Page 47 of Her Seven Nights with the Duke

Did someone hear us?

She stared at the corner with worry. She could only hope that it had just been a person making rounds and they hadn’t been paying mind to her conversation with her friends.

Nora’s heart beat fast as she walked in the darkness of the night, her cloak wrapped around her in her usual fashion and her candle her only source of light to navigate through the unfamiliar estate. Sneaking around now reminded her much of the first night she had gone to the Duke to blackmail him. It seemed like such a long time ago.

She pushed the thoughts away. It would only make her question whether she wished to go through with any of this. She had gotten quite good at keeping her steps light and blending in with the shadows to ensure that no one would see her.

She placed a hand on her fast-beating heart. She had tried to convince herself that it was the fear of being caught that made her tremble so, but she knew it was a lie. Soon she would no longer be able to have any of these nights with Samuel.

They had come to mean so much to her, and yet she was about to rip it all away, not that she had much choice in the decision she had made.

She sighed sadly, the quiet sound fading into the still of the night. Her decisions had been entirely hers for a long time, but soon, all of this would be over, and she could do as she pleased.

She blew out her candle as she approached his door and knocked lightly. It would be a travesty if anyone saw her sneaking into the Duke’s room after their host had graciously invited them to stay the night.

She slipped in as the door opened an inch and walked into the room, taking a seat on the lone chair close to the window. Samuel shut the door and regarded her with his back pressed against the wood. She ached to touch him, to tell him of her plans and see what could be done.

Nora cleared her throat to push away her thoughts.

No more of that silly nonsense.

Samuel stepped forward with a glass in hand, his face solemn as he watched her. “I must apologize, Lady Nora. I started without you.”

He raised the glass in her direction before taking a long sip.

“It’s quite all right, Your Grace. I do not wish to be intoxicated tonight.”

“Why is that, if I may ask, Lady Nora?” He walked over to her and then stopped right in front of her.

Nora swallowed noisily. The Duke had always looked like a predator, but she had never felt much like a prey as she did at that moment. She had never met a man who had as much power as he did. Certainly not her stepfather, who was quick to anger. She believed Lord Worlington to be weak of mind, the reason for his constant desire to harm those weaker than him.

“I know it is only our fifth night together, and there are two more before our agreement ends. However, I’m afraid we cannot continue with this, Your Grace,” she said, looking up at him as she gathered up her courage. “I wish to end our agreement tonight.”

Samuel hummed, the sound low as he regarded her. “Have I broken any of the rules you value, Lady Nora?”

Nora shook her head, keeping her mouth shut..

“Then pray tell, why do you seek to end it?”

She sighed, the words she had rehearsed leaving her lips with ease. “I must apologize, Your Grace. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I have merely changed my mind. I cannot continue to sneak out to see you like this.”

Samuel stared at her practiced indifference and the confident set of her shoulders. He had heard the slight tremor in her voice, although he pretended not to.

Would I have noticed if I hadn’t heard her speak about her plans to her friends?

He hadn’t been able to think about anything else since he left the ball, but now it was becoming clear that her mind was made up.

“Has something happened to cause you to change your mind, Lady Nora?” he asked gently.

“No, Your Grace. I merely do not wish to continue with this,” she said in a monotone.

“Look at me, Lady Nora,” he said.

“I’m afraid my mind is made up, and there is not much else to be said.”

Samuel’s jaw ticked. She spoke with such indifference that would have had him stumped had he not already overheard her. He took another gulp of his drink to stifle the hurt in his chest. Her words, her refusal to look at him, and the knowledge that she planned to run away and did not wish him to know were like an arrow to his heart.the chest.

He didn’t want to stop seeing her. He frowned at the realization, looking into his empty glass. He wished it wasn’t true, but it was. He wanted to see her every time, and knowing that he soon would not filled him with panic.

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