He sighed and set down his quill, folded his hands, and looked at her. “Very well. Is something wrong?”
“Oh no, nothing like that.”
“Is it Harriet?”
“She is sleeping soundly.”
His brow furrowed. “What then?”
Ophelia smiled, although she could not say why. He was so determined to come across as grumpy that it almost felt forced. In fact, if she did not know any better, she might have guessed that he was trying to scare her away.
As he has scared away everyone else in his life…
“We are set to marry in two days…” Ophelia reached the desk but did not sit. Even standing, she was not much taller than the Duke. “And I have some questions that only you can answer.”
“Questions?”
“Yes, questions,” she laughed. “You have heard of such a thing?”
“I… what do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes but held her smile. “Never mind, I was only joking…” She laughed gently as she looked at him, wondering if he might do the same. Of course, he did no such thing. “Myquestions concern our marriage. The what of it. The how, if that makes sense.”
“It… no, it does not. Please, speak plainly.”
“You have told me that this will be a marriage of convenience, but you have not explained what that means exactly. I thought you might wish to clear the air a little more.” She made sure to keep her tone light as if to drag the Duke out of the darkness. “What does it mean, convenience? Convenient for whom?”
His frown deepened. “It is a rather standard arrangement. Surely, you know others who have made a similar commitment.”
“Similar to where we find ourselves?” She laughed again. “I certainly do not.”
He continued to frown at her, apparently finding no humor in her comment.
She sighed. “What is expected of me, after we marry?”
“Expected? Nothing,” he said. “You know the reason for this marriage. To avert attention so that we are not spoken about or judged by our peers. Once we are married, you will live here as my wife, but in name only. This is not…” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “This is not a love match.”
“So…” Her cheeks colored slightly. “I am not expected to… you will not… an heir…” She looked away. “You will not require me to produce an heir.”
“Of course not,” he said a little too sharply. “I would never…” That time, it was the Duke who looked away. “Our focus will be finding Harriet’s true father. Until then, there is no need to discuss such things.”
It was silly to consider, but the Duke’s statement brought with it a pang of sadness that Ophelia could not explain. She did not wish to have a child with the Duke, but now that she knew it would never happen, that she would not have one of her own…So, that is it then; happiness won’t be found in this marriage or my life.
Even as that thought threatened to consume her, Ophelia pushed it away. She would not let sorrow break her, nor would she give up. That had never been her way and she wasn’t about to start now.
“What of the estate?” she asked, needing to change the topic. “Will I have any control or say in the way it is run?”
“Would you like that?”
“I…” She blinked. “I think so.”
“Then it is done,” he said. “This marriage is not a trap, Ophelia. I am not trying to take advantage of you. And while it mightsound hard to believe, I do hope that you might be content with married life to me. Even…” He cleared his throat again. “Even happy.”
She smiled and was surprised to find that it was real. “I am sure I will be.”
“Is there anything else?”
There was so much more that Ophelia wanted to know, just as most of it would have to wait, because such things needed to be learned in real time. But what she had found out from this small exchange was exactly what she needed to. The Duke was not nearly so bad as he liked to pretend, and although they would not be falling in love, she knew too that she had nothing to fear from him.
