Page 67 of The Duke’s Wager

“You ought to know that there is no boy in my life, father.”

“Do not think for a second that I am stupid, little girl.” He was angry again. When he was like this, he was desperate for an outlet – desperate to find anything that she had done wrong, anything he could punish her for.

“I do not think that, father, but… there truly has never been a boy.” Anger suddenly built in her too, and she lifted her chin. “And believe you me, you have made it quite certain that there never will be one!”

Lucy had never used this tone with him before. It angered him – she could see that, but she did not care. She did not cower, did not apologize. She simply faced him, her chin lifted and her eyes blazing.

In a rush of fury, Henry stormed forward and Lucy braced herself for the impact of his hand. It did not come. Instead, he paused and merely towered over her.

There was a glint in his eyes that she had never seen before, one that frightened her beyond belief. His lips curled into a smile, an evil grin that did not reach his eyes.

When he spoke, his voice was sickeningly sweet. “Lucy. You realize, of course, darling girl, that I have only ever wanted the best for you, do you not?” He paused, then continued. “I try to be the best father I can be, but you, my girl, make it far too difficult to love you.”

It was quite possibly the cruelest thing he had ever said to her, and Lucy swallowed dryly. For the umpteenth time that night, tears burned behind her eyes.

“Why?” She had meant for her voice to be steady and defiant, but what came out was a broken whisper. The sneer disappeared from her father’s face, and his lips curled downwards.

“Why? It is simple, my dear. You remind me too much of her.”

There it was – a vague, yet scathing referral to her mother.

Before Lucy could ask him to elaborate, he continued speaking, his voice measured. “You are all the parts of your mother that I despised… She is the reason why I will never be able to love you, though I have tried.”

This did not make sense. Everything she remembered about her mother, everything she had heard about the woman was overwhelmingly positive.

By all accounts, Henrietta had been nothing short of a saint – angelic, kind, sweet and enduring. Was it possible to hate a woman like that?

“My mother was a good woman.” Lucy’s voice was a broken whisper, and she looked at her father with tear-filled eyes. “Why did you hate her so much?”

“We are not having this conversation.” With that, she knew that their talk was over.

“You just remember carefully, darling girl, to stay away from that boy.”

She knew who he was talking about, yet years of playing dumb had come in rather handy. She widened her eyes innocently and tilted her head.

“I am not sure which boy you are talking about, father, for there truly is no—”

“Do not play dumb with me, child!” He shouted the words angrily, giving her pause. “You know well that I am talking about Edward Lockhart, do not pretend for a second that you are ignorant!”

“But father…” The lie stuck in her throat, and she paused. She wanted to tell him that she felt nothing for Edward, that he was meaningless to her, that she had no time for him, but the words refused stubbornly to leave her lips. Henry was still staring at her furiously. She had to say something, had to find the words.

“There is nothing between Edward and me, we are not—”

It was no use. Spittle flew from Henry’s mouth as he shouted, his eyes mad under his thick eyebrows. “Do not lie to me, little girl! I am not a fool. Do you think I am ignorant of the way the two of you look at one another? You listen to me now…”

He lowered his voice, and Lucy shrunk back into herself. She had grown accustomed to his screaming and shouting, and after a while, it was no longer frightening in the slightest. It was when he lowered his voice that he was at his most dangerous, when he lowered his voice she truly feared him – as she did now.

“This is your last warning, I swear that. Do not tempt my fury, and do not test my patience. You have no idea – no idea – of the power I truly hold. You will stay away from that boy.”

She had to say it. The ‘yes, father’ was on the tip of her tongue, but she refused to let it out. She was sick of abiding by his ridiculous rules, she was sick of allowing him to brandish his supposed power over her – and for what? What was it that he could do to her that would be worse than what he had already done?

He was awful, cruel, and vindictive. He withheld affection, kindness, and gratitude from her. Nothing he could say or do could make her life any worse.

“Oh…” He seemed to read the rebellion in her eyes, for he spoke again, his voice dangerously low. “I can see what you are thinking. You don’t think I have that much power over you, do you? Do you want me to demonstrate it? Do you not think that I can marry you off to the man of my choice with the snap of my fingers? Do you think I care to look for a kind, gentle husband for you? No, dear girl, no…”

He laughed madly and Lucy took an involuntary step back.

“You need a man who can tame you… And if you continue to test my patience, that is exactly what I will find. Do we understand each other?”