Page 9 of A Duchess for the Mysterious Duke
Their eyes met as Phillip considered how much of the truth to tell her. Marina had already proven her intelligence to him, and he knew that lying to her would be out of the question. But how much information would it take to satisfy her? Could he give it to her in pieces until she ended her interrogation?
“Saving you, as you put it, was one motivation, yes.”
“Why me? Why not meet other girls with poor offers and examine your options?”
“I felt that if I had saved you once already, I could certainly do it again.”
Marina frowned at his teasing, but Phillip was delighted by her reaction to him. He was enjoying the banter which was playful on his part and important on hers. “What are the others?”
“The others?”
“Your remaining motivations.”
“It was clear to me that we would both benefit from the arrangement. It appears we have similar interests. I wish to be married. You wished not to be married to someone below your value.”
“Is that all?” she asked, seemingly dissatisfied by his answers.
“Not at all. You were the only lady of adequate status and beauty who showed any interest in me all night.”
Marina’s face flushed, and she lost her conviction to continue questioning him. She squared her shoulders and stared straight ahead, but her blush did not escape the Duke’s notice.
“You’re blushing. Have I embarrassed you?” he asked gently, lips curled into a smile. “Was I correct then in my observation? Youareinterested.”
“We have been walking for quite some time now under the warm sun,” she answered briskly. “I must be overheating, Your Grace. Perhaps burning. Let us hurry to the back where there are more trees for shade.”
Phillip smiled, slipping around to her other side where he could block the sun from shining on her. He said nothing, looking ahead as they walked at a quicker pace toward where her family would be waiting for them. She had shown her siblings kindness like this, but rarely had someone taken the time to do so for her.
For a second, Marina thought that her marriage might work out after all. As long, that was, as Phillip could bring himself to remain at the Hayward Estate at night. Marina still felt weary of him. How could a rake be a rake one day and a gentleman the next? It felt too soon for a real change to have been made to his character, and Marina did not want to spend the rest of her life concerned about whom her husband was spending his nights with.
CHAPTER 7
“…and he returnedthriceto ask for a dance,” Olivia gushed, the first course of her meal entirely untouched. “Once, I danced with someone else, and after I saw them speaking together, and My Lord looked displeased.”
“Do you mean to say he has been scaring off your other suitors, Olivia?” Marina asked, scandalized.
She sat at the dinner table between her sister and her father who was seated at the head of the table across from her betrothed. Phillip was staying with the Linfields for a fortnight. He wanted to get to know Marina’s family, he’d said, and so her father had arranged it. Marina appreciated the gesture; he clearly understood how important her family was to her.
Further, she was pleased to find that he had not once shown the side of himself which must have existed during his travels for him to garner a reputation such as he had. Despite this, she was reluctant, still, to let her guard down.
“Intimidating the competition is common practice for a gentleman who is taken by a lady but is not yet of courageous spirit enough to court her,” Phillip said, matter-of-factly, to Olivia’s delight. “I am positive that he is quite taken with you although I would be wary of a man so willing to threaten another so openly.”
“Your Grace, your wisdom is appreciated,” she giggled. “What do you think, Marina?”
Phillip expected her to protest. He had seen her chastising Olivia for speaking of such topics at the dinner table when he’d dined with them before, but he was beginning to feel that she had grown more comfortable around him and seemed to feel his relationship with her family was familiar enough to entertain such intimate topics.
“It does not matter what I think, Olivia. I only care that you are enjoying the balls so thoroughly. It comes as no surprise to anyone that you are popular.”
“It is because I take after my dear sister that I am so beloved,” Olivia sighed wistfully, bending her head down to rest on Marina’s shoulder for a moment.
“I hardly think that’s true,” Marina laughed.
“Marina, will I have to dance with boys at balls when I am Olivia’s age?” Marina turned to young Emily who was staring at her in horror.
“What’s wrong with boys?” Nicholas demanded to know.
“They are filthy,” Emily answered.
“Boys, perhaps,” Marina conceded. “But by the time you are of age, they will be too, and they will have learned to be much cleaner. You’ve nothing to be concerned about, sweet Emily. I swear it.”
