So you do not care what happens to them as long as you are not bothered.
As if he could hold more contempt for the man. He looked at Marina, who was staring at him, looking stunned. He frowned. “Is something the matter, my lady?”
She swallowed and shook her head. “Not at all, Your Grace.” She sounded incredulous.
Did she really think I would not defend her? Why would I stand by and let someone verbally attack my betrothed?
Marina looked at her mother’s outraged expression before looking back to Evan. “I believe we have had a productive day, Your Grace. We can figure out the rest of the details after the marriage takes place, but we should really be getting home now.”
He was about to argue until he saw her pleading look. For a strange moment, he knew what she was thinking:We need to go before my mother gets even more furious with me.
He blinked. He was usually not good at reading people’s emotions or guessing people’s thoughts—they were often too irrational. But he was confident that’s what her look meant. That confidence unsettled him somewhat. He would have to analyze this moment further until it made sense.
In the meantime, he stood up. “You are right, my lady. Allow me to walk the three of you to the door.”
Chapter Nine
The next day at Shirley House, Marina and her sisters sat together in the drawing room having tea. Lord and Lady Shirley had gone out, and the twins were in the middle of lessons with their governess, so the three of them could speak freely.
“You must tell us everything,” Bethany said eagerly.
“I will,” Marina said. “But first, you have something to answer for: how could you not tell me that His Grace has a daughter?”
Amelia’s eyes widened. “Truly?” She also looked at Bethany, who rolled her eyes.
“Honestly, how do neither of you know this? It was all anyone could talk about last year.”
Amelia and Marina exchanged a glance and then broke out into giggles together. The oldest sister spoke first. “Perhaps it isbecause we have been preoccupied with something other than the gossip of the ton.”
“Yes,” Marina said, smiling. “Why would I have cared about a reclusive duke last year? I have enough trouble remembering the names and faces of everyone I am likely to encounter while in town.”
Bethany looked slightly disgruntled for a moment, but then she shrugged and smiled. “Well, yes, he has a daughter, although I cannot remember her name. Lila, perhaps?”
“Lilly,” Marina said. “That’s her name.”
The youngest sister nodded. “All right. Lilly. His child with his late wife. The duchess died last year, but the details on what happened are a little hazy. A lot of people thought that they were wildly in love with each other, while others thought that they hated each other. There are even people who think that the duchess did not truly die from illness, but was poisoned by him.” Her eyes widened as she looked at Marina. “Not that I give those stories any merit, of course!”
Marina thought back to her encounters with the duke. He was aloof and a little odd, to be sure. She could never tell if he was speaking sarcastically or with cold rationality, although she was leaning more toward the latter.
He expressed concern about my health multiple times and stated that he wanted to provide a stable environment for his daughter. Unless he is creating some sort of elaborate—andfrankly, unnecessary—fraud, then I doubt I need to double-check my supper every night.
“I do not think he is a murderer,” she declared.
“Nor do I,” Amelia said. “For sure, he is not the kind of man to romance a woman, but he does not seem wicked. I do not understand why everyone calls him the Heartless Duke.”
Bethany took a sip of her tea. “From what I understand, he was always a touch abrasive, but nothing too outlandish. He fulfilled social obligations and made an effort to be amiable, even though he was never exactly gregarious. But when his wife died, he shut himself and his family off from the rest of society. He acts coldly to anyone who comes near his manor and refuses all invitations. But perhaps he’s ready to change now that he is looking for a bride.”
Marina bit her lip. “I do not think so. Yesterday, I was alone with him—nothing happened!” she said quickly at the sight of her sisters’ shocked but excited faces. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “We simply talked outside for a moment. And he told me that all he wants is someone to help parent his daughter. Nothing more. No social gatherings. No romance.” She wondered if he had truly been in love with his first wife, like some of the rumors suggested. It was clear that his first wife’s death had affected him greatly.Poor man, obliged to take a second wife when his heart still belonged to the first.
“No romance!” Amelia said at the same time that Bethany exclaimed:
“No social gatherings!”
Marina sighed and took a sip of her tea. “I should not be complaining. Thanks to him, I get to stay in England instead of being completely ruined. But at the same time, the life he is giving me sounds lonely.”
“He cannot mean to keep you prisoner!” Amelia looked horrified at the prospect.
Marina blushed as she remembered the conversation with her parents and Evan over tea. “He does not,” she said. “He…it was so strange. Yesterday, heaskedme if I had any objections to the terms of our marriage.”
