Page 9 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

“You and Lord Marcus were never…?”

“Never. You know we were not, Mama.”

Lady Northbridge’s shoulders relaxed just a little. “Listen to me, Louise,” she said. “I know this isn’t what either of us wanted, and your father has much to answer for, but this could be your way out. If he’s making such reckless bets, he must be in serious trouble. All the more reason for you to distance yourself from our family. Who knows what he’s gotten himself into.”

Louise’s heart pounded as she watched the Duke’s tall form move around the room. Now and again, his eyes would flick up and meet hers as he walked. The connection she felt was palpable, even from halfway across the room. He may be marrying her for Marcus’s sake, but he wanted her for himself—she was sure of it.

Her fingers tightened around her mother’s arm as a memory teased the edges of her mind—a dark hallway in the dead ofnight, the faint glow of a fire beneath a door, and the hard smack of a fist as her mother cried out in pain.

Yes. Her mother had used the word ‘escape’ for a reason.

“I cannot leave you with him,” she murmured.

Lady Northbridge shook her head. “It is not your job to protect me, Louise. You must forge your own path. We all make our choices, and I made mine for better or worse. With the limited options available, this is the lesser of two evils.”

“But I do not know the Duke.”

“That is true of many marriages. You will get to know him. He does not seem like a cruel man. That is something.”

Louise’s heart broke, for her mother’s measure of a good man was whether or not he might use his fists.

“It is the fate of many women to be promised to men they do not love. Make the best of it. I know you will.”

With that, they turned to watch the whirling dancers for many minutes, standing silent against the backdrop of the room’s myriad colors.

The dresses and masks passed by in a blur. A butterfly followed a cat, then followed a swan. Everything was checkered inmulticolor, feathers whooshing past in tandem, skirts swishing, perfume heavy in the close air. Louise’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion, yet the wolf mask cut through it all.

As much as she did not wish to admit it, her mother was right. Any agency she might have possessed had been stripped away, and she was now left with two options: marry the Duke or disgrace her father and run away. It was no choice at all.

Maybe I will find out where Marcus is. Surely, that is worth the pain of a loveless marriage.

Every day since Marcus had disappeared, she had prayed that he would return or send some word, but there had been nothing. If her father was involved, he would not give up the information freely. If she could increase the Duke’s chances of discovering the truth, then it was a price she was willing to pay.

Determinedly, she bid her mother farewell and walked around the dance floor toward the Duke. Once more, he was standing beside the man with the bull mask. His companion was equally as imposing but slightly thinner.

The Duke’s eyes followed her as she walked toward him, and she found that she could not look away as his dark gaze locked with hers. There was a heat in his eyes that she had felt in the study—a reluctant awe, as though he wanted her despite himself.

When she eventually reached him, the man in the bull mask straightened and looked down at her with a disdain she knew all too well.

“The Ice Queen returns,” the Duke said blithely. “Lady Louise, may I introduce Gabriel Harding, the Duke of Stonewell.”

Stonewell gave a shallow bow, his mouth grim and unhappy. There was no warmth in his eyes whatsoever.

On the other hand, the Duke looked somewhat intrigued, and Louise steadied herself, swallowing down the pride that bubbled up her throat.

I can do this. If not for Marcus, then for my own freedom.

“I will consider your proposal.”

Stonewell snorted, and Louise shot him a vicious glare.

The Duke turned to face her fully and cocked his head. Behind the white wolf mask, his eyes were impossibly dark, glittering down at her as if he were the keeper of a secret he would not tell.

“Considerit, Lady Louise? You do not have a choice in the matter. It has been agreed, and your father’s debt will be paid. I am afraid that is all there is to it.”

Louise’s anger flared at the arrogance in his words and the nonchalance in his voice. He spoke as though he was discussing a prize bull he had purchased at auction, not a young woman’s future.

“I may have to marry you, Your Grace, but I do not have to bow to you. This is not over.”

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