Page 1 of A Night of Passion with the Duke

ChapterOne

“Tell me, Ara, surely one gentleman here has caught your eye?” Leonardo Burk asked his sister, a twinge of annoyance lacing his words.

This question pulled Arabella Burk out of her spiraling thoughts and back to the present moment. She understood why Leonardo may have been a bit annoyed with her. After all, this mansion party was grander than any he had thrown yet.

“It’s been nearly six months, Ara. As the Earl of Thorne, it is my duty to find you a suitable husband. However, as your older brother, I want you to be happy. Can you not at least try to find a silver lining here? These parties have been for you, you know,” he pointed out to her, trying to keep his tone polite.

In her head, Ara wanted to throw something—perhaps a plate, and perhaps on top of Leo’s head.

“I have tried, Leo, I really have. I do not expect you to understand what a broken heart can do to one’s spirit, as you have clearly never experienced it, but it is not easy to just move on,” she said, plucking a small truffle cake off the refreshments table and setting it on a plate.

“You are right. I have not experienced it. I cannot imagine what it is like, but I had hoped that maybe you may be ready to move on, since ithasbeen some time. Perhaps there is someone who could… make you feel the way you did with the Duke of Green,” he said.

“Leo, I have told you this already. I am afraid no one ever will.” She sighed, her head hurting from the boisterous crowd of people filling the family’s banquet hall, all chattering amongst themselves. She did not let it show, though, as that could be seen as indifference to those watching. “Who knows if the next gentleman who woos me will betray me again.”

To be frank, she was rather excited about the house party that evening. She had intended to use it as a distraction of sorts. For so long did she seehisface haunting her thoughts and even her dreams.

In a cruel twist of fate, she had actually begun feeling better that morning. She had felt like a weight of unprecedented proportions had been lifted off her chest. They say that time heals all wounds, and perhaps that was true for her. She had thought that maybe today was the day she began moving on and could finally start living her own life. Only this time she wanted to live it her way.

The world around her looked down on spinsters, women who never married and were responsible for their own well-being. But Arabella envied those women. They lived a life that was entirely their own, no man dictating how they should live nor how many children they should bear. To her, that thought had begun to feel welcome and even desirable. She knew that she shouldn’t think that way, as it was not the way a proper lady should think, but one can’t always help the way they feel.

“Leo, did you actually look at who was on the guest list when you invited everybody?” she asked, looking around and noticing all of the clearly middle-aged men on the prowl for a young wife.

“Age is but a number Ara,” Leo responded, taking a small bite of his pastry. He, too, looked a little displeased with the turnout. “Mother and Father were about fifteen years apart, and they were madly in love with each other.”

“Mother and Father were one in a million. I doubt a second-generation love match is attainable,” she said, not realizing how whiny she had begun to sound.

Leonardo set down his plate of small hors d’oeurves and got into his all too familiar big-brother-is-about-to-lecture-you stance, his brow furrowed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Arabella Burk, you are almost twenty-and-three, and you are yet to be wedded. You are beginning to sound like our younger sister when you go against everything I have tried to build for our family. I don’t even want to imagine how difficult this will be with Madeline. God have mercy on my soul,” he chastised, sighing and picking up his plate again. “I know these last few months have been difficult for you, and I want more than anything for you to marry for love, but sometimes that isn’t in the cards for everybody. It is time you grow up. PerhapsIshould find you a worthy suitor.”

While his words may have rung true, they still stung. Ara was once in love with the idea of love, but now those feelings had changed. She knew there were tangible things that come with love and marriage, and those were things that she would like to experience someday, but she didn’t necessarily feel the need tofall in loveagain. Not if it was going to hurt her the way it did a few months ago.

“Look, our older sister is almost here with her husband. Maybe you two could talk about things?” Leo suggested, not really knowing how women dealt with such emotions. “Because you know, they did not marry out of love, but they became best friends and fell in love regardless. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from her.”

Inwardly, Ara rolled her eyes, but on the outside, she smiled and told him, “Perhaps you are right, Brother.”

It wasn’t too long until Sarah and Richard, the Duchess and Duke of Ridlington, arrived. Luckily, it was before Leonardo could lecture her further. Their beautiful older sister was adorned in a baby blue ruffled dress that expertly defined the shape of her torso without being too immodest. The blue complemented her pale skin and light brown hair, as well as made her dark brown eyes pop.

Her husband, Richard, was a handsome man with dirty blonde hair and grass-green eyes, though he was not necessarily Arabella’s cup of tea. She found herself drawn to men who sported dark hair and eyes, though she wouldn’t let her preferences known.

Richard was dressed in matching colors to Sarah’s dress, tailored to accentuate his broad shoulders and his bulky stature. She had talked to him a few times since he and her sister had wedded, and from those short conversations, she had found it incredible that he and her sister had ever bonded over anything.

“Ara, you look absolutely ravishing in that dress!” Sarah exclaimed once she saw Arabella and Leonardo. “Yellow is your color for sure, Sister.”

Arabella opened her arms and embraced her. She missed her dearly since she got married, and nights like these were always treats.

“Thank you, Sarah, though I don’t think yellow looks as good on me as blue does on you,” she said, taking in the sight of her sister in her dress a lot more now that she was right in front of her. Blue really was a great color on her.

Sarah turned to Leonardo and asked, “Would it be all right if I stole our sister for a few minutes? I desperately want to catch up with her. It’s been too long.”

Leonardo pulled a handkerchief out of his front pocket and dabbed his forehead. Clearly, the stress of the evening was taking its toll on him, and Arabella feared she may have been partially responsible for that.

“That is all right. But please do not steal her for the entire night, as she and I have things to discuss,” he said, gently tucking the handkerchief back into his pocket. He gave Arabella a knowing look, and she nodded, receiving the message.

Leonardo then seemed to remember that he had also not seen their older sister for the first time in a while, as his expression softened. He walked over, took Sarah’s hand in his own, and pressed a small kiss to it. “It is great to see you, Sarah. I hope my parties will be just as memorable as Father’s.”

“I’m sure they will, Brother. This one looks extravagant,” Sarah assured him with a small but genuine smile.

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