And then, at Easter, my mother pointed out that I was welcome to allow my second brother Triston to make the heir that will ascend to the position of the seventh Duke of Grandmont.
I know my mother. She’s strategic, she was playing me. That doesn’t make her wrong.
Triston is an excellent CEO, but he doesn’t feel the same attachment to the dukedom. And he’s going to raise a kid that’s going to be an…American.
I don’t have anything against the population in general. Industrious, hard-working, straightforward. But a duke should have English values.
Which was why I decided it was time to find a wife.
I’ve hired a consultant to plan several events meant to help me vet candidates. I understand that I’m going about finding a wife the way some men might hire an assistant, but I see marriage as nothing more than a business arrangement.
A means to an end.
And any woman who chooses to take the position of duchess will be well compensated. Thanks to our American holdings, the dukedom is now one of the wealthiest in the country, and by extension, the world. Power, influence, prestige is the offer I make.
Feelings, even lust, are not part of the bargain.
Katarina has fallen silent, her neck turning so that she’s looking out the window. Below I see the twinkling lights of London.
It’s midnight here, the car picking us up at the airport will take us the hour-long drive to Grandmont.
The dim lights of the plane cabin reflect off her profile, light sparkling on her long dark lashes as she dips her chin and rests it on the back of her hand.
She’s only in leggings and a tank top, but her beauty is effortless, every line arrayed in flattering angles.
I let the silence settle, but I don’t go back to my computer.
Instead, I watch her, her hardness falling away, as her mouth parts and her features soften, a wistful expression settling over them.
Is she dreaming of her escape?
Whatever her thoughts, she’s beautiful like this.
I asked Ryker why he wished to marry Sasha instead of Katarina. He shook his head. “Sasha has a much gentler nature. She’ll be much easier.”
He must never have seen Katarina like this.
“Your Grace.” Andrew steps from the cabin built for staff, into the main cabin where we’re seated. “We’ve been cleared for landing. Touchdown in fifteen minutes.”
I give a single jerk of my chin as Katarina lifts her head, the softness disappearing from her face.
I close my laptop and place it back in my bag.
Then I put my seatbelt on. Katarina has remained silent but as the plane begins to descend, she clears her throat, her gaze fixing on me again. “Might I ask one more question?”
I look over at her, a single brow cocking. “You may ask as many as you like.”
Her mouth curves into a smile. She knows what I didn’t add. “But will you answer?”
“Try.” I find I’m curious.
“The debt you want my father to pay…the score you wish to settle. Is the price his life?”
My mouth opens and then closes again. I frequently choose not to answer questions, but I’m rarely stumped as to how to answer.
In this moment, however, I genuinely cannot decide what to say. Do I tell her I intend to kill her father?
And not just him.
