Page 5 of Married to a Wicked Duke
“Duchess of…” Veronica faded out. And the realization swung at her. “You’re the Duke.”
“Oh yes.” He brought his hands together in mock applause. “Very good. Feigning ignorance. This little act of yours is most commendable.”
Veronica’s eyebrows shot up at his sharpness. The Duke of Brownwood may have been as devastatingly handsome as Lady Juliet and the others had claimed. But it seemed he was also something of a bastard.
She straightened her shoulders. “Forgive me, Your Grace. I had no idea you were in here. My grandmother sent me upstairs to rest. I suppose I did not listen to her instructions properly.”
The Duke snorted. “You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes!” Veronica said indignantly. “I do! Of course, I do!”
The Duke folded his arms across his broad chest. “I know how all you desperate debutantes operate. You will stoop to anything as long as it secures you the husband you want.”
“You are mistaken,” Veronica said, doing her best to keep the rattle from her voice. “I was seeking nothing more than a place to rest for a few minutes.” She glared at him, emboldened by her newfound indignance. “And if you truly think I would seek to marry a man who speaks so rudely, you are mistaken on more than one count.”
The Duke’s lips parted and something close to surprise flitted across his features. Veronica wondered when the last time was that someone had stood up to him.
The Duke chuckled. “This is a fine act, Lady…”
“Veronica,” she told him. “Lady Veronica Caster.”
“Ah yes. The Earl of Volk’s daughter. And the sister of the Duchess of Larsen. I suppose I cannot be surprised that someone of your breeding would stoop to such an act.”
“That is enough!” Veronica cried. “I do not care who you are, Your Grace, but I will thank you not to speak of my family in such a way!” She strode toward the door. She had quite enough of this mysterious, sharp-tongued Duke. He and Juliet Carfield deserved each other.
Before she could make it to the door, the Duke reached out and snatched her wrist. “Where are you going, Lady Veronica?” he sneered. “We are just getting to know each other.”
He was playing with her now, she knew. Oh, how she wished the rest of thetoncould see what a beast the Duke of Brownwood really was!
“Let go of me at once,” she hissed. “You dreadful man.”
The Duke let his hand fall. “Forgive me,” he said. But he did not sound particularly sorry. He took a step closer to Veronica, so close she could see the dark blue flecks in his storm-cloud gray eyes. She swallowed heavily. The path to the door was clear now. So why did she not take it? Why was the way the Duke’s eyes locked onto hers keeping her rooted so firmly in place?
“You are welcome to leave, Lady Veronica,” he said, as though reading her thoughts. “Unless there is something else you have come for.”
She did not—could not—look away. “I do not know what you are talking about.”
“No,” he said. “I’m rather sure you don’t. You do seem like an innocent little thing.”
Without warning, he dove forward and kissed her hard. Veronica stumbled backward in shock, her heart thundering and her body coming alive with something she could not quite identify. She glared at the Duke, hardly able to believe his arrogance. How dare he behave in such a way?
And why did it not feel anywhere near as awful as it ought to have?
In fact, as reluctant as she was to admit it, the kiss had not felt awful at all. Far from it. There was a part of her—some treacherous, unthinkable part—that had even enjoyed it.
But none of that excused the Duke of Brownwood's dreadful behavior!
“How could you?” she demanded. “Do you have any idea what will happen if people find out about this? I will be ruined!”
The Duke rolled his eyes. “Calm yourself, Lady Veronica. No one is going to find out about this. Unless I’ve another bevy of admirers waiting out in the hallway.”
Veronica glared at him. “How you have even a single admirer is beyond me, Your Grace.”
The Duke sat back on the bed. “It is beyond me too,” he admitted. “But it seems most young ladies care only for a nobleman’s title. They care little about my personality.”
Veronica snorted. “Well, that is glaringly obvious.”
The faintest glimmer of a smile appeared on the Duke’s lips.
