Page 10 of A Bride for the Duke of Sin

She dared not spare him another glance as she hiked up her skirts and ran.

Ran outside the ballroom.

Ran from Ethan and the maddening effect his proximity had on her.

Get a hold on yourself, Phoebe! The man is about to be married!

It would certainly not do well for her to be seen so scandalously close to a man soon to be married.

Especially a man like Ethan Audley, the Duke of Sin himself.

They would never blame him, of course, but Phoebe…

She would be absolutelyruined.

The Viscount Dexford would withdraw his offer, and no other gentleman would deign to spare her another glance ever again.

Her father would go to his grave in complete and utterdisgracefor having had a daughter like her.

Phoebe sagged against the doorframe just outside the antechamber, her chest heaving.

The Duke of Sin was indeed a rapacious Wolf, devouring everything in his path without the slightest hint of remorse. Even his impending nuptials did very little to curb his dark nature!

How could he talk to me like that when he is to be married in the morning?

Hands still shaking, Phoebe turned to the door. In her state, she could not waltz back into the ballroom looking the slightest bit disheveled. At the very least, she must compose herself before returning…

“—a duke, no less. You have done very well, my darling. Much better than I initially expected!”

Phoebe froze when she heard the pride in the woman’s voice. However, the soft trill of laughter that followed it sent chills down her spine.

“I, myself, can hardly believe it,” a younger woman replied in a gloating tone.

Phoebe cracked the door open just slightly, holding her breath as she did so. Quietly, she peered inside, her eyes widening when she saw a flash of the familiar rich, chestnut-brown hair adorned extravagantly with ropes of pearls.

And that cloying, nauseating fragrance!

It was none other than Miss Marianne Delaney, soon to be the Duchess of Sinclair.

“Hush, pet!” her mother admonished her. The Baroness’s beady brown eyes swiveled to the door nervously, and Phoebe pressedherself against the wall, praying that they would not be alerted to her presence. “Take care that nobody else hears you!”

But Miss Delaney merely waved her fingers with a careless eye roll. “So what if somebody overhears? Is this not what everyone does?” she scoffed with a petulant frown. “I have had enough of all those ladies looking down on me?—”

“Yes, yes,” the Baroness rushed to soothe her daughter. “But this is the Duke of Sin we are talking about. Who knows how he would react if he discovers the truth?”

“That the child is not his? Do not worry, Mama, he shall never find out. I am sure of it.”

Phoebe sucked in a deep breath. One revelation after another—it was simply too much for her to take in!

As to how Ethan would react were he to discover that he had been duped…

Well, Phoebe had a very good idea of whathistemper was like. She had a rather intimate glimpse of it not too long ago.

Still, as unbearable as the man was, he did not deserve to be manipulated into a marriage he did not want!

I had thought that only women could be forced into marriage.Apparently, men can fall victim to such schemes as well.

“… in any case, everything is settled,” she heard the Baroness add in a more subdued tone. “And tomorrow, my daughter will be a duchess.”

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