“At which point you threw yourself at me – yes, that’s right,” he laughed as he approached her. “It caught me off guard, I’ll admit, but who am I to stop a beautiful woman from doing such a thing?”
Her eyes blazed with fury. Whether he was joking or not, she did not care. Now she remembered why she loathed him – why she was right to.He really is as arrogant as I remember!“You know what,” she spat. “Forget that I said anything.”
“Easy to do, as you have not said much.”
She sneered. “A good thing too…” Then she turned to leave, only to find a chair in her way. She did not see it, which made her stumble when it struck her knees, which had her crying out, spinning around to get her balance, and then inevitably falling. “Oh --!”
The duke moved quickly, darting forward, extending his arms, and catching her before she fell. Her feet came out from under her, but his arms were around her back so that soon her body was horizontal, and the duke looked down on her like a prince might before kissing the princess he had just saved.
“That makes twice now you have thrown yourself at me,” he grinned. “I’m almost starting to think you’re doing so on purpose.”
She stared at him wide-eyed. Her heart caught in her mouth. Her body turned stiff and then melted into his arms. His hands around her were strong and powerful, but also protective. And his eyes… they looked down on her, and she looked up at them, and she lost herself for a moment, the room fading, the world vanishing, just those eyes and the lips beneath them, which curved into a knowing smile.
“Yes, by the way,” he then said. “I accept.”
“Ex – excuse me?”
“Your reason for being here.” He spoke in a whisper, still holding her in his arms, still gazing down at her. “You wish to accept my offer of marriage, do you not?”
“I…” She found her mind turned blank.
“Although I must say, the manner of your proposal is most strange. From what I have heard, often it is the man who falls to one knee. But we do make a strange pair, don’t we?”
That was when she came back into herself.
“Let me go!” she cried out, squirming to her feet so he was forced to set her down. Then she stumbled back, her breathing heavy and forced, her body running so hot she thought she might catch fire. “How dare you!”
He looked at her with amusement. “Should I have let you fall?”
“Not that!”
“Then what?”
“You –” She caught her tongue, for she had no idea what she was about to say. She felt that she should be angry, which seemed reasonable. But now that she considered it, the duke had done nothing wrong. It was merely her attitude that annoyed him. Besides, she realized then what he had said. “You… you accept?”
“To be fair, you are the one who is accepting,” he said. “But yes, my offer from the previous evening still stands. And if you would like it, we will wed at once.”
“I would not like it,” she snapped, still hot-tempered. “I simply have no choice.”
“Has a more romantic phrase ever been uttered?” he laughed and shook his head. “Might I enquire as to what changed your mind? Last night, you looked as if you would rather have peeled the skin from your fingers than wed me.”
“Is that an option?”
“Perhaps save it for the honeymoon.”
Margot took a breath to calm herself.I am being entirely too hostile; the anger I am unleashing is more on account of how much I hate myself rather than anything the duke has done. Still… it feels good, and if anyone deserves it, it is him.“I realizethat you were right,” she said calmly. “As loath as I am to admit it, a marriage to you is the best I can hope for.”
He laughed. “You’re not exactly subtle, are you?”
“I need to restore my reputation,” she continued. “Or preserve the little of it that is left. And what is more…” She grimaced. “I take it you know of my father?”
“That he has crashed your family into hopeless amounts of debt? Yes, I am aware.”
She grimaced again. “Pick a reason then. They all amount to the same thing…” Her shoulders slumped.
Strangely, the duke did not continue in his jovial temperament. Rather, he turned serious, perhaps even caring if such a thing was possible. “I would remind you of what I offered last evening. That this marriage will be one of convenience only. It is not the death sentence you seem to think.”
She laughed bitterly. “I know that, just as I know that I should be grateful.”
