Before Rachel could answer, he brought one of his fingers to her lips and parted them. It was an oddly intimate moment, and Rachel felt her hands grow sweatier.
“You…”
“I, what?” he prodded. “Say it. You have been running your mouth for so long, it makes no sense for you to grow quiet now.”
“You should not touch me like this.” Somehow, she found herself regretting the words as soon as she spoke them, for he removed himself and put a distance between them.
The absence of his touch was almost jarring, leaving Rachel feeling strangely… incomplete.
“Let us not waste time then,” he said curtly. “Write me a letter of rejection if you choose not to go through with our engagement. Have it delivered to me by tomorrow morning.”
Rachel stared at him, her mind spinning. Too much was happening—all at once.
“And if I decide not to?”
“Then we get married,” he said evenly. “Within the week.”
“I…”
“Enough. We have talked for longer than we ought to.”
He did not say goodbye. He simply left, leaving her standing there, trying to catch her breath.
She only heard the door close behind him. Now that he was gone, she did not know how to even begin processing what had just taken place.
She considered herself to be a morally upright and honest person, but of course, she had told little white lies before, as had everyone else in the world.
In her mind, this was also a white lie, but it was on the brink of becoming a reality.
“Is he gone?” The sound of her father’s voice came from outside the room, snapping Rachel out of her haze.
Oh, no, no, no.
Rachel’s instincts kicked in, and she knew that she had to bolt from the scene immediately. She could not stand there and be subjected to their questioning, for she did not even have the answers herself. She ran to her room and closed the door behind her.
A few moments of solitude were what she needed right now. Not her family’s taunts and questioning.
Her desk seemed like the one place that could anchor her in his difficult time. So she quickly went to it and hastily pulled out a sheet of paper.
A letter of rejection.
Yes, that is what she ought to do. She must write it and end this madness. But it was as though her hands had been rendered frozen. Even if she wished to write, she could not find herself physically able to.
It seemed that hours had passed as Rachel continued to stare at the empty piece of paper, which seemed to taunt her now. But in reality, only a few moments had passed.
There was a knock on her door, diverting her attention momentarily. She began to prepare herself for the worst questioning from her father, but the sound that came next delivered a great deal of relief to her.
“Rachel?”
Thank heavens, it was only Marina.She could not handle seeing anyone else at this moment.
She quickly sat up. “Come in.”
Marina stepped into the room, her expression a mix of worry and fear. “I heard… There was a lot of commotion, and I heard the duke was here. Father refuses to tell me anything as he is too busy consoling Letitia, who is crying in her room. You need to tell me.Whathappened?”
The nervous look on Marina’s face said everything.
“Exactly what you think,” Rachel said dryly. Luck had never really been on her side.
