The Duke was beginning to grow offended by the casual manner in which she was able to reject him.
“I cannot say I understand your decision,” he said. “In fact, I do not understand it at all. I expected you to be thankful for the proposal.”
“Thankful?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Pardon me, Your Grace, but do you feel that because you are a duke, I should be thankful?”
He shook his head.
“No, but we both know what happened when we were intercepted by ladies of the ton. I understand my place in the damage caused to your reputation, and I only wanted to take responsibility for what I have done,” he said earnestly.
Sophia stopped her pacing and looked at him with a serious expression. She was observing his face intently with her hands crossed in front of her chest.
“Do you sincerely mean that?”
“Of course,” Duncan agreed. “Why else would you think that I would make all the trouble to travel to you? I do not want the rest of your life to be ruined because of me. This benefits you more than it does me, but it would be a terrible burden that I would have to carry for the rest of my life if I left you ruined.”
Sophia nodded, contemplative.
Now that he was able to see her in daylight for the first time, Duncan could not place his finger on exactly what it was, but something about Sophia seemed so familiar to him.
As though he had seen her before. Of course, that was unlikely to be true. Her scars made her discernable enough for him to remember if he had ever crossed paths with her before. He discarded the thought quickly.
“You would have all of your needs addressed. Never would you have to worry about anything material any longer. In fact, your life would become much easier. I cannot say that it would be a marriage based out of love, but it would be one that was borne out of a sense of duty,” he paused for a moment, “and I have always been taught that the latter is more important.”
Sophia looked onto her aunt for her approval, who smiled at her and nodded in return.
“My dear, I believe the gentleman is making some very good points,” Aunt Rose added. “You should agree to what he is saying.”
“I could tell that you were a smart lady,” Duncan said, a small smile playing on his lips. He knew that he had to appear charming too.
“Not as smart as you,” Aunt Rose replied. “But in reality, I believe that Sophia is even more charming than both of us together. She has such a lively personality, but she does not let it show until she is comfortable with you.”
“Oh, well, I am most curious to know more…”
Sophia shot them both a look as if to say that she was still in the room.
“I have never been proposed to before, but I am fairly certain that this is not how proposals usually go,” Sophia said, crossing her arms in front of her chest once again.
“Well, I have never proposed to anyone, so it is not as though I bring a great deal of experience with me,” Duncan sparred back.
“Then what has made you propose to me?”
Duncan shrugged.He was finding that Sophia asked far too many questions.
“If I am being fully honest with you, the idea of marriage has never much appealed to me in the slightest, but I am willing to do things that I normally would not do if it means fulfilling a sense of duty.”
Sophia bit down on her lip, and Duncan realized how unromantic his answer had truly sounded. Surely, no girl wouldwant to hear that she was being proposed to because of a sense of responsibility.
But to his surprise, Sophia nodded and looked more interested than she had previously.
“And would this be a purely pragmatic marriage?” she asked. “We do not have to act as husband and wife but only portray to the world that we are?”
Duncan nodded. “I suppose, yes. I have not thought about the details, but what you say sounds agreeable to me.”
“Well…” Sophia said, building up anticipation in everyone present in the room. Even the maid who was hiding behind the door and listening in to the conversation was holding her breath. “I accept your proposal.”
A wash of relief flooded over Duncan. He was not prepared for a rejection in the slightest. At this point, it had become just as much about his ego as it was about fulfilling his duty.
“Excellent,” he clasped both his hands together. “I think you have made the best possible choice that you could have for yourself.”
