“Oh,” she said, her own voice croaky as well. The worddesperatehad made her heart race again. “And why were you so desperate to see me?”
“I need to know if any of the gentlemen have proposed yet,” he said. “Or if any of them seem close. There are only two days left, and I need to know if one of them is close to a proposal.”
Ahhh.Her stomach dropped, and she felt a cold heaviness fill up her stomach.He is worried that he will have to marry me, now that the deadline of his deal is so close.
Her stomach lurched, and she had to force herself not to look too upset or angry. She didn’t want to marry him either, but she had thought, when he climbed a building in order to see her in the middle of the night, it wouldn’t be because he was so desperate to know he wouldn’t be forced to become her husband.
“N-no,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. “No one has proposed yet. But I believe that Lord Eaton is very close.”
“Really?” The Duke didn’t look nearly as excited by this as she had thought he would be. “Is there no one else?”
“There are others who have asked me to dance, but no one serious. His attentions have been so consistent and flattering that I haven’t had the time to put as much effort into other suitors.”
The Duke ran a hand through his hair again, a distracted look on his face. He began to pace again. Meanwhile, Leah sank slowly into the chair at her vanity, watching him closely.
“You are nervous about honoring your side of the bet, should two more days pass without Lord Eaton proposing,” she said slowly. “But I promise you--he will propose.”
“What?” the Duke glanced at her. “No, no, it’s not--that is to say--Lord Eaton is not the most reliable.”
Her eyes narrowed again. “What are you talking about? You encouraged the match! You promised me you wouldn’t interfere again!”
“I’m not!” he said, a little too loudly, and she gave him a warning look. “It’s just that--” He took a very deep breath, stopped pacing, and turned to face her. “There’s something very important I need to ask you.”
“Okay,” she said nervously. “Ask me.”
He didn’t say anything right away. Crossing to her, he knelt down in front of her, so that their eyes were level. There was an intense look in them that scared her. It was… fear. The Duke wasscared about something. It made her heart ache, and she had to resist the urge to put a reassuring hand on his cheek.
“What is it?” she murmured, leaning closer to him. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
His eyes seemed to burn for a moment, and his lips parted, as if there was something he longed to say. But then he shook his head just a fraction of an inch, as if to tell himselfno.
“I need to know,” he croaked, “if you would rather spend your days as a spinster than marry Lord Dubois.”
Leah blinked. She hadn’t known what to expect, but it certainly hadn’t been this question.
“Of course I would!” She said at once. “But is that even an option? Lord Dubois has said he will make me marry him, that he will force the courts to honor the contract.”
When the Duke didn’t say anything, her panic began to increase. “What about Lord Eaton?” she asked. “Do you have reason to believe he no longer intends to propose to me?”
But the Duke still didn’t answer. At the same time, the intensity in his face vanished, replaced by a look of relief; contentment.
“What’s going on?” she insisted, but he shook his head.
“I just needed to make sure,” he said. “It’s always good to have a backup plan.”
“What backup plan?” she leaned forward and grabbed his hand, her fingers digging into his wrist. She knew she was being unladylike, but he wasn’t making any sense, and worse, he was scaring her. “Tell me what is going on! This is my life, Your Grace! I have the right to know.”
“Not yet, I need to make sure...” he said, and his eyes became more gentle--more understanding. “But we will speak soon.”
He stood, and she was forced to release his wrists. “Goodnight, Lady Leah,” he said, bowing low. “I am sorry again for coming here in such an uncouth manner and scaring you.”
“You can’t go,” she said, jumping to her feet, but it was too late. He was at her window, and within seconds, he was lowering himself back out of it. She couldn’t yell at him to stay, or call after him as he descended the lattice--that would only get them both into trouble. But as she watched him descend, she felt a great swell of anger.
He has no right to come here and ask me cryptic questions! This is my life, not his! And I deserve to know what is happening.For the Duke to come here and hint at things but not tell her made her just as powerless as Lord Dubois and his marriage contract made her feel. It was not a good feeling. She had thought that the Duke was better than that, that he wouldn’t make her feel that way.
But even greater than her anger was her fear. Something had happened. She didn’t know what it was, but she had a terrible feeling that things were about to change for the worse.
Dorian didn’t like to be home. Perhaps that was the reason he had stayed away so long in Europe. Every time he walked over the threshold of his family’s ducal townhouse, the same feeling of anger, regret, and guilt washed over him.
