He was dressed in a dark suit offset by a deep-red waistcoat. It was a little garish and uncommon, made to stand out, but that was the Duke’s way. His black hair was unruly, he had stubble smattered across his chin, and even from a distance she could smell his musk. It made her knees tremble just a little bit.
“Please be home at a reasonable hour,” her father commanded.
“You have nothing to fear in that regard,” the Duke chuckled. “Despite my reputation, I never was one for these balls. As dreary as death by my estimation.” He laughed further. “I suspect we’ll be home early.”
Neither her father nor mother seemed to find this amusing.
When Sophia reached the Duke, he offered his arm, and she accepted it. He winked at her, and she held her smile, still doing her best to look proper. The Duke was a scoundrel, he was perverse and childlike, and while Sophia was looking forward to turning a new leaf in her own life, she doubted she would ever find his behavior charming.
It is more that it allows me to be myself… whatever myself might be. I still do not know exactly how I want to behave, if this is all a falsehood and I am out of my depth. But I am excited to find out.
“Come,” the Duke said once they were linked. “The evening awaits.”
He led her outside to where a carriage awaited them. There, he was a gentleman as he had the door to the carriage opened and then helped her inside. Her parents watched the whole way, and Sophia suspected he was putting on a show for them.
Once the carriage doors were closed, he fell into the seat across from her and exhaled with relief.
“I don’t know how you put up with it.”
“With what?” she asked.
“Your parents.” He shuddered. “If looks could kill.”
“Oh.” She looked out the window, just in time to see her parents vanish in the night. “They are… they mean well.”
“They think they do,” he snorted. “Remember, Miss Sophia, once we are wed, you won’t have to worry about appearances or doing as you are expected. Free to do as you please because I surely won’t tell you any different.”
“As I please…” She repeated the phrase as if she didn’t understand the words.
“It excites you, doesn’t it?”
“I am curious,” she corrected. “You seem to think that the moment I am able, I will turn into…” She laughed. “I do not even know. In truth, I doubt much will change with me, save for feeling more relaxed at times.”
“Oh, I think we both know that isn’t true,” he said and flashed his eyes knowingly. “There is more to you than I think even you realize, and I am excited to see it for myself.”
Sophia studied him across the carriage. She knew why he wished to marry, of course, but she didn’t know why he wanted to marry her. Vague comments about seeing another side to her, freeing her from her parents’ thrall, but that explanation did not tell the whole story.
“Speaking of which…” The Duke exhaled as he sat up. “Regarding tonight and what is expected of us – yes, sadly, thefaçade of propriety must remain for a little while longer. Until we wed and the scandal of our marriage simmers, that is.”
“Scandal?” Her heart leapt. “What… what scandal?”
“That a wallflower like yourself would marry me, of course,” he said with humor. “A pairing as we are is like the sun marrying the moon, and people want to know thetruereason. As is the way with this blasted town, their first thought is that something happened that forced us to marry in haste.”
Sophia’s face paled. “But that’s not true!”
“I know it.”
“Then what can we do?” Old habits died hard, and Sophia did not like the idea of finding herself on the wrong end of a scandal. Yes, she was a changed woman… but she wasn’t that changed.
“That is what tonight is for,” the Duke explained calmly. “We are to present a united front and demonstrate beyond question our love for one another.” He winked at her.
“Our… our love?” She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“We need to prove this is a love match,” he continued. “That is the only way that the story will be bought. We are marrying because our hearts yearn for one another such that God himself could not keep us apart.”
Her heart was racing now. Sophia never was very good at lying, and a lie like this was beyond her limited resources. How could she possibly show something like that – she did not even know what love was. What was she expected to do? Was this all part of the Duke’s plan to embarrass her?
“No need to panic,” he eased her. “Surely, you can at least pretend for an evening or two that you don’t despise me.”
