Page 6 of A Bride for the Wicked Duke

“What then?”

“I...” She hesitated, for now was the time to make her offer. An offer she still wasn’t certain she wished to give, even if she had no choice. “I wish for you to delay their payment, is all. You know of my family’s financial burdens.”

“The entire ton does.”

She grimaced. “Just as you know that they are easily fixed, should certain advantages me afforded us. My meaning...” She grimaced again, her stomach twisting. “My two sisters have already married, their husbands more than happy to pay off the majority of what was owed. If a third marriage is to be secured within our family, I have no doubt that a dowry will be arranged that will more than cover what is owed to you.”

The duke frowned and tilted his head. “You speak of your younger sister, Eveline?”

No, she did not. That plan that she was referring to. One that she had sat with for some time now. One which she had been desperate not to see through but knew she would likely have no choice in. For her sister, if nothing else.

“No.” She swallowed. “I speak of myself. I will --”

The duke laughed. “You! You intend to marry. Of all the twists and turns I have stumbled through tonight, that is by far the most --”

“Why not?” she snapped, angry, even if she couldn’t say why. “Why should I not be able to wed?”

“Oh, I am sure you can,” he said, still chuckling. “Only, and forgive me, Lady Hawkins, but you do not exactly scream marriage material. Nor have you ever intended to, for that matter. The way Rosalind tells it, you have no desire to marry. Nor have you ever.”

“Yes, well...” She glared at him. “Clearly, things have changed.”

He chuckled and shook his head as he crossed the room toward her again. “So, let me get this straight. You wish for me to delay payment owed until you find yourself a groom willing to cover your family’s debts.”

“That’s right. And all things considered...” She swallowed, knowing that this next thing spoken was sure to cause anger. “You should be more than happy to oblige me. Lest I accidentally let slip your secret.”

His eyes flashed with anger, and he stormed right for her, stopping short but putting himself mere inches from where she stood. He was so big. So strong. Sopowerful. Like a storm crashing down upon her, it was all she could do not to cry out.

“So, I was right. You mean to threaten me,” he snarled.

“I mean to make a deal,” she shot back, her body still trembling as he looked down at her with fury. “You owe me --”

“I owe you nothing,” he hissed. “Nor do I appreciate being blackmailed. You forget, your situation is as imperious as my own. Should I let slip your little secret, regardless of how much you want it, no man will marry you. Then what will you do?”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Try me.”

He was glaring down at her. She was glaring up at him. Their faces were mere inches apart, as were their bodies. The fire crackled in the hearth behind them. The sounds of drunken gambling echoed from through the door. But they said nothing, holding their stare, daring the other to break...

Aurelia had never much liked the duke. Too proper. Too arrogant. Tooboring, as she always saw it. But in that moment, despite herself and how wrong she knew it to be, she was beginning to see him in ways she had never thought possible. Ways that made her stomach flip and her body run warm, and her cheeks flush furiously so she wanted to look away. Not that she dared.

“Give me time,” she said, still glaring at him. “That is all I ask. Time to find a husband.”

“To stall, you mean,” he cut her off.

“No,” she said. “I promise --”

“A promise worth nothing,” he snarled. “Your family owes me a rather large amount. I have been more than kind thus far. I want what is owed.”

“The Season,” she said. ‘Give me the Season.”

“No,” he said. “What I will give you...” His eyes flashed again, more anger, more fury, and something else... a look she did not recognize because she had never seen it before. It reminded her of a hungry wolf, famished and desperate to sink its teeth into its prey... “There is a ball next week, yes?”

“I...” She considered. “I believe there is.”

“I will give you one month.”

“But --”

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