“There is nothing that need be known,” Matthew stated.
“I will not marry a man who the only things I know about come from scandal sheets and gossip.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised at both the strength of her tone and the steadfast look in her eyes.
“There is no love between us. However, that does not mean that we shall marry as strangers and never speak again, Your Grace. I will know more about you before we are wed.”
“What is it you would have me say, My Lady?” he asked stiffly.
“Please, be seated, Your Grace.”
Reluctantly, Matthew sat in the chair she had indicated, though he perched on the edge of it, hopeful that this conversation could still be carried out quickly and he could be home soon.
For a long moment, she was silent, but he had nothing to say on the matter and so he simply waited her out.
“Just what kind of person are you, Your Grace?”
“How am I to answer such a question?” he scoffed.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you more pleasant to those whose company you enjoy than you are to me?”
“I suspect you would need to speak to those others instead.”
“Ah, so there are those whose company you enjoy.” Her sharp tone and her wit nearly impressed him despite himself, but he remained silent. “And what else is there I should know?”
“I like to be left alone. I enjoy my peace and quiet, and I prefer that throughout my estate. If I am working, you shall not disturb me for any reason.”
That much, at least, he could tell her.
“Hmm, well, nothing of that surprises me, Your Grace. However, there must be some occasions when you do not mind at least a bit of noise. What about music? And dancing?”
“I’ve no time for either. There shall be no balls or social events in my home. They disrupt the peace of my estate, and they distract me from work that needs to be done.”
“No events?” She looked appalled at the idea, the first true reaction he had gotten from her other than irritation.
“I will not have my estate turned upside down to accommodate a bunch of witless Society louts.”
“If I am to be married, hosting balls and events is perhaps one of the things that I most look forward to,” she admitted.
“I am sorry to disappoint you, My Lady, but there will be no such nonsense in my home.”
“You are the Duke—it is practically your responsibility to host events that will bring the people of the ton together.”
“Then I have been shirking my responsibility, and I shall continue to do so,” he retorted indignantly.
Her expression was certainly one of outrage and shock. Clearly, she had not expected this, but he had no intention of conceding on this matter. The idea of having so many people traipsing about his home… it was unthinkable.
“I would urge you to reconsider, Your Grace. There is a great deal to be gained by a well-executed social event and?—”
“There shall be nothing of the sort, My Lady.” His voice was even more insistent this time, and she pressed her lips together in a thin line. “My peace shall be maintained, and you shall not interfere with my ways.”
“It shall be my home too, Your Grace.”
“That it shall, My Lady, but I am still the master of my home, and it shall be run in the way I see fit.”
“I wished to know what sort of man you are, Your Grace, but it seems I might just as well have allowed you to leave when you wished it. I do not believe I have learned anything about you that should cause me to like you more than I did when you first arrived here.”
Matthew didn’t bother to respond to that, simply inclining his head and rising from his chair. Hopefully her cold tone and the way she sat with her back ramrod straight meant that she had grown tired of this as much as he had and was ready to let him leave.
