Page 6 of The Duke Who Claimed Her

“How could you have known?” the Duke sneered. “You were too busy berating your daughter.”

“You do not understand,” her father protested, shoving away his anger. “My daughter has embarrassed me in ways that… She has shamed me like no other.”

“That is a lie!” Arabella cried. “I did nothing of the sort.”

“Quiet!” her father snapped before turning to the Duke again. “She was set to be married, Your Grace. Lord Rochester, a name I am sure you know? All was set, only for him to change his mind at the last minute. She has done this. Always, she disappoints me.”

“That is not true!” Without thinking of what she was doing, Arabella strode to the Duke and took him by the arm. She did not know him. She had no reason to trust him. But for some reason, he made her feel safe in the face of her father’s accusations and anger. “My father is the reason, Your Grace. There was nothing I could have done.”

“Lies,” her father spat. “See how effortlessly they fall from her lips.”

“Please!” She clung to the Duke’s arm. “You must believe me…”

The Duke said nothing. Instead, he looked at her hand wrapped around his arm with a mix of surprise and confusion. It took Arabella a moment too long to realize she had made a mistake, only to suddenly let go and hurriedly step back.

“Apologies.” She bowed her head. “I should not have… This is not your dilemma to solve.”

“See what she does?” her father said. “How she throws herself at…” He scoffed and shook his head. “It is no wonder that Lord Rochester turned her down.”

Arabella felt the Duke’s eyes on her. There was no anger in them, nor was there judgment. She felt his pity, and for some reason, that was even worse.

“I am sorry to hear that,” the Duke said finally. “Marriage is… hard. Daughters, too, I can only imagine. My presence here has clearly ruffled some feathers, so if you will excuse me.”

“Please…” Arabella found herself saying.

She snapped her head up and looked pleadingly at the Duke. Once he left her, she would be forced to face her father alone, and, as she knew would happen, he would be sure to punish her severely.

The Duke hesitated. He looked from her to her father; his brow furrowed in thought. And for a moment, Arabella held her breath. She did not know what he could do, but she had to believe that he could help.

Only then did she notice her father studying the Duke and the way that he looked at her. At first, her father appeared bemused, even wary of a man who stood over him in ways he was not used to. But then, a wicked smile crossed his face, and his eyes flashed with malice.

On no… Arabella’s stomach dropped because she recognized that look, and from her own personal experience, no good would come from it.

“I do find it curious, Your Grace, what it is that you are doing here in the first place.” Her father held that wicked smile as he stepped forward. “Very curious.”

“It is no concern of yours.”

“That is where you are mistaken,” her father parried. “You seem awfully concerned for my daughter, a woman whom you do not know. I cannot help but wonder why that is. Have you met before?”

The Duke scoffed. “Of course not.”

“Yet here you are, alone with her, and as soon as her marriage was ended for reasons that I am struggling to fully grasp.”

Arabella saw where her father was heading with his questions. She knew him, which was why she understood how his mind worked. She gasped and took a step toward him. “Father, you know why⁠—”

“Quiet!” he snapped at her before facing the Duke again. “Dare I question if you are the cause, Your Grace? That you and my daughter have been conspiring together?”

The Duke stiffened. “Careful in what you say next…”

“It does not matter what I say,” her father said, acting bereaved, while unable to hide how pleased he was. “What matters is what people will think. And when they hear that I found the two of you together like this, they will come to their own conclusions.”

“That is not…” The Duke went to snarl, but the words came out broken. “I am searching for my nephew. That is the reason I am here.”

“And where is he?” her father asked. “Oh, I believe you, Your Grace. And if anyone asks, I will be sure to tell them. But you might understand my worries, yes? As you must surely understand, the situation you have put my daughter in.”

Arabella’s stomach rose as her breathing stagnated, and her legs trembled. The walls around her started to turn, and all she could do was stare wide-eyed in shock. Again, she knew where this was going, just as she knew there was nothing that she could do to stop it.

“There is no one else here,” the Duke said, a note of panic behind his voice. “And no one needs to know⁠—”