Page 5 of Married to the Cruel Duke

It was only once she was outside and sure she would be left alone that she allowed her tears to fall.

“This isn’t fair,” she whispered to herself, crumpling to her knees in the soil. Cold air crept up from the ground, pushing its way through her skirts. She couldn’t be sure how long she sat there before a gentle voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“Rebecca.” Penelope’s hand came to rest on her shoulder.

She looked up to see her friend, staring down at her, worry filling her large eyes. Her curly dark hair looked as black as charcoal in the fading lights, matching the ink staining her fingertips. The soft cotton of her simple but well loved day dress was like nothing Rebecca could ever hope to wear. “What are you doing out here? It’s far too cold.”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Penelope sighed. “But I’ll answer your question first, since you asked so nicely. I saw you sitting outside from my window. You looked upset so I was worried about you. And it seems I was right to worry.”

Rebecca looked away.

“Do you want to tell me what happened? Did your father say something to you again? Because if he did-”

“It isn’t what you think. This was different from our usual altercations.”

“Altercation,” she scoffed. “I think they tend to be a bit one-sided for that word. Still, that hardly seems the point now. What made this different?”

“Because he didn’t call me to his study for a lecture, but to give me news.” Rebecca did her best to force a smile. “I am to be married soon.”

“What?” she gasped. “To who?”

“Duke Danton,” she whispered.

“What?” Penelope gasped. “You can’t be serious! Your father—even he wouldn’t do something like that, would he?”

“It seems he would.”

“But Duke Danton is simply more than you can be expected to bear! Did you tell him you wouldn’t be able to go forward with the match?”

“I tried to tell him my objections, but he hardly seemed willing to listen. I don’t think I will be able to avoid it. He seemed rather set on the matter.”

She shook her head. “But you can’t marry him! Surely your father wouldn’t force you to go forward with a match like this against your will.”

“I’m afraid it rather sounds like you have not met my father. We both know my happiness was never a concern for him.”

“Still, you must agree this is too far, even for him. Perhaps even if he won’t listen, there is someone else we could talk to with the power to stop this.”

Rebecca just shook her head. “I’m afraid there’s no way out.”

“There has to be!” Penelope insisted. “I won’t let him do this to you!”

“I think the best thing I can do is to try and make the best out of it.”

“But how can you possibly do that? Duke Danton isn’t just known as a reclusive or harsh man. We’ve both heard the rumors about what kind of man he is. Rumors about just what might have happened to his family.”

“We have, but they are just that. Rumors, and we both know the kind of things Dorothy has been saying about me. We can hardly trust them, now can we?”

“But this isn’t the same thing as someone complaining that her sister gets too many dresses or that she isn’t talented at the piano. This is serious.”

“But it is said with all the same conviction as Dorothy talks about me. I think it would be better to wait until I meet him to form an impression.”

“Do you have a long engagement at least? Perhaps you can find a way out of it if he treats you poorly.”

She shook her head. “No, not very long.”

“Do you know when?”

Rebecca sucked in a shaky breath. “Father seems intent on washing his hands of me as soon as possible.

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