The duke’s face paled. “Caroline, really—”
But Caroline had already turned her attention back to Cage. The anger that had burned so brightly in her eyes moments before snuffed out. The sadness that replaced it worried him far more. “Everything about our relationship has been a falsehood from the very beginning. I don’t want to do this anymore. Consider yourself released from our engagement.”
He stared at her, at a loss for the right words to explain how complicated all this had become for him. How did he tell her how tangled his emotions had become?
“No, you cannot break off the engagement.” Gilchrest strode over to where he and Caroline stood.
Caroline sighed and looked over at Gilchrest. “It wasn’t real, Andrew. It was just something I coerced Morgan to agree to, to keep mother off my back until my birthday.”
“I know,” her brother replied.
Caroline spun back to Cage. “You told him!”
“I had to. Otherwise, he would have thought I was taking advantage of you. I did not relish the idea of pistols at dawn.”
“Ah, yes. You weren’t just any suitor. You were my undercover bodyguard.” She snorted. “Well, I have had enoughof all this intrigue. I will take the blame for my part and set things right. I promised you I would release you from our agreement. And I always keep my promises.”
“But it’s not yet your birthday. The deal was until your birthday,” Cage reached out for her hand, but she yanked it away. An icy ball of fear began to form in his gut.This can’t be the end. This was not how he wanted things to end.“Caroline, can’t we speak privately?” He glanced over at Gilchrest. He could not say the things he wanted in front of her brother. He could not convince her to forgive him with an audience.
“No. I don’t think that is a good idea.” She shook her head and bit on her lower lip.
Gilchrest interrupted. “Caroline, you absolutely cannot end your engagement immediately. Fake or not, everyone else thinks it’s real. Tonight, there will be talk about you and Devonshire in the garden. There is no escaping it. The two of you must keep up appearances.”
“But—” Caroline began.
Gilchrest held up one hand. “We leave for Stoneleigh in three days. Guests arrive for your birthday in five days. Then Mother has planned a week of festivities, culminating in your birthday ball. Over the summer, we can think of some excuse to end the engagement. Until then, you and you,” he pointed to each of them, “are blissfully happy, understood?” His arms crossed, Gilchrest sent his sister what could only be described as a ducal glower.
“Fine.” Caroline glared back at her brother for a moment. Then she swept past Cage without so much as a sideways glance. At the door, she pivoted back, “I’m going to go find the duchess. Good night, gentleman.”
Gilchrest grimaced. “I’m going to get an earful tonight from my wife, and probably my mother as well. You’re welcome, my friend.”
“Pardon?”
“I just bought you two more weeks to fix things with Caroline. Don’t waste it.”
Gilchrest was correct. He had back the two weeks he almost lost. That is, if he could get Caroline to listen to him. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Perhaps it was best if they took a step back. God knows it will be torture to let go of her. Better to rip his heart out now, or two weeks from now? But he didn’t want to end things with her angry. If he could speak with her and come to some understanding, they could still part as friends.
The duke crossed to his desk. “For now, I need you to find Valentine. His last known address was in Prague. I have it here somewhere. I have been keeping tabs on him for years. Bastard slipped back into England without a whisper. Bloody hell, where is that report?” He shuffled through papers in one of the drawers. “Here it is. The Home Office should be able to find out where he is hiding, right? Do whatever you like with him when you find him. Throw him in the fucking Thames for all I care. Just get rid of him.”
Cage took the file the duke handed him. “With pleasure, Your Grace.”
Chapter 38
Caroline’s mother stepped into the carriage. She glanced around at the three other women as she settled next to her daughter-in-law. “So we are all still angry with Andrew, I see.”
Caroline nodded. She’d spent the last two days seething at the overbearing men in her life. Organizing her things for the summer trip to Stoneleigh had kept her busy. She refused to miss Cage Morgan. He had lied to her from the moment they met. He had used her, and worse, made her fall in love with him. She’d been perfectly happy with her plan to be a wealthy spinster. She had not seen any reason to include a man in her life until she met him.
Well, if she was being fair, she had to admit that she’d been the one to suggest the affair. Cage had said it might be unwise. And he had told her from the start he did not want to marry, ever. Caroline crossed her arms and slumped back into the velvet squabs. She’d been a fool. But still, he had lied. The worst part was how much it hurt to know that their friendship had not been real. That she had just been an assignment, someone he had to keep safe.
More confusing were the times they had spent lying in bed, sharing stories from their pasts, or talking through some issue she had read about in the paper, or laughing about something that they had seen the night before at a party. Was that normal for lovers? For those hours had meant so much more to her than just casual banter. Was he so charming with every woman he bedded?
“Yes, we are still angry.” Emma pulled out the hat pin and set her straw bonnet aside. “In fact, I arranged for Andrew to be in the carriage with the boys for the trip to Stoneleigh.” She sent Caroline a sly smile.
“All four of them?” Her mother’s eyes grew round. “What about Nanny Fischer?”
“Nanny Fischer works for me. She will be riding with our lady’s maids. Besides, it serves him right. Andrew is not the only one who can manage things from behind the scenes.”
Their carriage began to roll forward. Caroline looked out the window and watched the long train of carriages pull out through the front gates. They had a large family, plus the servants and trunks. When they left town for the summer, they made an impressive caravan.
