She looked at the Duke, and he offered her a coy wink, apparently pleased with himself. Luckily, neither of her parents noticed.
And I thought that I was the expert liar. Perhaps he is the one who should be writing stories.
“I cannot say I am pleased with the subterfuge,” her father said from behind them. “However…”
She turned to her father, already preparing to wince because she just expected he would be enraged. But he was beaming with delight, and she could not remember a time she had seen him so darn happy.
“I must say, the end results damn near justify the means. A duke, Helena!” He laughed and shook his head. “I only dare to dream of such things.”
“This calls for a celebration!” her mother agreed. “Your Grace? Perhaps a drink?”
“I would love one,” the Duke said with a charming smile. “Now that we have gotten the awkwardness out of the way.”
Helena stood in a state of unparalleled shock as her father and mother laughed together, congratulating the Duke, huggingeach other because this seemed to be the best day of their life. And the Duke played his role perfectly, giving nothing away, as charming and congenial as she had heard he could be.
“I…” Helena gave her head a shake. “Might I say something?”
The three of them stopped and looked at her. Her mother and father were still smiling, the Duke was frowning… and she saw a warning flash behind his eyes. That alone angered her, and she very nearly gave the game away.
“Mother, Father, if it is not too much to ask, might I have a word alone with my future husband?” She gave a smile and fluttered her eyelashes. “Just a moment, if it pleases you.”
“Concerning?” her father asked.
“Nothing to worry about, just…” She looked flatly at the Duke so he would understand. “Semantics. There is one or two things I was hoping to ask him about, before we told you of our plans. I would like to now.” A beat. “Alone.”
Her mother and father looked confused, but so happy were they with the situation that they did not argue. They made the Duke promise to wait until they were allowed back in before having that drink, and then they shuffled out of the room, beaming the whole while.
Helena was the one to close the door behind them. And once she did, she turned back to find the Duke watching her. And, as she had come to expect, he was grinning wickedly.
Yes, very pleased with himself.
“What is the matter with you!” she snapped.
It was not her intention to turn toward anger. But the weight of the past hour had been sitting heavily on her, building slowly such that she could hardly stand it anymore. And seeing the Duke’s smug grin, feeling that she was being taken advantage of and made to look like a fool, it all came out.
“Is this funny to you?” She waved her hands in the air. “Is this some sort of joke? Because this is my life! And I don’t appreciate you using it for… for… for whatever it is that you have planned!”
“Planned?” He frowned and tilted his head. “What might I possibly have planned?”
“I do not know!” she cried, her anger still very much front and center. “But you have come in here with your lies that I am just expected to go along with. Nothing I can do about it now. And you still have not told me why.”
“Just as you have not thanked me,” he said.
She blinked in surprise. “Thanked you? Why would I?—”
“You seem to think that this is something I want.” The humor was gone from his face and his tone, replaced by a seriousness that had her leaning back, even considering a step back because it was a most intense thing to be on the receiving end of. “That I plotted these events, all so I would find myself married to you.” He scoffed. “Are you really that self-centered?”
“I… no. I just thought?—”
“No, you did not think,” he spoke over her. “If you had, you might have realized that I have helped you. Beyond what you likely deserve. Believe me when I tell you this, Lady Helena—marriage to you is not something I planned for this evening. It is merely a situation that I have found myself in and taken advantage of.”
“But why?” she pressed, still not understanding. “You do not know me. You could have walked away and left me to my fate. Why did you help me?”
He shrugged. “Perhaps I am simply that generous.”
She scoffed. “And you expect me to believe that.”
“I do not care what you believe. I married you for good reason. A necessary reason, at that. Would you have been my first choice of bride?” He looked her over slowly, his lips twitching. It made her feel uncomfortable, and on instinct, she crossed her arms to shield herself. “No, I do not think so. But here we are.”
