That seemed to appease the maid, for she went back to her knitting and humming a popular tune. Marianne peeked out the curtains, watching Alexander ride alongside the vehicle on his horse. The man sat the animal well, his strong body hardly even bouncing he was in so much control.
Just as he always was. The night before, he had allowed her the bath, then curled against her in the bed, his big body cradling hers. In the morning, he’d woken her with soft kisses and the probing press of his cock on her backside. They’d made love slowly, passionately, and she had come three times before he found his release.
And yet, once more, the moment the passion faded, he put the wall between them. And here she was, riding inside with her maid, and him outside, like they were strangers rather than lovers.
Like she worked for him. And she supposed in a way, she did. She was his mistress, in reality, no matter how limited that arrangement was. Trading her body for what she needed, for the security of her future. That was not a place she’d ever thought to find herself in.
Nor to enjoy so much once she was in it. What a wanton she was turning out to be, thinking of this man and what his body did to hers. Even as he made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of being anything to her other than a lover, and a temporary one at that.
Outside the window, Alexander urged his horse on and suddenly the animal leapt forward and they disappeared from view. She pulled the curtain back fully, craning her neck to see where they could have gone, and that was when she saw it. A huge estate, rising up in the distance. Her mouth dropped open, for the home was five times bigger than her own father’s best estate. A castle fit for a king, not just a duke.
“Great Lord.” Bonnie whistled beside her as she, too, watched the giant house grow closer in the distance. “That’s something. To think, you’ll be duchess of all this.”
Marianne jerked her face toward her maid in surprise. “Duchess? No, I’m not marrying Avondale, Bonnie.”
Her maid seemed surprised for a moment, then she bent her head. “I’m sorry, Lady Marianne. I must have misunderstood.”
Heat flooded Marianne’s cheeks as she saw the faint look of disapproval on Bonnie’s face. But why wouldn’t she disapprove? Ladies were not meant to take men to their bed who they would not marry. Certainly they didn’t like it as much as she had.
Perhaps she wasn’t a lady at heart. Just as her father hadn’t truly been a gentleman in the end.
The carriage pulled to a stop, bringing her thoughts to an end with it. Within moments, the door was opened and a footman stood there to greet her. Marianne ignored the pull of disappointment that it wasn’t Alexander who helped her out. But he was already standing on a long staircase, talking to a man in impeccable livery.
As Bonnie moved off to make arrangements for her things, Marianne hesitated. Should she join the duke or the servants? Her place suddenly felt very unclear.
“Lady Marianne,” Alexander called out. “Come here, please.”
She climbed the steps and stood beside him as he introduced her to his butler. “Jones will take care of anything you need and ensure your maid is instructed on the workings of the household. He will also show you to your chamber. I’ll see you at supper.”
Marianne blinked. How efficient Alexander sounded now. How utterly disinterested in her he looked and acted as he waved her off to the butler and went inside the house.
If Jones had thoughts on her being here or her role in his master’s life, he made no indication on his face. He simply led her up to a chamber and she followed, making note of the stark element that the estate had. There were few pieces of art on the wall, no portraits at all, and as she passed by, she noted half the doors to the rooms were closed up tight.
The house was half-dead.
And she was staking her life on the man who had brought her here. Not for the first time, she wondered at the bargain she had made.
Alexander sat at his desk with a pile of correspondence at his side. Every time he left the countryside for London, there were a dozen things to do when he returned. He might have shut up a great many parts of his life, but he had never shirked on his duties as duke. Too many people depended on him and his lands and holdings to let them go fallow.
Normally, he would have been neck-deep in responses and troubles, but today he sat staring at the letters, completely unable to focus on matters at hand. His mind kept taking him elsewhere. Out of this room, up the stairs, to the chamber where a very unexpected lady now stayed.
Thoughts of Marianne intruded upon him constantly, just as they had during the ride to the estate. Just as they had since the moment he had captured her in his study in London.
The woman was a menace. And he could not recall ever wanting someone more than he wanted her. Which was utterly and completely terrifying, and certainly not the bargain he had made with her just a few days before.
He wanted to separate the drives of his body from the swirling cloud of his mind and the pounding ache of his heart, but it was proving to be impossible in this case.
There was a light knock on his door, and Alexander stiffened with displeasure. His household staff knew exactly what his orders were when it came to his private rooms. He was never to be disturbed, save for if the house was burning down around him.
“Your Grace?”
He gripped his quill tighter as the light, feminine voice pierced the barrier of the door. So it was not a servant who intruded. It was Marianne, herself.
He briefly considered ignoring her, but then let out his breath in a long sigh. “Come in,” he snapped, rising to greet her properly as she hesitantly entered his office.
In the hours since their arrival, she had changed her clothing and fixed her hair. Not that she needed to do either. She was lovely no matter what she wore or did. Her dark hair curled around her face, framing the perfection there and making her dark green eyes sparkle like the finest emeralds. She had a sprinkling of light freckles on her nose, as well. He had noticed them before, but now he couldn’t help but stare at that tiny imperfection, which only made her more…interesting.
“What is it?” he barked out, hearing the sharpness of his tone and watching her flinch under its snap.
