Page 35 of The Unwanted Duchess

“I am the lucky one, I assure you,” the Duke continued before Samantha could speak. “I could not be more fortunate to have met Samantha before another gentleman saw sense and married her first.”

“Ah, that must be why it is so sudden.”

“It is not strictly the proper thing to do, to be sure, but when you meet a lady as special as Lady Samantha, you have no choice.”

Samantha blinked. Was he not supposed to pretend they had been courting? Regardless, the ladies liked this a lot and sighed wistfully together as if they were young ladies in love themselves.

“Well, you are both going to make a wonderful duke and duchess. I cannot wait for you to host your own events, too.”

“Then we shall be sure to extend an invitation to you,” he noted, and then they continued on their way.

“You do not even know those ladies, do you?” she asked.

“Of course not.”

“It is funny. You seem to be so at ease with lies.”

“I am doing this for your benefit,” he groaned “Not to mention the fact that I went with your story rather than mine. You ought to be grateful rather than complaining.”

Everything went quiet. Once again, Samantha was supposed to be grateful for something that she did not ask for, nor did she want. The Duke was supposed to be different to her father, but he was proving to her more with every minute that he was just the same. She was only as useful to him as she was willing to comply.

“Lady Samantha?” he asked, but she remained frozen on the path.

“Lady Samantha!”

And then, at last, she saw it — a horse and carriage approaching her at great speed, unable to stop in time. She could not move, only watch as it came closer and closer, and then —

Then there were strong arms around her waist, and she was flying out of the road. She waited for the hard hit of her head against the pavement, but it did not come. Instead, she landed softly, and she realized that she was being covered by someone.

The Duke.

The carriage continued, with the driver giving them a particularly nasty look, but all Samantha could think about was how the Duke’s hand felt on her waist. They remained there for a moment, and she could not tear his eyes away from his face. Suddenly, he pulled her up, chuckling as he did so, and she could not help but join in.

Everyone looked away eventually, and Samantha knew that she had been quite unbecoming, but the Duke did not chastise her. He did not seem to care at all.

“Do you still believe that I do not care?” he asked, and her heart pounded.

He dusted himself off, stretching his neck after what had undoubtedly hurt him somewhat.

“Is the story true?” she asked as they continued on their way. “About your mother’s ring.”

“Of course,” he replied. “And my grandmother’s and my great-grandmother’s. She had planned to give it to her daughter, I heard, but as they only had sons, it was not exactly possible. Nevertheless, she would have considered you a daughter if she were still here, so I do not see a difference.”

She was supposed to tell him she was sorry for his loss, but she couldn’t.

“I lost my mother too,” she whispered. “I do not remember her at all, and I hate it. I shall never know a thing about her.”

“I remember my mother, and I used to think I had it the worst of all of my brothers, but I was wrong. I was one of the lucky ones. Lady Samantha, I — give me your hand.”

She offered it to him, and he removed the ring. She wondered if he would take it from her and tell her the deal was off and that he could no longer be around her. Instead, he dropped her hand and put the ring back into the box only to pull it out once more.

“May I have your hand once more?” he asked, and she held it up again whilst smirking at him.

He placed the ring on her finger himself, and this time Samantha felt completely different. He had to care about her, at least a little.

It was either that, or he was simply a wonderful liar.

CHAPTER 12

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