Page 8 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

“Y -- you!” Diana gasped, her skin prickling at his touch. “Wh -- what are you doing here?! How are you here!” She looked about as if expecting an answer. “How did you find me!”

“With great difficulty, I assure you.”

The Duke of Albury... he was the stranger from the garden party... who Diana had made an utter fool of herself in front of.What is he doing here? Did he come here to mock me? To tell my mother what I did?

Diana felt her mouth run dry. Embarrassment flooded her, that urge to turn and flee from the room. It didn’t help that he was just as ruggedly handsome as she remembered him being, perhaps even more so because he was enamored with a sense of confidence that contrasted mightily to Diana’s own.

“You look surprised,” he said.

“I...” She forced herself back into the moment. “Perhaps caught off guard is more accurate.”

“Is it not the same thing.”

“Why are you here?” she said sharply, again sensing that he was mocking her. “Did you come here to tell my mother of what I did?”

“What you did?” he frowned.

“Attacked you.”

“I thought you said that you didn’t attack me.”

“You know what I mean,” she snapped before she could catch her tongue. “I am sorry for the way that I behaved the other day. I was... I was not myself. But to come to my home like this is completely uncalled for.”

To that, the duke tilted his head, his frown turning into a smirk. “You are quite abrasive, you know. Do you always say what is on your mind? Or do I just bring that side of you out?”

“I am not abrasive. I am simply confused. And you are not helping the matter. I understand that you might be upset with how I behaved, but I assure you that is not who I am. You simply caught me on a bad day.”

“And what is this?” he chuckled. “A good day?”

Diana’s expression darkened. Gone was her initial shock and embarrassment. Now that she had time to readjust, she was reminded quickly of why she had treated the duke as she had the last time they spoke. He was significantly older than her by at least ten years, and perhaps the most infuriating man she had ever met.

“I don’t have time for this,” she said, standing herself up proudly. “Whatever it is you wish to speak of, you can say it to my mother. Good day.” She turned to leave, taking a few short steps.

“You misunderstand me,” the duke spoke quickly. “It is not your mother I came to see.”

She turned back, brow narrowed at him. “My cousin, Evelyn then? Ah, I see what this is. She caught your eye at the garden party, and you have asked around about her.” She scoffed and shook her head. “She is a bit young for you, is she not? Or is that what you like? Young, impressionable women whom you can take advantage of.”

“What I like is a woman who doesn’t let herself get walked over,” he said, refusing to rise to the bait. “A woman of strong character who can say no, even push back when she feels that she must. A woman who, to be perfectly honest, won’t balk the moment she does not get her way. Do you happen to know any?”

She rolled her eyes. “So, I was right, you wish to speak with Evelyn.”

“No, Miss Goldsmith. Again, you misunderstand me.” He took a single stride, putting himself right before her. So close that Diana felt a sudden urge to scamper back, but her stubbornness demanded that she stay put. She had forgotten how tall he was, and the way he looked down at her made her feel small and powerless in a way that she rather liked for reasons she didn’t understand. “I came here because these last few days, I confess, I have been unable to stop thinking about you.”

“You... you have?” Her heart began to race.

“As I said, I require a woman who is able to stand her ground. One who is strong-willed, capable, intelligent. I require a woman who --”

“What do you mean?” she cut him off. “Require? Require for what?”

“Oh, did I not say?” He chuckled and his smile was dazzling in ways that made Diana’s stomach drop. “I wish to marry you.”

“Your Grace!” Diana’s mother called suddenly from across the room. “I am so sorry to keep you waiting!”

Diana’s eyes were dinner plates. Her mouth hung open like a frog. The duke still smiled at her, but all she could do was gawk, stunned into utter silence by the duke’s offer. One which, to be honest, did not sound real.

“Lady Langham.” The duke turned from Diana to greet Diana’s mother. She came for him, and he took her hand, giving it a kiss. “My apologies for intruding on you like this. And without warning.”

“No apology required,” Diana’s mother assured him with a giggle. “It is I who must apologize for keeping you waiting. I see that my daughter has been kind enough to entertain you in my absence?” Diana’s mother looked warningly at Diana, no doubt assuming Diana had arrived early to sabotage whatever this was.

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