Chapter 27
“Don’t answer the phone,” I beg, gripping his arm. “Please, Rodrick. You’re right, I didn’t think before acting. If Kaled finds out I caused all this, he’ll make me go back to Rheadur.”
He studies my face, checking whether my fear is real, and I guess it doesn’t take him long to understand just how terrified I am. “Your brother wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Not physically, but he wouldn’t hesitate to force me to marry one of the princes he’s been trying to introduce me to for months. He made it very clear, when I came to Europe, that I couldn’t drag the family name into scandal.”
“I don’t think you understood what I just said, Jazmina. You can’t marry any prince. We’ll need to stay engaged for a while, at least until things settle down.”
“And your duchy? You’ll lose the title if you don’t marry in just over a month, right?”
“How do you know that?”
I blush, but I face him. “I found out the details the night you took me to that dinner in Scotland. I went to the restroom and overheard some women talking about it. Including the names of your two finalists,” I add with a hint of sarcasm.
“It wasn’t a contest.”
“Sure looked like one.”
“And what does that have to do with the mess you created?”
I look straight at him, because a plan is beginning to form in my mind, but I’m terrified he’ll laugh at me.
The phone rings again, and he glances at it.
“Please, not yet, Rodrick. Let me ask you a few questions first. If you answer that call before we talk, all my dreams of studying in Europe and experiencing life will be buried. My brother’s duty to honor our country comes before everything, even family.
If I embarrass him with a fake engagement, he will never forgive me. ”
“Jazmina, do you even hear yourself? You’re talking in circles. We’ll tell Kaled the truth, pretend for a while for the public, and then we each go our own way.”
“And you’ll stop being a duke,” I finish quietly. “Let’s do this: give me five minutes. I need answers.”
He checks his watch. “Your time is ticking, princess.”
“As far as I understand, this marriage of yours wouldn’t involve love, right? It would be some kind of agreement, basically a contract?”
He looks uneasy answering that. “Yes.”
I’m curious why the great Duke of Kindubh refuses the normal route of love, but I’m well-aware that I’m not in the power position here, so I won’t push my luck.
“Before I gave that interview, had you already chosen one of them?” I can’t hide the twist of disgust on my lips.
The thought of him married unsettles me more than it should, and I don’t know why.
“No. In fact, I had called off the search.”
“Because you’d already chosen?”
“What exactly is the purpose of this conversation, Jazmina?”
It’s now or never.
Before I can lose my nerve, I drop to one knee right at his feet.
“What the hell are you doing? I already told you I’d listen. You don’t have to beg.”
Even in my panic, I have the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m not begging. I’m proposing, duke.”
“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you, princess.”
The door opens and someone says, “Well, looks like I walked in at a bad moment.”
Only then do I realize I’m kneeling . . . directly in front of—
Oh God.
Heat floods every inch of me. I’m kneeling at Rodrick’s crotch-level, and whoever walked in must think—
I jolt so hard I fall straight onto my butt, as if kneeling to propose and him not understanding wasn’t humiliating enough.
“Jazmina.” Rodrick crouches and lifts me into his arms. I hide my face in his chest, praying for death to claim me quickly.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Athol says.
“Whatever you’re thinking, that’s not what it looked like, Athol,” Rodrick snaps. “She was proposing.”
Great. He tried to fix it and only made everything worse. Wonderful! I’d honestly prefer the man to think I’m an expert at sex.
“Ah, wonderful! So everything is settled and the title is saved.”
“Nothing is settled,” Rodrick growls, setting me on the sofa.
I consider pretending to be dead. Truly. Anything is better than dealing with this humiliation.
But then Athol’s words replay in my head, and suddenly, I see an ally.
I shoot upright so fast my grace evaporates entirely. “That’s exactly what I told him. Now that the public thinks we’re engaged, why not keep up the story, one that benefits both of us?”
Athol seems delighted. Rodrick . . . not so much.
“You planned this?” my former guardian—and now fiancé—demands.
“No. I came here fueled by pure hatred. I wanted to make you pay for being such an arrogant jerk. That stupid museum message was the last straw. It drove me insane.”
“More insane than me keeping your future boyfriend from touching you?”
“You know very well he didn’t come close to being that. I’ve never even seen the man in person.”
“And you’ve never kissed him,” the bastard adds, triumphant.
I swallow my irritation. He is, for now, my ticket to freedom.
“No one has kissed me but you. Now that we’ve established that, can we move on?
Marry me. A marriage of convenience. I’ll agree to whatever clause you put in the contract, as long as after a pre-set number of years you give me my freedom back, permanently. ”
He studies me, silent, and I desperately wish I had enough romantic experience to read his expression, but I don’t. Not even close.
“I think the young lady should know,” Athol blurts, “that the kind of marriage the duke intended doesn’t involve—”
Rodrick stops him with a raised hand. “We can discuss that later.” He turns back to me. “Are you sure this is what you want? It won’t be a real marriage, only a union so we both get what we need.”
“Yes. Because it means freedom after we divorce. I won’t ever have to marry a prince or any other man my father or brother chooses. In Rheadur, a princess’s second marriage doesn’t need to be political—it’s her choice.”
“And what about Kaled? I won’t lie to him.”
“We’ll tell him it’s a marriage of convenience, but not that divorce is a certainty. That’s not a lie. Just . . . an omission.”
“You’re very sensible, Your Highness,” Athol praises. “I like how your mind works.”
“She became sensible about five minutes ago, or she wouldn’t have dropped that insane story in the papers.”
“Well, not so fast. I may be impulsive, but that insane story, as you call it, is the reason your noble title is safe, my dear duke. So a ‘thank you’ would be nice.”