,” she said. “I need this. I need this marriage.”
“Surely not this marriage? You may lack decorum, but you’re young and attractive. There must be plenty of gentlemen who would marry you.” He raised his eyebrows. She knew better than to take any of that as a compliment.
“I need this marriage,” she said. “I need to marry quickly, because my sister has a suitor, and my father won’t allow her to marry unless I do so first. And I need it to be you, because her man has no title.
He’s the younger son of a baron. I have to make a good marriage so that Father will be less strict when it comes to choosing her husband. ”
“Ah.” The Duke folded his arms and regarded her. “So you’re only interested in my title.”
“Your title has nothing to do with my interest,” she snapped, even though she knew she had all but told him otherwise.
“I don’t care what title you hold. My interest is in providing for my sister’s future.
Marina is in love with a man, and I want her to be able to marry him.
That doesn’t happen unless I take the right steps here. ”
“And why should I be bothered with any of that?” he asked archly. “I don’t mean to be unsympathetic, Lady Susan, but you can’t expect me to take a wife for your sister’s sake.”
“You had your reasons for wanting to marry,” she said steadily. “You may not like what you’ve seen of me, but surely those reasons still apply.”
He pressed his lips together. “It sounds as if neither of us very much wants to marry the other,” he said. “What we want are the benefits the marriage will gain us.”
“Not an uncommon situation,” she pointed out.
He nodded slowly. “What if there was a way we could have those things without going through with a marriage?”
“That sounds like a fantasy.”
“What if we told your father we wanted a little more time? That it was our intention to marry, but we wanted a longer courtship?” He looked at her appraisingly.
“Do you think your father might allow your sister to go ahead and marry if he thought your arrangements had been made, but that we simply wanted to postpone the date?”
“He might,” Susan said slowly. It wasn’t something she had considered before now, but she supposed it was possible. “But how does this help you? I know you only agreed to marry me because you needed to boost your reputation.”
“You know that?”
“My father told me. He said you inherited a title you weren’t prepared for and that you were looking for legitimacy by marrying a respected, known family. He said that even though you’re a duke, our name would be a boon to you.” She smiled wryly. “You’re after me for my title as well, in a sense.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Making public appearances together during our courtship will do that for me.”
“But unless we actually marry, it will all disappear for you, won’t it?”
“I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” he mused. “Especially if your father agrees to become a business partner of mine, which he may if he believes I’m going to marry his most difficult daughter.” He smirked at her.
She refused to take the bait. “I can speak to him about going into business with you,” she said. “I think he might want to do that anyway. A duke as a business partner would be a good thing for him.”
“And if I show him that it’s a good thing for him to be in business with me, I doubt he’d want to break that off even if our engagement falls through,” the Duke said.
“He need never know we planned this from the start. Everyone will get what they want. Your sister can marry this man of hers. My name will be established in society. And you and I won’t be forced into an arrangement neither of us really wanted to begin with. ”
Susan had to hand it to him. It was a plan that made sense.
And for the first time since she had arrived at Heathmare, she felt as if she and the Duke were truly on the same side.