Page 18 of A Flurry for a Duke

A smile crept onto his face. “Well…I never thought you’d be the one tyingmeto the bed.”

A furious blush rushed up Hope’s cheeks.

“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

And then she knew exactly what she had to do.

“You’re going to let me help you this time, Isaac. Some things in life you can’t do for yourself.”

He grunted noncommittally.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Hope, wait! What? You can’t leave me like this.” He made a quick movement to push himself up and then fell backward groaning.

Without a word, she moved closer to the door. Best to let the man sweat.

The next groan he made tugged on her heart strings though. She knew she was only teasing him about leaving, but she couldn’t continue the farce.

“I’m not going anywhere, Isaac.” She walked over to the table and poured water both in a glass and on a towel. When she returned to his side, she brushed the cool towel over his forehead.

“Sit up a bit and have a sip of water.”

He struggled to push up on one elbow as she held the cup for him.

“I hate this,” he muttered.

With a pat on his arm, she said, “I know you do.”

And then he said the last thing she expected.

He laid his head back on the pillow. “I really hate this, but you know you’ll have to marry me now, right?”

Well, if that wasn’t the worst possible proposal in the world, Hope didn’t know what was. She couldn’t have imagined a less romantic proposal. Hate and marry in the same sentence? Was the man delirious? Did he actually think she would say yes to that?

His eyes were closed. “At least I’ll have the prettiest wife thehaut tonhas ever seen on my arm.”

The man must be out of his mind if he thought she was going to be his trophy in a loveless marriage. There would be friendship and tenderness. Even passion. But she needed love. And she needed to be with someone who didn’t resentfully accept her nurturing ways. She didn’t care if this night of scandal cost her her entire future, she would not marry him. She would rather die a spinster than settle for what he was offering. Even if she did love him…

And oh, what a time to admit to love. As she wiped the sweat from his brow, he was still the handsomest man she knew. And kind. And protective. That’s what made it hurt so much. He was the perfect man for her, but if he didn’t love her, then she would be living in devastation. At least if she refused him she still had her pride.

“Wife?” he whispered, eyes still closed.

“Hush now. We’ll talk about it later.”

It was Christmas Eve morning. She should be at home with her family. With her brothers. Enjoying herself. Instead, she was sitting in this room forcing a man to accept her help and refusing his honorable proposal.

At least there was snow. Finally.

By evening, Hope had nursed Isaac back to a semblance of health and they were riding back to Snowick Abbey. Isaac’s energy was depleted, but he could hold himself erect on a horse. Since the flurries had died down, they ventured back quickly. It was just as they began to dismount that Hope turned to him to tell him her answer. It took the whole ride to build up her courage.

He didn’t know it was coming. He had assumed her acceptance, and therefore the entire ride back had been talking of how they would break the news.

“Isaac,” she stared up into his clear blue eyes. “I’m not going to marry you.”

Too stunned to speak, he took her hand in his. “We have to. Do you have any idea the scandal this will cause?”

She left her hand in his warm caress, knowing this would be the last intimate touch she would share with him. “I know. But I can’t marry you.”

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