Page 74 of The Duke and the Runaway Bride

“You only wanted to do things your way,” the Duke countered.

Beatrice tried to keep her anger in check, but he gave no compromise. There was no appreciation for what she had done, even if she had gone about it the wrong way. How could he not see that she had done it all for him?

“And you only want things done your way,” she shot back.

“I only want things done the right way, and now I have to deal with this too. Perhaps you were not seen, but if you were, I have to fix that, and if I have to fix that, it might be too much to handle. For a marriage of convenience, it doesn’t feel very convenient now.”

That hurt Beatrice deeply. Of course, it had started as a marriage of convenience, but surely they had so much more than that now.

She could not keep her frustration in check. “We are just too different to get along.”

“Perhaps,” the Duke agreed.

Beatrice could see it now. She had been fooling herself into thinking there was more than what was in front of her. She had been dreaming, when she should have been facing reality. She had trapped the Duke.

Was he really supposed to fall in love with her after that? There was no reason for him to care for her like she cared for him.

“I will not bring any more shame to your family name,” Beatrice said coldly. “You don’t have to worry about me attending any event with you or being seen in public at all. I can’t act as you wish all of the time, so it is better not to act at all.”

“If that is what you wish,” the Duke muttered, tossing his napkin on the table. He stood up and excused himself.

Beatrice watched him walk toward the door before she said, “Perhaps it would be better if I just left. Then there would be no chance of me causing any trouble.”

The Duke stopped dead at the door and turned to face her. His expression was thunderous, and Beatrice could not see what was beneath it. He brushed his hands together.

“I don’t take kindly to threats,” he warned. “If you are so naive as to think that I would beg you to stay, you are mistaken. This is your home, but if you want to leave, you should leave. Don’t let me stop you.”

Beatrice knew she could not leave, but her pride and anger were too much.

“Fine,” she said noncommittally.

“Fine,” the Duke echoed, then left the breakfast room.

Beatrice was too stunned to cry. She sat and finished her breakfast numbly, staring off into the wall. As soon as she was done, she would go upstairs and pack her bag.

She could see now that her husband had never cared for her.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

The Runaway Bride

Hayward Castle, London

Beatrice could not return to Honeyfield House. She could not tell her parents what she had done until she came to terms with it. There was only one place where it was safe to go, and that was Charlotte’s house.

“It is a pleasure to have you here, Duchess,” Henry Elkins, the Duke of Hayward, said.

“Thank you, Duke,” Beatrice returned. “I have been meaning to visit for a while.”

“Charlotte tells me you might stay for a few days?” Henry asked.

“Yes, perhaps,” Beatrice replied. “That is if we do not start arguing,” she added politely.

“Yes, sisters can often have disagreements,” Henry acknowledged.

No one mentioned the very big elephant in the room. Beatrice had once been promised to the Duke of Hayward, and when she had run away, Charlotte had stepped in to marry him. Beatrice had not known if Henry would mention it or not, and she was glad there was no talk of it. If things had been different, she would not have run to Charlotte’s house, but Charlotte and Henry had fallen in love.

“I will leave both of you,” Henry said. “I have a lot of business to attend to. I might be back for supper, Charlotte.”

---