Page 67 of Dueling with the Duke
“I know you are angry at me, but?—”
“No, I can’t do this,” Bridget stated, her voice cracking. “My sister is to be married today, and it is not the time for us to talk about anything. If that is why you came to my room, then I ask that we talk about this in the morning. I don’t know if my heart can take it.”
The Duke glanced at her lips, and he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to wrap her in his embrace and tell her that everything would be fine. To tell her that he had feelings for her. But she was right. This day was about his brother and her sister, and they should not muddle it with anything else.
“It is your father,” he admitted.
Bridget’s eyes widened, and her voice rose a little. “My father?”
“I was called to the chapel, and I found him there. He was drunk and demanding to be let in. He was adamant that he should walk your sister down the aisle.”
“No, that can’t happen,” Bridget gasped. “I spoke to him, then Mother spoke to him, and I spoke to him again. I thought we had made it clear, but he is so stubborn. He just won’t listen. I… Your Grace, I know you don’t owe me anything, but would you speak to him? He might listen to you.”
“He won’t be a problem,” the Duke assured her. “I already took care of it. Your father is in one of the bedrooms under the watch of two of my footmen. They are under instruction to not let him out until I return. He will not walk Lady Margaret down the aisle, nor will he ruin the ceremony. He will not be allowed to attend the celebration after without your say.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Bridget stuttered. “Thank you.”
She shook her head and frowned, but then she threw her arms around him.
The Duke wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, inhaling the familiar scent of bergamot and lavender. He did not know how much his heart had ached to be with her again at that moment. He had missed her, but there was a void in his heart that was suddenly filled.
Bridget broke their embrace a few seconds later.
“My apologies. I should not have done that,” she said. “I was overcome by the gesture on my sister’s wedding day.”
“No, I don’t mind,” the Duke assured her. “I have been thinking about you a lot since we last parted, and I do want to talk to you about how we left things. I should not have returned to London so quickly. I wish now I had remained on the estate with you.”
Bridget scoffed and shook her head. “What happened? Did she not turn out to be the woman you thought she was?”
“The woman?” Nicholas’s eyebrows drew together. “What woman?”
“You don’t need to keep up the pretense. You tried to get something out of me before you went back to her. Now what? Does she not want to wed anymore, so you come to me? I don’t wish to be second best, Your Grace. Or is it that you are still with her but hope to have some fun at the wedding?”
“What are you talking about?” the Duke demanded.
“Please, do not shout at me, Your Grace. You are the one who left. I was the one who had my heart broken. You have no idea what you did to me that day, and then I had my heart broken a second time after that. Do you tell all of your ladies the same story? Is that your charm? Make them pity you and then try to bed them? It almost worked. I believed it all. It was never about not wanting to marry, was it? It was all a ruse so that you could have some fun without the commitment. I am glad I found out the truth before it was too late. My father might be a rogue, but he still cares for me.”
“Your father? What did your father say?” the Duke asked.
“He told me the truth,” Bridget replied. “And he has found me a man to wed. I shall meet with him next week, and I am sure he will be respectable as well as handsome.”
“You are to marry?” It felt like someone had smacked the Duke over the head with a large rock. “You can’t.”
“I can do as I please,” Bridget asserted. “You are the real rogue here. You led me on and pretended you had feelings for me, and I was a fool for developing feelings for you. You could never love me when you are in love with another woman. You should live your life and let me live mine.”
“I don’t understand,” Nicholas said quickly. He reached out and took her hand, but she quickly jerked it away. He reached out again when tears sprung to his eyes. “Talk to me. Please.”
“Leave me alone,” Bridget demanded. “You have already hurt me enough.”
Nicholas did not have the chance to say anything else. Bridget took off down the corridor, storming away from him. He knew he had messed up back at the seaside estate, but he had somehow made things worse in their time apart, and he had no idea how.
The idea that Bridget was to marry another man sickened him to the core.
CHAPTER26
A Deep Longing
Bridget stood at the front of the chapel as the harpist played a gentle tune. She looked at the back of the chapel, as everyone else did, to witness the bride enter.
