Page 4 of Her Bear of a Duke

The coldness of the night air against her skin soothed her a little, but all that she could think about was how desperately her family needed her to succeed. Her father blamed all three ladies in his life; his wife never gave him an heir, his oldest daughter brought shame on the household, and his youngest… Well, she had never done anything that he could be proud of.

She was nobody of interest, she thought as she hid among the plants. They were the only things that brought her real peace. If she had been a man, and the heir that her father had always wanted so terribly, she would have been able to study botany at a university and been able to expand on her passions, but she was not. The most that she could do was read books about plants and learn about them herself. It was not an awful way to be, and she was grateful that she had at least been allowed to read, but she wanted more.

Perhaps, when she was married, she would have even that taken from her.

She had gone to the gardens for some air, and for some quiet, but the night was too silent and the air was too cold. She wrapped her hands around her arms and bowed her head into her chest, taking deep breaths. It was an unbecoming way to stand, but her mask was on and she hoped that nobody would care even if they did see her. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she was alone, but for a brief moment she was pleased with that. It was thrilling, in a way, to know that she had done something for herself in what she was quite certain was the first time in her life, rather than leaving herself at the mercy of her father.

Then she heard rustling behind her.

She had expected it to be a rabbit, or perhaps even a snake, though that that was not as likely. What she had not expected, as her head tilted up and her hand flew to her bosom, was an enormous bear.

Startled, she froze in place and had no choice but to look at what was before her. Fortunately, before she gained the capacity to scream, she saw that it had only been a trick of the light. In the darkness, the figure had seemed to be a beast, but now that she was truly looking she saw that it was simply a very large man, wearing a brown suit and a bear mask.

She felt like such a fool.

Laughing nervously, she took a moment to catch her breath, all the while eyeing the man carefully.

"My apologies," he said in a deep voice. "I did not mean to scare you."

"Then why on Earth did you come through a bush like that?"

"I… I do not have a decent response to that."

"Surely there was something that made you do it? Gentlemen do not typically make appearances using such means, as far as I am aware."

"No, they do not."

They fell into silence for a moment, and she truly studied him. He was taller than any man she had ever seen, and broader and more muscular than was liked in polite society. She wondered if he was not a member of thetonat all, and was using the event as a way to cause trouble. In a way, she hoped that he was.

"I was avoiding someone," he explained suddenly.

"Dare I ask who?"

"You may ask, but I doubt that I can tell you."

"Whyever not? I do not know who you are, nor do you know who I am, and so what is the harm?"

He chuckled, a dark and gravelly sound, and he shook his head.

"If you must know, there are people in there that would very much like to find me. I had hoped that with this disguise I could avoid such a dreadful fate, but it appears that other men do not look like me."

"No," she whispered, "no, they do not."

Though she could not see his face, she swore that he was grinning.

"And why are you out here?" he asked.

Dorothy bit her lip. She did not want to answer, but it was not as though she could keep her tongue held when she had pressed him in the first place.

"I cannot say," she replied sheepishly.

"Come, now, that is hardly fair," he said gently, taking a step toward her. "You cannot expect me to divulge such private information and receive nothing in return."

Her heart pounded just looking at him. He was enormous, and he towered over her in a way that should have frightened her butinstead only served to excite. She was alone with a man in the dark, and anyone could have seen them at any moment and she would have been ruined, a lifetime of building a reputation gone in an instant.

It was precisely what she wanted.

She sighed, knowing that she never had been one to flirt. She had never tried, as she knew it would only lead to embarrassment. There was no use in making an attempt.

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