Page 3 of The Duchess He Couldn’t Resist

CHAPTER 1

DIRTY ALLEYS

“You enjoy making me chase you, little rabbit.”

Of all the filthy things in the alley, the man talking was by far the filthiest one. And considering that Marigold was in a narrow London alley behind the worst tavern in the city, that said a lot. The rain from earlier had made the cobblestones wet yet somehow not managed to wash away the horse dung and the human piss but rather amplified the rancid smells.

And yet the man before her not only smelled worse than her surroundings, but that stink went straight into his soul. Marigold looked at both sides of the alley, but she was well aware that she was desperately alone in this. Even if anyone other than the drunk patrons of the dubious establishments of the area passed by, not one would lift a finger against Donny and his gang.

“Are you thinking of running away from me?” Donny asked, and the gin on his breath made her dizzy.

“I am just trying to get home,” Marigold said.

“Go home without paying me what you owe me?”

Donny took one step till Marigold’s back hit against the brick wall behind her. Marigold tightened her old gloves around the little bag she was carrying. It was not to use this bag as a weapon. After all, three of Donny’s men stood around him, and she stood no chance.

“I don’t owe you anything,” Marigold said with resolve. “I owe your boss, Johnny. And we have an understanding.”

Donny’s eyes flashed with anger and anticipation. He slammed his hand beside her head on the wall, blocking even the slightest hope of escape. The three men behind him leered like hyenas.

“So, you have an understanding with Johnny?” Donny said in that taunting way of his. “Do you know what kind of understanding I have with Johnny?”

Marigold’s blood ran cold. Donny enjoyed frightening her. It would be fine if all there was to it were empty threats, but Marigold knew that she had little time to avoid a fate far worse than death.

“Do you think, little rabbit, that Johnny will be any more patient with you?” Donny inched closer, his lips almost touching her ear. “That he is satisfied with your little payments?”

“I will get the money,” Marigold said with resolve that was not actually there. “I just need to sell a few⁠—”

“Oh, the little lady selling her valuable possessions,” Donny mocked.

He took one curl of her hair and twisted it between his fingers. Bile rose from the pit of her stomach, but she suppressed it.

“You will get your money, and you had best remember I am still a lady.” Marigold tried to sound controlled.

“And I am telling you, My Lady,” he taunted, “that you have a far more valuable possession that can make your debt disappear.”

Marigold was not a blushing girl. She was already eight and twenty years old and had been in situations that no other lady of the ton had found herself in. So, she didn’t even have to guess what Donny was hinting at.

She ground her jaw to keep from shaking, and she twisted the handle of that bag as if her life depended on it. She couldn’t break now, not in front of any man, especially not Donny. He got great pleasure in seeing her suffer, and if she broke, he wouldn’t stop. He would just keep pressing to get this sick satisfaction.

Marigold mustered as much of her aristocratic upbringing as she could and looked that man straight in the eyes. She was not a brave girl, but she was not going to be bullied like this.

“Perhaps you should take any disagreement up with Johnny,” Marigold said and hoped that this would be the end of the discussion.

Unfortunately for her, Donny was reaching the limits of his patience, and he could no longer hide the twisted yearnings he had regarding her person. There was something dangerous and dark in the way he was eyeing her. The cold night air made her skin freeze, and her heart pounded in her ears. All she wanted was to get back home and find a way to get out of this mess with her body and soul intact.

“Why fight the inevitable, little rabbit?” Donny grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “You will never be able to pay off that debt unless you use what God has given you.”

His body glued her against the wall, his stinking breath fanning her face. His rough fingers dug into her skin, not bruising but right at the edge. Marigold felt primal fear come over her and was scared that either her life or her dignity would end in that alley.

“Please, Donny, let me go.” She was not beneath begging at this point.

The vile man hissed with satisfaction as he heard her plead. Marigold hoped that this temporary surrender would sate his hunger and that she would be safe, at least for tonight. It was a trick that had worked before. But it seemed that begging only whetted his appetite.

He pushed her even harder against the bricks, his body now not even inches away from hers. Marigold lamented all that had happened to her that brought this humiliation upon her.

“Do you know how much I like hearing you beg?” Donny asked. “And I will let you go since you have such a good understanding with my boss.”