Page 66 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

“They are quite stunning, Louise. I always knew you would excel at so many things. Your drawings are beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she said, glowing with pride at his praise.

They continued walking, Marcus staring straight ahead of them at the groups of people wandering in the distance. A small boy was playing in the grass on the path’s edge, repeatedly spinning a tiny wooden top. Louise watched him, wondering what toys her children might have one day.

I wonder if Christian will be as distant a father as he has been a husband.

“I confess I was stunned when Mother told me about your marriage.”

Louise frowned as a twinge of guilt shot through her. She did not love Marcus in any romantic sense, but she still felt that she had betrayed him by marrying his brother without his knowledge.

“I can imagine it might have come as a shock,” she said hesitantly.

“A shock! Ha! You, who have always told me you had no intention of marrying, not to mention the fact that I have barely seen the two of you exchange two words until today.”

Louise scoffed. “It is hardly of any import—it is not a real marriage.”

Marcus looked down at her, frowning deeply. “Whatever do you mean? Mother told me you were married in St George’s in front of the whole ton.”

“Well, yes, but your brother does not truly want me for a wife.”

Louise came to a sudden stop in the middle of the path as those words left her lips. A wave of uncertainty and sorrow washed over her as she realized the truth of her statement.

Our entire marriage was arranged for Christian to discover the truth of what happened to Marcus. And here he stands beside me… What use am I to Christian now?

“Louise?” Marcus prompted, sounding perplexed. “What do you mean he does not want you for a wife?”

She eyed him carefully, unwilling to divulge the nature of Christian’s deal with her father just yet, uncertain herself how she felt about it even now.

“Only in as much as any marriage is an arrangement in Society. His priority is his club, and mine is my book. That is all there is to it.”

Marcus was quiet for so long that Louise’s stomach flipped unpleasantly.

“Louise… are you jesting?” Marcus asked as they approached the wide expanse of the lake at the edge of the park. A swan glidedacross the surface before them, graceful and serene over the rippling water.

“Of course, I am not jesting,” Louise said reproachfully. “He has no need of a wife—he has told me so several times.”

Marcus let out a long sigh. “Well then, perhapsheis jesting,” he muttered. Louise was about to ask what he meant by that, but he continued before she was able to. “How are your parents, by the way? How is your mother?”

They looked out over the calm surface of the water and the ducks quacking lazily on the bank to their right as pigeons circled and fluttered about their feet.

“They are the same as ever,” Louise replied warily. “Papa is relieved to be rid of me, I have no doubt, and Mama is doing well.”

Marcus’s arm loosened a little around hers, and he let out a soft sigh. “I am glad she is well,” he whispered.

Louise looked up at him quizzically.

“But how did your father allow you to marry a founding member of a rival club?” he asked.

Louise hesitated and decided that vague details were better than an outright lie.

“I believe my father had little choice. He has been struggling financially, and my marriage to your brother offered him some security.”

Marcus’s gaze darkened. “Gambling again?”

“The same. I thought he had improved of late, but it seems he was merely racking up debts in a different quarter. Christian told me that my father offered me as a prize in a bet, and he intervened to prevent someone less suitable from claiming me.”

“By God!” Marcus sounded revolted. “I pray that is not true. How could he do such a thing?”

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