Page 71 of The Dark Duke's Virgin

Caroline felt her cheeks flushing, her smile growing. “Oh, now you are being silly.”

“I am many things, but silly isn’t one of them. Well… not always, anyhow.” She made sure that Caroline was looking at her so that she might see the knowing look in her eye. Another wink, a soft giggle, and Esther disappeared around the corner.

If the circumstances were different, Caroline might have felt a thrill at Esther’s words—confirmation that His Grace was as infatuated with her as she was with him. Because she was verymuch that and had been since they began their tryst nearly a week ago now. He was not the man whom she thought he was initially, and day by day, Caroline felt her feelings for His Grace growing stronger and stronger. Only that was the problem.

He wanted her to stay here when Esther moved home. He had not said as much yet, but she could sense it on the tip of his tongue, there to be spoken when the timing felt right. The reason he had not said anything yet, she assumed, was because whenever the conversation veered that way, Caroline was quick to dismiss it… often distracting him through other far more tantalizing means.

But it was a conversation to be had soon. And now that Esther’s home was nearly ready to move back to, it was a conversation that could not be put off any longer.

Caroline knew that deep down that she wanted the same thing as His Grace. She wanted to live here. She wanted to explore the romance blossoming between them. She wanted to develop her relationship with Isabella. She wanted to stop running and settle down in a way she never thought possible! She wanted… she wanted… she wanted what she simply could not have.

Caroline had not forgotten what had happened three nights ago when she had thought that she spied her father at the Westchester Ball. For three days now she had worried about it, fretted that he might come and find her. The fact that he had not suggested she had imagined it which should have been a relief if it didn’t impress upon her the fear that was growing daily… the worry that one day soon her secret would be revealed.

In short, Caroline knew that she could not keep living a lie. To tell His Grace the truth would risk ruining what they had, for surely, he would be furious at her for deceiving him? But to not tell him would force her to leave with Esther, to pretend that this last week had not happened, to hurt the man she was starting to fall for all because of the fear that wrapped her like a disheveled blanket.

What to do… what to do… what to do. No easy answers. Wrong decisions only. That was the reality of Caroline’s life of the moment.

She sighed to herself as she tried her best to ignore the weight of expectation resting upon her shoulders. For now, she would simply continue on as she had been doing for the past two years, pretending that her life wasn’t in shambles. Running is what she was doing. Hoping that a solution might present itself while praying the walls did not close around her.

“Isabella! Isabella, please!” she called out as she left the room, figuring that she should try and console the poor girl.

Like Frederick, Isabella would surely hate her when the truth came out, but for now, it was a friendship that she both cherished and needed as there was a good chance it would be her last.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

George sent word ahead to let Frederick know that he would be arriving shortly. There was nothing in his message to suggest bad news… and nothing to suggest good news either. Simply a statement of arrival, leaving Frederick’s imagination to turn as it had been doing the last three days.

He paced his study as he waited. Hands folded behind his back. Strides long and purposeful, as if he had somewhere he needed to be. Expression determined. Jaw clenched tight. Mostly, he was trying his best not to let panic overtake him, a constant reminder to himself that this was all in his head and a few minutes from now he would be laughing at how silly he had been.

But still… he could not escape that feeling deep in the recess of his mind. He could not outrun the sense of inevitability which haunted him. For three days now, he had done what he could to ignore it, but now, it was finally time to learn the truth.

A knock at the door brought him back into the room.

Frederick strode around his desk and forced himself to sit, even if he was beginning to tremble with anticipation. He settled. Straightened his back. A deep breath… and then another.

“Enter!” he called finally.

The door opened slightly ajar, and George stepped inside. The moment his large body was through the gap, he turned and closed it gently, an innocuous action but the need for absolute privacy inherent in the act had Frederick’s hair standing on end.

“You weren’t waiting long, were you?” George asked as he crossed the room.

“Did you find anything?” Frederick asked, not at all in the mood for small talk. “What did you learn?”

About to sit across from Frederick, George paused and looked about. “Do you have anything to drink?”

“Brandy.” Frederick indicated to the liquor cabinet across the room. “Help yourself. But make it quick.”

George hurried to fix himself a drink. “And one for you?”

“I would rather not. Unless…” He swallowed. “Do I need it?”

George’s back straightened. Hesitation. And then, he poured a second glass. The sight of such an action had Frederick’sstomach sinking, for it was proof enough of what he feared, what he had been expecting, and what he had prayed to not be the case.

This was not going to be a pleasant conversation. Worse than that, if what he feared turned out to be reality, it was but the beginning of what promised to be a very unpleasant evening.

“I would not begrudge you…” George put the glass of brandy down before Frederick took a sip of his own and then fell into his chair with a groan. “My legs…” He groaned again and stretched them out. “Two days of riding, and I can hardly stand. Ironic, as all I have been doing these last two days is sitting.”

Frederick said nothing. He took a sip of his brandy, forcing himself to swallow as his stomach was already beginning to turn.

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