Before Mr. Carter had a chance to answer, the unexpected visitor strode into the room.
Thalia felt the temperature drop so that she started to shake. The sun outside vanished behind a cloud, so darkness settled uponthem all. And her heart began to thump so loudly that she was certain everyone in the room could hear it.
“Duke Amberhall…” Damien rose from behind his chair. “This is certainly a surprise.”
“Amberhall!” Benedict was quick to follow Damien. “You look… rather serious.”
Thalia would like to have said that when she saw the Duke stride into the room, that it did not shake her. That she met him with a raised chin, a firm posture, and a sense of righteousness that she felt justified in because she did not regret what she had done.
Of course, her reaction wasn’t nearly so stoic.
The first thing she did was gasp. Then she shuddered. Then she made to stand but found that her body did not work. And all the while the room continued to darken, the air turned thick, and she found it difficult to breathe.
“Northwick,” the Duke said to Benedict with a simple nod. “Lord Wexford,” he added next, with another simple nod. “I am sorry to arrive here unannounced like this.”
“Not at all,” her brother said.
“Can’t help but feel you of all people have the right,” Benedict chuckled. That was received by a scathing glare from Damien.“Ah… perhaps I should…” He looked between the two dukes and bowed. “See myself out, yes?”
Damien said nothing. Nor did the Duke. They both stood silently as Benedict offered his apologies and then hurried from the room as if it had suddenly caught fire.
Thalia almost cried out for Benedict to take her with him.
She found some semblance of serenity in those few seconds, but it was a pitiful thing, and it struggled to remain the longer she watched the Duke. He was just so… composed. He stood tall and proud. His expression was flat and distant. He was not angry. He was not emotional. He was, for all intents and purposes, here on business.
And not once did he look at Thalia.
“Might you like to sit?” Damien said once Benedict left the room.
“I am perfectly fine,” the Duke said coolly. “I shall not take long. Indeed, I expect that what I have to say will be greeted with a sense of relief.”
“Oh?”
Oh no…
“What happened three days ago was regrettable,” the Duke continued, speaking as if he was telling them about the weather. “And while many assume that I might intend to marry Lady Rosaline still, as I am sure you can agree, that is not an option.”
“Perfectly understandable.”
“I am glad that you agree. However, I still intend to marry, and I was rather put out by the interruption to these plans.”
“Allow me to be the first to apologize,” her brother hurried. “And I assure you that whatever you need, you must only ask. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am.”
“I do not want your apology,” the Duke said, still with that same emotionless tone. “What I want, is a wife and, seeing as Lady Rosaline is no longer an option, I will be taking Lady Thalia instead.”
Finally, he looked at Thalia. Those cold grey eyes, that emotionless dissidence, the sensation that the Duke saw her not as a bride-to-be, but as an object that he wished to own… no, that he expected to own.
Thalia’s stomach dropped through the floor, and without having to wait to hear her brother’s answer, she knew what it would be.
The consequences of one’s own actions… who would have thought?
Chapter Three
“Iam sorry…” Damien gave his head a shake. “Did you just say –”
“That I will be taking Lady Thalia as my bride, instead,” the Duke confirmed. “As explained, I cannot possibly wed Lady Rosaline. It would not look right, and such actions would invite gossipmongering which, of course, I cannot abide.”
“But my sister…”
