Page 19 of Dueling with the Duke
“And?” Bridget prompted.
“And what?”
“I know how much financial trouble we are in, Father. Did you make a business deal with anyone?”
“My dear, you have no idea how business works,” Ralph replied, becoming irritated with his daughter. “That is why you should have a man to set you right. I would explain it to you, but you would not understand.”
“What I do understand is that you are saying a lot without saying very much at all.”
Ralph sat up straighter and leaned forward, his eyes dark and heavy from the night before. He was a tall man with thick black hair and brown eyes. He had been a handsome man for most of his life, but his constant drinking had given him a nervous look that brought an ugliness to his features.
“How dare you talk to me like that! I am your father, Bridget!” he scolded.
“Then act like it!” Bridget shouted back.
Ralph rose from his chair, and Bridget cowered, moving back until she was pinned to the wall. Ralph dropped back down into his chair. Whether that was due to the alcohol still in his system or he decided not to attack her, she did not know.
“Get out of my room,” he ordered. He didn’t even look at her as he said it.
Bridget did as she was told and went to the door. When she got there, something bubbled inside her, and she could not leave without telling her father exactly what she thought. When she turned to face him, he still did not look her way.
“You are a drunk, Father! A drunk and a gambler. Now, I don’t care whether you can control it or not, but you must know you are ruining this family, and I do know you can control your actions at other times. You did not need to come back last night, and you don’t need to be here for the following couple of weeks. You are supposed to be the man of this house, but you certainly don’t act like it. Mother is trying so hard, and if you ruin this wedding, you will ruin our family. I hate to say this, but things are better when you are not around. I’m begging you to leave. Margaret still has some respect for you, but that will disappear if you keep this up. If you want to help, then stop trying to help.”
Bridget felt her chest heave after the tirade. She had thought she might have felt better for getting things off her chest, but she only felt worse.
“Are you done?” her father asked, looking out the window.
“Yes,” Bridget replied.
“Then get out of my room.”
Bridget finally left the room, not looking back.
This is exactly why I do not need a man in my life.
Bridget could not be around anyone else. She slipped out the side entrance of the house and walked down toward the beach. She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her dress. She knew her father’s addiction was a disease, but she could not understand how someone could be so selfish.
He spent his days drinking and gambling, squandering their money. Perhaps he was out there trying to make business deals, but if he were, no one would deal with him in his current state.
When Bridget got to the beach, she kicked off her shoes and pulled off her stockings so she could feel the sand between her toes. She left the shoes and stockings behind and walked a little toward the water before sitting on the warm sand and looking out at the horizon.
Light blue met a green-black in the distance, a perfect line of balance between sky and sea. Gentle waves lapped against the shore, but at the horizon, it was calm and in order. It was unlike her life.
The beach was quiet, and Bridget was thankful for that.
She watched the gulls flying above and listened to the gentle sounds of the surf. It helped to calm her, but it did nothing to solve her problems.
Bridget scanned the pale gold sand. There was movement in the distance—she was not quite alone. Someone walked down by the water. She watched him stride confidently along the sand.
If Bridget had her swimming clothes on, she might have taken a dip. The water was cold enough at this time of year to leave little room to think about anything else.
The man walked up the beach toward her, and she took the opportunity to study him, knowing that he was too far away to know she was looking directly at him and not at the sea.
When he got closer, Bridget felt a jolt of alarm. The man she had been watching was the Duke, and he was coming straight toward her.
The Duke raised his hand in the air to greet her, recognizing her, and she replied in kind.
Please don’t come to talk to me!
