Page 72 of Married to the Cruel Duke

She hadn’t been at it very long when a voice sounded from the doorway.

“Don’t think I don’t see what you have done, Rebecca.”

Her blood ran cold. This couldn’t be happening now. Why was he here? Taking a shaky breath, Rebacca turned to see her father standing in the doorway, a cruel sneer on his face.

“Father,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as nervous as she felt. She folded her hands in her skirts, hoping it would help hide the way they were starting to shake. “What are you doing here?”

“Aren’t you foing to stand and great me properly?”

“I- I asked you a question. I would appreciate it if you would answer it.”

He hummed, taking another step into the room. “Can’t I just come to visit my daughter? Even if she does seem intent on disrespecting me from the very moment I entered the room.”

“I- I- wasn’t!” she was about to launch into her usual apologies, but she caught herself first. “I mean, why would you do that? You’ve never done it before.”

“Oh Rebecca,” he cooded in a voice dripping with mock kindness. “You wound me. Do you not remember when your sister and I took the time to come see you shortly after your wedding? I believe we were the first people to even consider coming to see you. How could you not remember.”

She grit her teeth at the memory of that horrible day. At least it help to jump start her relationship with William, not that she would let them take credit for her work. “I- I suppose I do, but-”

“Then why would you make up such lie?” he shook his head. “I must say, I’m disappointed in you. Thought I don’t know why Iwould have expected more from you, Rebecca. You have always been a liar.”

She clutched her hands into fists on her lap. Her heart pounded in fear, but she was surprised to find that was no longer the only emotion growing in her chest. Growing just as fast and hot beside it was anger. “You- you can’t talk to me like that anymore!” Her voice grew in volume, but it also grew in pitch. It hid her anger, instead making her sound nervous, even a little scard. While that was true, it wasn’t the impression she wanted to give, still it was too late to take it back now.

“Can’t I?” scared andstepped closer to Rebecca until he was towering over where she was sitting. “Just because you managed to ensnare the duke doesn’t mean you have me fooled. I’ve known you too long to fall for your childish tricks.”

“I haven’t done anything to him!” she insisted.

He scoffed. “As I said, you can’t possibly expect me to believe that. As I said, you seem to forget I’ve seen your tricks since you were a baby. I just assumed he would be able to see through them too. Now, why don’t you tell me what you’ve done to him.”

“I haven’t done a single thing! If he is acting a certain way around me it is because he cares about me, something you have never taken the time to do!”

“Is that what you tell yourself? How could you possibly think anyone could come to care for you? If he has any kind of positivefeelings towards you then it is only because you have deceived him.”

“I would never-”

“You already did, but it’s only a matter of time before he figures it out. What do you think will happen to you then?” he took a step even closer to her, legs bumping her knees.

Rebecca shrunk back into herself, resisting the urge to curl into a ball or flee the room. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to cover herself as much as possible. “I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“I think you do. You and I both know it’s only a matter of time before he sees through you and tosses you out.”

“You’re wrong. He would never do something like that.”

“When he does, you can come back home, if you help us.”

“I don’t care what you want. I won’t do it. William is a good man and he would never do something like that.”

Solomon’s eyes hardened. “Then if you are so sure about that, you won’t mind if I start telling people the truth of your relationship.”

Her blood went cold. “What do you mean the ‘truth’?”

He shot her a cruel smirk. “You know exactly what I mean.”

Rebecca shook her head, refusing to believe what she naturally wanted to assume. “I don’t, I want you to spell it out for me.”

He sighed. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you can’t put the pieces together on your own. You never were the smartest, now were you?”

Rebecca didn’t reply, hands clenching into fists. She glared down at her skirts with enough fire to burn holes into them. Still, she knew better than to speak right now. One wrong word and he might not tell her anything.

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