“That would be lovely,” Susan said, realizing she hadn’t spoken yet and knowing that Father would have something to say about that fact. She did her best to keep her tone cool and aloof, to match the Duke’s, to show him that he wasn’t dealing with a doe-eyed debutante. This was clearly a business arrangement for him, and he ought to know that she felt just the same. She didn’t want this to be anything more than what it was going to be—truth be told, though she couldn’t say it out loud, she would have preferred it to be a great deal less.
But he looked at her sharply, eyes narrowed, as if he had heard something he did not expect. Maybe something he didn’t like.
She felt a surge of triumph. If he had believed that he was going to be meeting an overeager young lady who wanted nothing more than to marry and be the Duchess of Heathmare, she had already disabused him of that idea, and she knew it. He would have to take her seriously now. He would have to get to knowher for who she was—and he wouldn’t be able to think himself too important.I’m here for my sister’s sake, not for yours, Your Grace.
He took her aback, too, though, when he addressed her directly. “You have a lot of confidence,” he said. “I can tell that about you.”
“I can’t think of a single reason I shouldn’t,” she said, lifting her chin.
He smiled for the first time. “I agree. I enjoy a lady who doesn’t require constant reassurance, constant attention. I think we’ll get along very well.”
And her confidence slipped. Had he done that on purpose? Had he meant to make her feel uncertain? For wasn’t he saying that she couldn’t depend on him to make this transition easier? That he was glad he wouldn’t have to help her through it?And truly, although I don’t want him to think me helpless, I could use someone who wants to support me in the days ahead. It would be nice to think he’s concerning himself with my well-being…
Two could play at this game. She pressed her lips together. “I don’t know what sort of ladies you’re used to dealing with, Your Grace, but I can assure you that I require nothing.” Let him make what he could of that.
Did his smile falter? Or had she imagined that? She was sure she hadn’t imagined the way his gaze fixated on her. He looked at her as though she was a puzzle he was trying to solve.She squared her shoulders, facing the scrutiny, wondering what he might discover and what he might make of what he saw, knowing that he wasn’t going to tell her.
Father was looking from one of them to the other, and Susan was sure the nuances of this conversation were entirely lost on him. “It’s good to see the two of you forming such a bond so quickly,” he said heartily. “This will be a very successful union indeed!”
“You’ll want to refresh yourselves,” the Duke said, not taking his eyes off of Susan. “Mrs. Hastings?”
A woman about the Duke’s age bustled forward. Her face was serious, all business, but she had kind eyes.
“Take our guests to their rooms, please,” the Duke said. “And see to it that they have whatever they might need to make them comfortable.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Mrs. Hastings bowed and then turned to Susan and her family. “Come this way, please,” she said. “Your rooms have been prepared.”
She led them up a staircase that curved around as it climbed to the second floor and down a long, broad hallway, stopping to show first Father and then Marina the rooms in which they would be staying.
“And this room will be yours, Lady Susan,” she said, opening a door at the very end of the hall. “Welcome to Heathmare. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
But as she walked into the room she had been assigned, Susan couldn’t keep her doubts at bay.
CHAPTER 2
“You two seemed to get along well enough,” Michael said with a broad smile.
Norman sighed. “You’re as ridiculous as her father is, Michael. I couldn’t believe it when Lord Crownway said what he did about the two of us forming a bond.”
“You didn’t like that?” Michael asked. He rose from the chair where he had been seated, walked to one of the library shelves, and plucked a book from it. He brought the book back to his chair and sat down, but he didn’t open it. It was the cousins’ habit to spend evenings in the library reading in peaceful silence together, but Norman doubted any reading was going to take place tonight. There was simply too much to talk and think about, thanks to the arrival of Lord Crownway and his daughters.
“I didn’t mind it,” Norman said. “I mean, I didn’t take offense to it. But really, the two of us exchanged a few words, nothingmore. How could anyone call that a bond? There’s no bond. We hardly know one another.”
“It’s not the number of words you exchanged, but the quality of them,” Michael explained.
Norman shook his head. “We had an argument,” he said. “There was nothing admirable about that exchange. Nothing to give a father hope that the marriage will be a successful one.”
“I think you’re determined that the marriage should be a failure,” Michael said, leaning forward in his chair and bracing his elbows on his knees. “I think there’s a substantial part of you that doesn’t want this to go well, Norman.”
“Ridiculous,” Norman scoffed. “Why would I want my marriage to fail?”
“We both know you never truly wanted it at all,” Michael pointed out.
“But I need it,” Norman said. “And I accept that I need it.” He sighed. “If there was truly something I didn’t want, I think it would be this dukedom. I never asked for this, and I never imagined I would inherit it in the first place. I was happy with my life before any of this happened.”
“You’d return to being a commoner?” Michael asked.
“Yes. In a moment. It’s different for you, because you were raised as part of society,” Norman said. “Your mother was always a countess, and you’re used to this life. But me… this was never who I was, and never anything I dreamed of becoming. And then one day, out of nowhere, I receive a letter telling me that my father has died, and that he was a duke, of all things, and everything changes for me overnight. Now I have to find a way to fit in with the other gentlemen of theton. I need to be able to do business with them, or Heathmare will fall apart. And even though I might not have wanted this role, I don’t want to fail at it. I want to keep my estate together. I want to help the tenants thrive and have good lives… I know what it’s like to be in their shoes.” He sighed. “I wish these things didn’t matter to me, but they do. And for the gentlemen of thetonto trust that I am truly one of them, I have to make a good marriage.”
