“I am tired,” she said and turned away.
“Is it such a bad thing?” he continued, and she could sense the mockery in his voice, the fun he was having. “For a husband to compliment his wife? Most brides would expect such a thing.”
“I am not most brides.”
“No…” He chuckled and shook his head. “You certainly are not that. You are not like most people, in fact. You might not know it yet, but I can see it there, simmering below the surface. Personally, I cannot wait until it explodes from you like a –”
“What do you want?” Fed up with his word games, Sophia spun around again and fixed him in a heated glare. “Why are you so… frustrating?”
“Do I frustrate you?”
“What?” She gasped. “No, I did not mean it like…” She shut her mouth when she saw the humor in his eyes. Then she straightened and looked at him plainly. “I think now is a good time to define the parameters of our agreement.”
“Very formal,” he said. “Your parents aren’t in the carriage with us, are they?” He pretended to look around. “I don’t know how your father would fit, with that big head of his –”
“Don’t mock me.”
“I promise I am not.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That is all you do, and it makes it impossible to take anything you say seriously.” She folded her arms as she looked at him. “Now, I would like to know, what you expect from me. Tell me now so I can get on with the desirable task of ignoring you, hopefully for the rest of my life.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “How was that? Informal enough for you?”
He flashed his eyes wickedly as he leaned back in his seat. “Very.”
Sophia was caught in two worlds, and she did not like the feeling one little bit.
On the one hand, she was determined to spurn her husband and remind him in no uncertain terms that she wanted nothing from this marriage but what was promised. That was, after all, the deal they had made, and she still believed it was what she desired.
On the other hand… she would be lying if she said that she didn’t enjoy their bantering. She had never been spoken to like this before, and she had never spoken to anyone back like this either. With her husband, she felt that she could say whatever she wanted. Better than that, he seemed to want her to speak her mind, regardless of what came out.
It was that freedom that he promised, which was both dangerous and exciting in one.
“You will be relieved to hear that now we are married, there is no need to continue the charade of loving couple, as we have beendoing,” the Duke began. “In fact, I doubt we will be appearing in public enough for it to matter.”
“Oh…” She blinked and her stomach dropped. “We won’t be?”
“Do you wish to?” he asked curiously. “I would have thought you had no desire at all to spend time with me.”
“I don’t,” she said a little too quickly. “I mean… I guess I did not think about it.”
“Think about this.” He leaned forward again, so close to her that she could almost feel his breath on her. “When I asked you to marry me, it was under the presumption that this would be a marriage of convenience, and that has not changed. I needed a wife to fulfil my father’s terms, and I have done that now.”
“That is… that is good to hear,” she said with little conviction.
“As for you?” he continued. “As I promised, you are free to do as you like. I will not bind you. I will not stop you. Your life is your own, as so long as you don’t…” He laughed. “… do anything to cause utmost embarrassment, than your choices are your own.”
“Embarrassment? What does that mean?”
“Where you are concerned, I doubt it’s something we have to worry about,” he chuckled. “All it means is that we will live together as man and wife in name only. I won’t expect anything from you, nor will you from me.”
“Good.” She swallowed the lump that appeared for reasons she did not understand. “I am glad.”
“And before you ask, no, I do not expect you to perform your wifely duties. At least not tonight…” He let that sit between them, raising a knowing eyebrow at her.
Sophia’s face dropped. “You… but you said… I did not think –”
“I am joking, Sophia,” he eased her with great humor. “It was just a joke. I know what this marriage is, as do you, and as promised, it is not a marriage which requires that.”
It should have been good news. It was exactly what she wanted to hear! But for some reason, this announcement brought with it an empty feeling and a sense of despondence that she could not explain. It was easy for Sophia to say that she wanted nothing of that nature with her husband, but now that it was confirmed, she could not help but wonder if she was missing something.
