Perhaps it wasn’t the fact that he had noticed how she was feeling that bothered her. Maybe it was the fact that he had said something about it. She had rather thought he might be confused as to why he was being treated the way he was, and that didn’t seem to be the case at all. Instead, he had understood everything almost at once.
And maybe the truth was that she was simply frustrated with herself. She knew it was silly, playing games like this, acting bothered, and refusing to say why. It was much more in character for Edwina to simply speak her mind, but somehow, she didn’t feel capable of doing that in the presence of the Duke.
They stopped beside a large rock. The Duke sat on the edge of it, and Edwina leaned back against a nearby tree. She looked at the water rushing by. She had always enjoyed this spot when she’d attended this garden party in the past. It had been a good place to come and think. Today, though, it seemed they had come to argue.
She wished it was otherwise, and that made her feel even more frustrated and angry with the duke. He made every single aspect of her life more difficult, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to wish him away.
“So, tell me what’s the matter,” he urged.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Of course, I do. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”
She turned away from him briefly. She couldn’t tell him what she and her father had discussed, surely? Could she really say that her father was convinced he wanted to marry her? He would laugh.
Well, what was wrong with that? She had laughed when he’d said it.
“The gift didn’t upset me,” she said eventually. “Not really.”
“Well, I didn’t see why it would. I suppose if you really don’t like the gown, you don’t have to wear it.”
“No, that’s not it. The gown is fine.” She shook her head. “It’s lovely, actually. It was very generous of you.”
“You wouldn’t rather have a book, then?”
“Of course, I would, but it’s not as if you made me choose. You gave me books as well. I’m not so ungrateful as to be angry with you for giving me a second gift.”
“You did seem angry about that.”
“You’re right. I think I’m allowing my feelings about other things to affect my response to the gown.”
“But what other things?”
She sighed. “Your Grace…I want to know why you bid on the five dates with me.” It was the closest she could come to asking him whether her father had been correct.
“I’ve told you why,” he said. “I want to prove that I can win over the unattainable spinster. Is it working yet?”
“No,” she said. “And I also don’t think you’re being honest with me.”
“You think I’m lying to you?”
“I think you’re holding back a part of the truth. I think this is about more than proving you can win me over.”
“And what makes you believe that?”
“The amount of effort you’re putting into it,” she said. “If this was a game to you, as you claim it is, would you really be trying so hard?”
“I try my hardest in everything I do,” the Duke informed her. “Of course, I would be giving this my best effort even if the game was my only reason. I want to win.”
“But the very words you used just now suggest that the game is not your only reason,” she pointed out. “Your Grace, you have no chance at all of winning me over via dishonestly. I may be a very stubborn lady. You’ve said so many times, and I won’t argue. And stubbornness might be a wall you believe you can break down. Maybe you’re right. The one thing I can say for sure is that you will never impress me by being dishonest with me. That will only push me farther away from you. So, I want you to tell me the truth about what you hoped to gain from all this.”
She waited, holding her breath, hardly able to believe she had dared to ask the question. It was an incredibly bold thing to have done, and she knew it. But if her father was right, if he truly did intend to marry her, she wanted to know.
The Duke sighed. “Very well,” he said. “The truth is that I’m looking for my perfect duchess as you well know. We’ve discussed it.”
“Yes.” Was he about to tell her that he thought she might be the perfect duchess after all?
Why didn’t that thought make her feel frustrated or defensive?
