Chapter Four
Good heavens, what is happening?
Evangeline stood beside Anne while the Duke of Darkemore sarcastically and quite sardonically threw around his rank in front of the remaining people in the room.
The poor man struggled with his frontfalls since he only had the use of one hand, and though the urge to assist him grew strong, she had the feeling that doing so would enrage and embarrass him, especially in this setting.
“Since I have told you that the lady and I are engaged, there is no need to call scandal or make a case for gossip,” he said to Lord Morton, who was the host for the evening.
“I think, perhaps, we can all let the matter rest.” His tone brooked no argument.
Such power and authority sent gooseflesh over her skin, yet it also gave her pause, since her husband had also held an elevated position in society, but he used that power to hurt others.
Which one was the duke?
She thought the kerfuffle would blow over, but the Duke of Steppingford apparently decided to stir the proverbial pot before she could find the words.
“This is a stunning turn of events, my friend.” A hint of amusement danced in his eyes. “Did we not have a recent conversation in which you said you weren’t looking for a wife?”
Darkemore narrowed his gaze. Annoyance flashed in the deep brown depths of his eyes. “We did, but since this happened in a bout of spontaneity, clearly I have changed my mind.”
“Ah, so then since the two of you obviously can’t keep your hands off each other, perhaps you should wed more sooner than later.
” One of Steppingford’s eyebrows rose in challenge.
Tension fairly crackled between the two men.
“After all, we wouldn’t want anything to happen that would split up such a passionate couple. ”
Evangeline clutched Anne’s arm. “I don’t know if I want to marry this soon, and I certainly don’t know if I wish to marry Darkemore,” she whispered to her friend. “I’ve only just met him.”
Anne tugged her a bit away from the men, who looked more and more as if they would come to blows with each other. “Then why were you feasting on him as if you were starving, with your bodice down and two seconds from letting him bed you?” she whispered back in a barely audible voice.
“I don’t know,” she admitted with a shake of her head. “Madness perhaps? Or I wished to do something that would benefit me for once in my life? Being out of mourning and away from Marklesfield’s shadow is freeing.”
“And you were drunk on it,” Anne concluded with a shake of her head. “I fear you’re in the thick of it now, though. Honor and reputations are at play.”
Eventually, the men came to an understanding. Darkemore agreed to ponder a wedding date as soon as possible while he also gave Lord Morton permission to announce the engagement and take the credit for the match, which would elevate the man briefly in society.
With a grin, Steppingford nodded as Lord Morton left the library. “Now that this sensational news is sweeping through the ballroom, I wish to return home to my wife. Mrs. Cunningham, if you would like me to escort you to your home first, I would be delighted to do so.”
“Perhaps that would be best.” Anne patted Evangeline’s arm. “I’ll call on you soon. Stay strong and don’t let him bully you. After all, you do have a choice in this, but I’ll also implore you to consider it.”
“Thank you. I have much to think about.”
After goodbyes were said, Evangeline was alone with her new fiancé.
“What the devil ails you?” she hissed in a low voice. “We cannot do this.”
“Not here.” With his good hand, he grabbed her upper arm and then hustled her from the library. “I’m going to drive you home.”
“What if I’m not ready to leave?”
“We shall talk about that in the carriage as well.” Power exuded from him in waves. “God knows we don’t need more people poking about in our business. Damned Steppingford.”
The high-handedness annoyed her, but she was wise enough to know not to argue with him until they were in a more private place.
By the time his carriage was brough around and she was assisted into it, hot anger boiled through her veins.
When the rumble of his voice as he spoke to his driver reached her ears in a jumble, she peered out the window but couldn’t see him.
Seconds later, he joined her, settling on the bench opposite hers.
Of course, the upholstery was plush and the squabbing was luxurious, and the carriage well-sprung.
It spoke to wealth and comfort, and she’d wager his coat-of-arms was painted in gilt on the door, but it had been too dark outside for confirmation.
With a sigh, she waited until the steps had been put up and the door closed. Finally, the vehicle rocked as the driver took his place in the box, and the carriage lurched forward into motion.
“How dare you!” She couldn’t wait until he introduced the subject.
“You’ll soon come to see that I will dare just about anything.” As if he didn’t care about the subject matter, Darkemore leaned his cane against the edge of his bench. “If you think to change my mind, you’ll soon be disabused of the notion. I’m quite stubborn.”
That didn’t calm her ire. In fact, it only stirred it further, where it mixed with the swirling desire he’d ignited earlier. “While I can understand that, what possessed you to tell everyone that we were engaged?” Though she kept her voice low, even to her own ears, annoyance was pronounced.
Since the lantern inside the carriage hadn’t been lit, it was too dark for her to read his expression. “I thought you wished to find a new husband?”
“I do, but I wanted to choose. My last marriage was forced. I’ll be damned if I let that happen to me again.” Evangeline glared at him through the gloom. “Also, I’m a widow. There’s no need to do the honorable thing and wed me just because we were caught in scandal.”
When he didn’t immediately answer, panic began to filter into her chest. Had she jumped from the pan into the fire, as the saying went?
Had she escaped one hell just to find herself in another?
Well, she refused on principle. In an effort to calm her racing thoughts, she took a few deep breaths.
The duke’s presence seemed to fill the interior of the vehicle, and dear heavens, he smelled so good!
Scents of the sea, a hint of salt, and perhaps clover or aquatic notes she couldn’t identify.
“There is nothing honorable about me, Lady Evangeline,” he said in a low voice.
“Merely Evangeline will suffice. You needn’t use the title.
” As she spoke, she rested her gaze on him in the dark.
As much as she wanted to ask him about his injuries and scars, the things that others considered disfigurements, she held her tongue.
Now was not the time. “How do you feel about this engagement?”
A soft gasp was the only thing that betrayed his surprise. “No one has ever asked me about my thoughts before.”
“They should.”
“Truth to tell, it matters not to me.”
“It must; otherwise, you wouldn’t have put forth this bit of fiction.” She narrowed her eyes while annoyance still roiled within her. “Why? What is your intent?”
“Perhaps I don’t have one.” His eyes glittered in the gloom.
She huffed. “Why do I not believe you?”
“You don’t me well enough for that.” Though his voice was well-modulated, a note of warning wove through the sound.
“That’s true, so why don’t you explain your reasoning to me?”
“Perhaps I wish to put an end to the manipulations of match making mamas who push their young daughters at me each time I’m in society.”
That could also be true, for he was a single duke and retreated to Cornwall to avoid London society.
Yet it didn’t ring in all honesty. “There must be another reason. You don’t seem to me like the type of man to let that bother you.
Neither are you a fool, and you wouldn’t allow yourself to be matched to a young woman or one wrong for you. What is the truth?”
For the space of a few heartbeats, he remained silent. Then, “Honestly, I don’t believe you could stomach the truth.”
How interesting. What was driving this decision? “Will you go the distance and marry me?”
His shrug only lifted one shoulder. “That depends on many things.”
Why was he so maddening? “Such as?”
“None of it has any bearing in this moment.”
She uttered a sound of frustration. “It does to me. By the morning, all of society will know you and I are engaged. If you break that engagement at a later date, my reputation will be damaged, obliterating my opportunities of marrying well again or at all, of perhaps having a child.” Both were things she lusted after having in her life, and she would not let him destroy either.
A sigh escaped him. “For the foreseeable future, you and I are engaged. That is all you need to know.”
Evangeline crossed her arms over her breasts. “I rather think that is a lie. There is much I need to know about you.”
He shifted on the bench, and once more she was reminded how big and how powerful he truly was. “For now, you know as much as you need to.”
“Or as much as you will share?” Was she coming off as a harridan? It didn’t matter.
Just what have I fallen into? All because I was drunk on freedom.
“There is that.” Unless she missed her guess, it sounded as if there was a grin in his voice. “I am not used to not being by myself.”
“Ah.” She frowned, tried to remember all the things Anne had told her about this man. “May I ask you a personal question?”
“I encourage it since we have thrown in our lots together.”
“Is it true that you are depraved when it comes to all things carnal? That you prefer your women restrained and pleasure them with toys instead of your shaft?”
“Is that what popular gossip holds?” Again, he shifted position on his bench. Did his injuries make sitting uncomfortable?
“Some.”
A faint chuckle came from him. The deep rumble skated across her nerve endings and sent a shiver down her spine. “Ah.”
“Why is that humorous?”