Sophia wondered if she was imagining things or did the Duke suddenly become much less cold to her? His interactionsseemed to be more personal now than they had in the past, and she realized that she quite preferred this version of him.
He must be a great actor,she thought to herself. After all they were only pretending in front of the guests, and none of it was real.
The fact that it disappointed Sophia surprised her.
“How many people here do you believe are hoping for our marriage to fail?” she asked as they danced together. All eyes were on them, and she was painfully aware of that.
“Oh, I wager quite a few,” he laughed. “But I would not put much stock into that fact if I were you. I am sure that, similarly, there are many people here that wish for me to somehow renounce my dukedom and be stripped of my title.”
Sophia’s eyes widened with shock.
“But that is most horrible. Why would anyone want that sincerely for anyone?”
“Madam, you must learn that having a good position in life means that there will be many that wish for your downfall,” he said in a serious voice. “You cannot take them seriously.”
“Are you not worried that they will do something to harm you out of their jealousy?”
The Duke shrugged. He appeared so calm and collected, even in the face of adversity. Sophia realized that this made her even more attracted to him than she already was.
“I simply cannot spend my life worrying about all the bad that could happen,” he replied. “For now, I wish to enjoy this moment.”
He gave her a twirl, and she wound back in his arms with perfect poise. Their proximity made her cheeks flush.
“At least I did not trip this time,” she remarked lightheartedly, trying to ignore the fire his touch had just ignited inside of her.
“Indeed, you did not. I suppose, we are getting better with practice,” he teased.
There it was again… She found herself getting distracted yet again.
“And with time, I suppose.” She stumbled on her words, growing more and more flustered by the minute.
“Like wine,” he said, a playful hint in his voice.
She suspected that perhaps he had caught wind of the fact that she was getting increasingly flustered in his presence as he twirled her around more than a few times. His hand even came to rest on her waist for a brief moment, and she relished howgood it felt to have his fingers digging into the softness of her flesh.
When the dance finally ended, she was left blushing wildly, and right before they separated, Duncan gave her a dazzling yet sincere smile.
She could not stop the butterflies erupting inside of her stomach after that.
CHAPTER 13
“Ibelieve we put on a united front today, Your Grace,” Duncan said to her as they sat in the carriage to be transported back to the estate.
The wedding festivities had tired Sophia out, and she was looking forward to getting some rest finally.
“I think so too,” she noted. “I am sure that no one would suspect that our marriage is only one of convenience.”
As she said the words, she remembered the conversation from last night. Her duty as a duchess… Her duty to give the Duke an heir.
The reminder filled her with an aching nervousness once again. It showed on her features and by the way she tapped her fingers impatiently against the ruffle of her dress.
“Is there something on your mind, Madam?” Duncan did not take long to notice the change in her demeanor. “The wedding is over now, and there is no one observing us anymore. You can calm down your nerves.”
She refused to give him an answer and instead just bit down on her lip. Her mind was swirling with all sorts of questions about what was to happen now.
Would he take her to his bed tonight? Would he wait for some time? Would they discuss it before? Would she even know what to do?
She was working herself to a tizzy with the questions that appeared in her mind.
