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“Why not?” That she had been solely his counted. Too much for him to admit even to himself.
“Because no one knows.” She made a gesture of obviousness.
“We do.” His brows arched challenging her to counter that.
She expelled tight air through her tempting lips. “You are insufferable.”
The inn maid came to say their carriage was ready and waiting.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
An intense joy invaded Annabel at the sight of the castle. She had known she missed it but not to this extent. The towers, the battlements, the hall and, in special, the library.
That joy did not dim even when the aggravating Duke ordered her things to be taken to the Duchess’s chambers. It must not be news to anyone their… intimacy. The fact did not worry her that much since Romulus demanded complete loyalty from his servants, due to his secret activities.
It did make her rather restless, she mused hours later, going to the solar at the Duke’s summons. They were not married and occupying those chambers caused something of an embarrassment, for she did not bear the title and she did not want it on his terms. There lay another of their battles, probably. Indulgence in those kinds of altercations did not figure as a way of acting full time. It took up too much energy. A compromise was in order.
Frustrating to think about how he put the whole thing. She did not want to marry him merely because she might be with child. The means to take care of herself were there if it came to that. It would be extremely thorny to raise a child on her own. She could do it, for sure. Though the mighty Duke would not let her get away with the idea. He would want his heir under his tutelage. There would be no countering him on that. She was not with child she knew. So, this might be perfectly reversed. The decision to go back to her life in London without anyone being the wiser was a possibility.
A sterile marriage lay in her past, in which she entered half-aware and in deep mourning, a completely fragmented emotional state. Why wish for another mistake? And yes, darn it, she loved the insufferable man! How was she to deny it after everything they had experienced together? The intimacy she experienced with him had been born from her feelings, nothing else. The fire, the emotions, the thoughts that consumed her came from no other source than the fact she loved him profoundly. It daunted her, to tell the truth. To accept marrying him on feeble excuses would be the path to unhappiness.
After a knock on the door to the solar, she entered. Romulus stood by the window, tall and rigid back to her. At her entrance, he turned, hair unbound, usual black clothes which made him appear even more brooding and irresistible.
“You wanted to see me.” She closed the door with a calm click.
“Yes.” He clasped his hands behind him and paced a few steps nearer her. “Please, have a sit.” He motioned to one of the chairs in front his massive desk and sat on his usual one behind it. “We need to talk about your tasks here.” He completed, murky eyes attentive on her from up his elegant long nose.
“I was wondering about that.” She commented, too affected by his scrutiny.
“The castle needs a feminine hand.” He entwined his long fingers on the desk.
“But you have a housekeeper.” That he wanted her to fit in the ‘lady-of-the-manor’ box did not enthusiasm her. She would obviously love to manage the castle. But not like this.
“I do.” The agreement came in a low, grave voice. “But you will be my Duchess and your touch will be required in this household.”
The remark ignited restlessness, she stood from her chair, causing him to stand, too. “I have not accepted your one-sided decision to marry you.” She stated, facing him in full. “And I have not changed my mind.”
His eyes squinted on her, irritated with the disobedience, undoubtedly. “You want me to continue making a dishonest woman of you?”
Oh, the man could twist everything to his advantage, could he not? “This absolutely is not the point.” She countered.
“Which is the point, Annabel?” Bracing his legs, he crossed his muscled arms, the vision of a Roman good.
“The point is I have the right to decide if I want to be a wife again or not.” This time she would not clash with him. Reasoning would be the strategy.
“You fear marriage, then.” He tilted his square jaw to pierce her from under his lush lashes.
“Of course, I do not fear marriage!” She responded more hotly than she intended. The man had the power to shorten her temper. “I want the chance to choose.”
“And what do you choose?” He challenged.
Yes, that was a good question. She would choose a full marriage, which he did not put on offer. So… “I choose to be your paramour. To carry on as we have been doing.”
He breathed a derisive laugh. “You are probably the only woman in Europe that would pick that over security.”
She exhaled frustrated breath. “I do not need security. Charles’ will granted me enough to live on my
own.”
