Page 21 of The Unwanted Duchess

“I believe you completely. I simply do not care.”

“That is just as well because if you are against this, then my brother will not stop until you are ruined.”

“He can do as he pleases,” Samantha sighed. “He is a man, after all.”

She knew that he was trying to respond to her, but she did not wish to hear it. She could no longer listen to him telling her what was best for her despite knowing her for only a day, and she still required a moment alone as she was yet to find even five minutes with nobody else around, and so she went to her room.

The second she entered and saw a piece of paper on her floor, she almost took her words back, but she steeled herself and picked it up.

“You are not taking me seriously, Lady Samantha. Fear not, you shall have no choice but to soon enough.”

She was unsure whether it was the letter or the lingering effects of her overindulgence, but she felt incredibly uneasy. She hated the way someone had complete control over her to the point that the only way she could stop them winning was to ruin herself, but that did not matter. She would accept her fate with a smile then be rushed back to London to meet her husband and know that after everything, it was her father who had the last laugh rather than a stranger.

She did not truly wish to eat dinner that evening, but she had to keep the problem hidden until she no longer could. She hoped to at least have time to speak with Lady Penelope one final time before she had to go because she had so enjoyed her company and wished she could have had more time with her. Instead, she went downstairs too early, and the only other two in the room were the Duke and his brother, neither of whom seemed to notice her arrival.

“So,” Nicholas began, speaking exclusively to his brother, “I suppose you have heard the news by now about my little announcement.”

“Yes,” the Duke said firmly, “and you are not going to make it. Are we clear?”

“You cannot tell me what to do. This is not your household.”

“I cannot force you to do or not do anything, but I can certainly warn you of the consequences that you will receive if you do.”

“You cannot do a thing about it; I am doing nothing untoward with what I am planning.”

“Have you no decency? She doesn’t deserve this to happen.”

“It is clearly what she wants, Graham, and you know that. A lady can only act the way she does for so long before deserving what she gets, and she has been acting in this way for a long time now.”

“Nicholas, I am warning you —”

“This is the right thing to do. You know that. I know you may not think it is the best possible thing, and you may think it is immature of me, but I do not care. You will see in time that this is the best thing to do, and so I am doing it. I cannot help it if I am simply brighter than you are.”

“You are not, and you know that. Now, this is your final chance to change your mind.”

“If I say I have changed my mind, will you leave me be about it?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will tell you that I have changed my mind. Might we leave it there?”

“Indeed.”

But, for the duration of the dinner, Samantha noticed that the Duke did not take his eyes off of her. The dinner was good, but she still had to force herself to choke it down because she did not wish to eat. She wished to go to her room and sleep for years, but that was not possible.

“Are you feeling all right?” Lady Penelope asked. “You have seemed strange all day. I do hope that you did not allow Emma to get to you.”

“Of course not,” she lied. “It would take a lot more than that for me to be affected by mere words. I cannot even blame her, in truth, because it is how she has been taught to be. I cannot blame her for that.”

“I certainly can, and I do. There is no excuse for being so unkind. That is why the only person that wishes to sit with her is Lord Nicholas; he is as insufferable as she is.”

“Do you suppose they make a good match?”

“That is of no interest to me although I must say that if their match means the rest of us will not risk marrying them, then that can only be a good thing for us.”

Samantha laughed softly. Penelope truly did make her feel much better, even if she did not and could not know about her situation.

“You know, Lady Samantha,” Lady Penelope continued, “I was thinking of hosting a party like this myself. I would love for you to attend.”

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