She looked at him coldly. No! She looked at him with hate.
Until this point, she had not thought of the Duke as one to make jokes. He was constantly dispassionate, even cold, and she could not remember having seen him smile even once. Now, while it might have been a relief to learn that he had it in him to be humorous, the way he had decided to show her was infuriating.
“What was that?” she demanded hotly.
He shrugged. “Payback.”
“Payback for what?”
“I have tried to be courteous to you, Lucy. I have tried to be kind. And so far, I have been rewarded with apathy and even hostility. You might try and fix this in the future.” He smirked. “We have a long life ahead of us, you and I. Things will go far smoother for all if you drop the act.”
“What act is that?”
“That I have conspired against you, somehow. And rather than treating me with some semblance of respect, you have decided to throw a tantrum.”
“I am not throwing a tantrum –”
“I will not put up with it,” he spoke over his, his tone turned cold and sharp. “I am your husband, this is my home, and I would appreciate that you pay me this respect. Is that clear?” He raised a warning eyebrow at her.
In response, Lucy just glared.
“So be it,” he sighed. Then, he turned and started up the steps. “This way, if you wish to see your room. Lest you plan on finding it on your own.”
With no choice, Lucy followed the Duke upstairs. And she glared daggers at the back of his head the whole while.
She was furious with what had just happened, but she was also understanding – as frustrating as that was to admit! She had been somewhat rude to him since they left the ceremony, and despite this being his fault, she knew too that this wasn’t entirely true.
We are both victims here. We are both thrust into a circumstance we do not want. And if this is to work… maybe it is time that I remember that.
Not that she told him this, of course. The Duke led her into her room and she looked upon him coldly the whole time. He stayed by the doorway, a plain expression on his face, almost as if he was enjoying her rancor.
“Here we are,” he said once she was inside. “My room is just down the hall, if you need anything. Even if you have made it so clear that you do not, nor will you.”
“I am certain the staff will assist me if that changes,” she said darkly.
He scoffed, shook his head, and closed the door behind himself as he left.
Lucy was left alone. She looked around the large room, and she tried to stoke her anger because that felt safe to do. All the while, in the back of her subconscious, she could not scrub the sensation that had overtaken her when the Duke offered to spend the night with her.
It was confusing… it was frustrating… it was not what she wanted or what she expected to be feeling. If this was just the first evening of their married life together, Lucy shuddered to think of what might come next.
Whatever this marriage might be, it would at the very least be interesting. Of that, she had no doubt.
