CHAPTER 7
“Excuse me?” Sophia said, not entirely certain that she had heard the Duke correctly.
He chuckled at her confusion. “I asked if you would marry me, Miss. Sophia.”
That was when it hit her. Not just the question itself, but the earnest look that the Duke held her in. He was not smirking. There was no humor in his eyes. He meant it… every single word.
“No!” She snatched her hand back as if something had bitten her. “I… why would you ask me that?”
“Because I wish to marry you.”
“No, you do not,” she said as if angry. “You cannot possibly mean such a thing.”
“And why not?”
“Because… because…” Her mouth opened and closed like a fish trying to breathe on land. “Because how could you? Never mind that we hardly know one another. Never mind that you and I… we cannot possibly work. But you, Your Grace, and forgive me for this, are not the type of man I would ever marry.”
He touched his chest as if hurt. “And why not exactly?”
“Do you need me to make a list?”
His smile returned and it reached his eyes. “And what a list it would be. But you are correct in many ways. On the face of it, you and I would not make a very good couple, would we?”
“Then why did you ask?”
The smile dropped and he looked at her with a serious expression. “I meant what I said about you. That there is more to you than perhaps even you understand. And I truly believe that were you given the chance, you would fly, Miss. Sophia. You are trapped right now; anyone can see it. But marry me and you will be trapped no longer.”
“That is not an answer…” She was struggling to control her breathing, certain that this was some sort of joke. It had to be! “What I want is irrelevant. Why do you want to… what do you get out of marriage?”
“Very perceptive.”
“Tell me the truth,” she said. “What do you want?”
“Fine…” The Duke sighed. “I will be honest with you, because I see no point in not being so. You are correct that I am not the type who would ordinarily marry. And were the circumstances even slightly different, I don’t think I ever would. But in many ways, that is advantageous for you.”
Her heart started to race, and she considered turning and running before he said anything else. But she stayed… she wanted to hear what he said. Despite how wrong she knew it was, the Duke’s words struck a chord deep inside of her. The very idea that she might be free…I did not even know I wanted it, until he said it.
“As you may or may not know, my father died three years ago. That left me as his sole heir, and since his death I have inherited everything from him. My title, my wealth… it is mine, and I do not intend on losing any of it.”
“And what does this have to do with –”
“But my father knew me well, just as he knew that was I not forced to do so, I would never marry. So, he added a clause to his will, one that demands that I marry, lest I lose everything.” He chuckled bitterly. “Worse still, the effects take place in three months, at which point, am I not married…” He scoffed. “Well, it is just as I said. I will lose everything.”
“So, you wish to marry me to keep your wealth in tact?”
“Exactly,” he said. “I do not wish to marry you for love. I do not wish to marry you because I think you and I might be happy.” He laughed and shook his head. “Likely, the exact opposite is true.”
“Then why on earth would I say yes?”
“Our marriage will be one of convenience,” he continued, the humor fading again. “We will be married in name only, living together as man and wife, but not acting as if we are. And because you will be my wife, and because I will not care what you do or how you do it, for the first time in your life, Miss Sophia, you will be free like never before.”
That word again… free… it shook something loose inside of Sophia like she could not have predicted. Words were one thing, but the mere idea that it was a possibility was something else.
Do I even want such a thing? Why does he assume that I do?
Sophia licked her lips as she tried to find calm and control. She removed herself emotionally from the situation, doing her best to assess the merits as she had been taught.
As a young lady of the ton, marriage was a necessary part of life, and Sophia had spent that life under the assumption that one day she would be somebody’s bride. Worse still, she assumed that he who she married would be a match made by her parents,likely for political gain. She would not love him at first, but the love would come, as it so often did.
