But not for me. Any moment I spent with the duke was a moment I was missing Charlie. And right now Charlie needed me. Any further conversation would only make the inevitable worse.
The duke led me in silence for a time, seeming to appreciate the view. The sparkling sunlight through hundreds of leaves, the sounds of birdsong, and the rustling of life all around us. I could paint this scene a thousand times and still it would not be right.
“Are you certain this is what you want, Your Grace? We may never suit.”
He pursed his lips and looked sideways at me. “We’ll suit. One way or another.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I have seen it time and time again. Marriage is a strategic play. When you calculate well, two people get everything they want, and they start off happily. Of course, there will be bumps along the way, but I shall hazard a guess your newly acquired status will be enough to placate you.”
Not anymore. “And if it isn’t?”
He slowed his steps and pursed his lips. I was pressing him too hard. He had to sense my intention. He flicked a hand in the air, and his servants jogged ahead, out of earshot. “Miss Newbury—”
“I cannot do this,” I interjected. “I am sorry, Your Grace, but I do not want to marry you.”
The words were like bricks, and each one spoken took a weight off my usually tense shoulders. And I was free.
I expected him to explode, or at the very least turn red. Instead, he drew in a breath through his nose and examined me. “You and I signed the same contract. I understand having reservations. But I assure you, I will do everything in my power to make you happy.”
He took a step closer, holding my arms in his hands. That same citrusy smell I remembered wafted between us. “You will be busy in your new role. You shall make new friends, order around your servants. And you can redecorate and repaper the entire east wing if you wish. I know we do not know each other well, but in time, you will see that I am loyal to my family. I care greatly for their well-being, and I will not bring you into our lives only to toss you aside and make you miserable.”
I looked down at his chest, at the diamond stud on his cravat. He could offer me the world, and it would not be enough. “No, Your Grace. I am quite serious.”
He forced a laugh, as though this was all some grand jest against him. “Rosalind, we will marry in five days.”
My name sounded so insignificant on his tongue. There was no gentleness, no measure of emotion. When Charlie said my name, it felt like an embrace.
“No. We will not.” I held his gaze, serious and unyielding, until the barest hint of frustration flared in his nostrils.
He stepped back and shook his head, searching the grass, the sky, the gardens. His jaw ticked, muscles popping as he gritted his teeth and composed himself. Even his silence was powerful.
“I am the Duke of Marlow.” His voice was low and devoid of inflection, but still I shivered with fear.
“Please forgive me,” I said. “I know all of this will be an embarrassment, canceling the wedding—”
“Thewedding?” Marlow scrunched his nose at the word. “Do you think I care about the wedding?”
I parted my lips to speak, but nothing came out. I had expected Marlow to be frustrated, even angry, but thwarted?
“No, of course you don’t understand,” he said. “You have no idea what you so easily toss aside.” He drew in a strong breath that seemed to grow him three sizes. “Your father thinks he owns that parcel of land, but it belongs tomydukedom.”
I puffed up with defense. “Are you insinuating that my father stole your land?”
“Decades ago, it was bartered or traded or sold at some painfully low price thanks to the one weak link in the Marlow line. The one ignorant half-wit who cost us half of our holdings. That land is the final piece of what we lost. You will get your title, and I will have my land.”
He looked away and refused to meet my gaze. He was different now, and we both knew it. Gone was the man who offered forgiveness, who used his power to fix instead of to harm, who aimed only for my comfort. He’d been kind and compassionate and welcoming.
But this was the true Duke of Marlow. And he would not be trifled with.
My hands curled into fists, and I blinked back the wetness in my eyes. “I shall never love you. I couldn’t.”
“Your heart will make room.” His words were clipped and final, his eyes hard. How quickly he constructed stalwart walls around his heart. If he had not offered it to me so willingly only moments ago, I might have believed he did not have a heart at all.
ButIdid. “Your Grace. My heart is already full.”
His eyes widened, clear with understanding, and his composure wavered for the slightest moment. “There is someone else.” He laughed as though everything now made sense. “Was there always?”
