Lucy eyed the interaction with extreme interest.
She did not recognize the duke, just as she knew that she had never seen him before.If I had, there is little doubt that I would remember him.
Yes, he was tall. Yes, he was physically impressive. Yes, he was dark and sinister; black hair like onyx, deep eyes like bottomless pits, strength personified in his stern gaze. But it was the sense of power he held that was inescapable. He stood with confidence, he looked at Lord Barrington like one might an ant, and he said nothing because he did not have to.
Lucy felt a stirring in her stomach…
“As you say.” Lord Barrington took a step away and rolled his eyes. “Have her. See if I care…” He scoffed. “It is not as if she is the only woman here. Besides, I like my women tame.” He scoffed again, sure to throw it at Lucy, before turning and skulking away.
The mystery duke watched him go, and Lucy saw in his eyes how much he loathed Lord Barrington.
“I am sorry about that,” he said once they were alone. “Men of his ilk…” He clicked his tongue. “They should not be allowed within one hundred yards of a woman.”
“I…” Lucy almost thanked him. He had, after all, saved her. However, just as she was about to, another thought struck her.
She had seen this game played before. She knew its movements. While this duke acted as if he was chivalry personified, she could not escape the obvious fact that threw a shadow over everything else: he was here, and thus he was engaged in the same detestable behavior as everyone else.
Likely, this is all part of his game. Save the helpless maiden, make himself out to be a hero, only to be revealed as a villain like everyone else.
“Are you sorry?” she said sharply.
He turned and frowned at the comment. “Excuse me?”
“You speak of Lord Barrington as if you and he are not the same.” She folded her arms. “After all, you are here, are you not? You are participating, as is he, as is everyone else. Were I to guess, I might say that you and he are of the exact same ilk.”
She expected anger. She expected him to launch into self-defense. She expected anything other than what she was given… cool indifference.
“You would not say such things if you knew me.”
“Oh, but I do,” she fired back. “I know all of you. Every man here, you are all the same. Perhaps you are not as bad as Lord Barrington, as low as that bar is to clear. But please, do not swoop in here as if you mean to save me, when we both know that your true purpose was to try and win me over for yourself.”
“It is Lady Whitcombe, yes?”
“That is right. And what is your name?”
“His Grace, the Duke of Calderwick,” he said coolly. “And while I do not make a habit of defending myself, you should know that…” He hesitated and then sighed deeply. “Everything you have said is correct.”
Lucy balked at the comment. “What? What does that mean?”
“It means that you are correct in what you say. At least as far as this place is concerned.” He turned slightly and cast his gaze across the room. “I detest these functions, just as I pity any woman forced to be a part of them. We speak of honor and prestige as if we are the embodiment of such things, yet we treat our daughters as little better than cattle. The entire thing is repellent.”
Lucy stared with bewilderment at the Duke.
She was certain that he was lying. He had to be! But as she looked closer, as she saw the look of disgust on his face, she found that belief hard to agree with.
There was something different to him than everyone else. In each and every other lord here, Lucy saw excitement, the thrill of the chase, and the hunger for power that was found in taking control of someone they deemed as less. But in the Duke… she saw apathy, even pity reflected in his dark eyes.
He must be faking it. An expert liar, no doubt. That is all this is.
“I do not believe you,” she said.
He turned back and shrugged. “Believe what you wish. It makes no difference to me. I did not come over here to try and convince you of my purity. Nor did I come here to try and win you.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“To keep men like Lord Barrington in line. The world would be a better place without them, and where I cannot remove him, I can clip his wings.”
“No,” she emphasized. “Not that. Here. Why are you here, if you are so repulsed by it?”
