Page 20 of A Virgin for the Duke of Thorns

That is better. Hate me if you will, little lamb. This is much better than if you are to get silly ideas in your head…

Women were so dreadfully idealistic and tragically resilient—the same fatal combination that had led his mother to her doom. It was better to crush whatever fanciful notions Alice might harbor at the very start.

“As if I would ever want to be married to a beast like you!” She fumed. “Thank heavens that this is nothing more than a farce!”

That… stung.

He watched her in discomfited silence as she turned on her heel and walked back to join Ethan and her sister. Ethan immediately looked up at her in worry while Phoebe clutched her hand in reassurance.

Almost immediately, Colin wished he could gouge his friend’s pretty eyes from their sockets. He had no business at all looking at Alice. She was his betrothed, after all—even if it was all a farce.

* * *

I have never met a more infuriating man than this beast!

Inwardly, Alice began to curse herself for her moment of weakness. If only she had not been so foolish as to try to steal the book from right under the nose of the Duke of Thorns, then she would not have been caught in this predicament!

Now, he expected her to lie not only to the entire world but to her family as well.

I certainly hope the book is worth it.

If not, then she would be subjecting herself to thirty days of pure torture with the most insufferable man in all of London!

But it would be enough to buy her the time she desperately needed to change her father’s mind. Or get a new suitor, at the very least.

Alice, you silly fool.

She felt him take the seat right beside her, drawing a surprised gasp from her sister. Poor Phoebe had never seen Alice with a man, especially one who showed a keen interest in her.

Pretending. He is only pretending to show a keen interest in me.

Hopefully, her sister would have better sense after her coming out than to involve herself with such a man as the Duke of Thorns. Even better, Phoebe should just stay away from that pack of Wolves! They were all up to no good—especially Colin Fitzroy!

From the corner of her eye, she could see his smug smile, and her hands curled into fists under the fabric of her skirts. Inwardly, she allowed her mind to drift back to sunlit fields and stalks of flowers dancing lazily in the wind…

Calming thoughts, Alice. Think calming thoughts…

She was going to need all the help she could get if she was to pretend to even like him. There was nothing much to like about him, anyway.

Maybe except for that stellar physique that not even the most fashionable clothes could obscure.

Or the flash of his white teeth when he smiled—arrogantly or otherwise.

Or the…

Alice groaned inwardly and felt the dire need to hit her head with something hard. She truly needed to stop being such a silly goose for the Duke of Thorns. No good was ever going to come out of it.

No good at all.

Already, she could feel her cheeks heating up with frustration—both at her situation and the man currently sitting beside her. He looked rather pleased with himself, while she… well, she was not pleased at all, and that was simply the beginning of it.

“Ah! I never thought I would ever see the house this lively again!” A feeble voice chuckled from the doorway.

As one, their heads swiveled to the doorway. The Marquess of Brandon had arrived.

CHAPTER 8

Alice shot up from her seat, her heart racing.

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