Page 21 of Her Cursed Duke
“All right, I will think about it.” Prudence sighed in a resigned manner and pouted. “And I will write him a letter and apologize.”
“Excellent. Shall we be on our way?”
When they arrived home, they were informed that guests were waiting for them in the drawing room. Confused, the ladies went off in that direction, surprised to see the Duke of Serpenhood and his godmother comfortably engaged in a conversation with their grandmother. Or at least the Dowager Marchioness was. The Duke looked like he had taken the wrong turn in a forest and had ended up in a foreign country somehow.
“Your Grace, Lady Foresthill,” Prudence squawked, curtsying quickly. “What a wonderful surprise. I—we were not expecting you to visit. Good afternoon.”
The last bit came out almost like a question, and she hoped that no one else heard that. Luckily, her grandmother was more than happy to put her out of her misery.
“I invited them. We have yet to celebrate your courtship, and it is cause for celebration. So celebrate we shall.”
Most of the room occupants just blinked at her, and Prudence laughed nervously, feeling bad that her grandmother was extending her graciousness over a farce.
“Still, Grandmother, it would have been nice to inform us before you invited them. Poor Prudence is not quite prepared for any sort of celebration,” Agnes said softly, not leaving her sister’s side.
“What would have been the point of that? It is not as though it is to be a grand affair. It is only one afternoon, during which we shall spend some time getting to know His Grace and his family, as he gets to know ours,” Martha explained simply.
Little did Prudence know that, in reality, the Dowager Marchioness had set up a series of tasks to check whether or not she would make a suitable wife for her godson. One glance at her husband—and the look he had given her when their eyes met—told Agnes that there was something else afoot, but there was nothing that could be done.
“Yes, dear. It is just a simple afternoon of bonding, with a few activities planned. Nothing grand,” Beatrice added with a bright smile.
Prudence risked a glance at Aiden, expecting him to still look upset with her. But she was a little surprised to find him staring back at her apologetically. Seeing him like that reminded herthat she was doing this for him, and he had the most to lose if things fell apart.
So, she steeled her nerves and raised her head, drawing strength from her sister’s presence as she said, “That sounds wonderful. When do we begin?”
Chapter Eight
As the elderly women discussed the final details for their afternoon offun—as his godmother had promised it would be, enough times that he had begun to understand that the day would bring anything but amusement to him—the Duke moved closer to where Prudence and her sister were standing and talking.
Gently, he cleared his throat to get their attention, hoping his expression did not appear hostile when Agnes whirled around to face him, putting herself between him and her sister. Prudence did not try to move from behind her sister but curiously peered over her shoulder at Aiden.
“Forgive me, I would like to have a brief word with Lady Prudence if you do not mind.”
The corners of Agnes’s lips twitched, and she schooled her face into a blank expression, silently turning to consult her sisteron the matter. When Prudence nodded, she stepped to the side slowly.“All right, Your Grace. Remember to stay in sight.”
“Agnes, I beg of you, stop it.” Prudence sighed in exasperation, walking away from the both of them.
As she expected, Aiden followed, and they stood in a different corner of the drawing room, awkwardly staring at each other for a moment before Prudence prompted with a gesture of her hands, “You said you wished to—”
“I did. I-I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the end of the picnic. While it was not an amusing situation for me, I should not have taken my frustrations out on you. I should have known better. You are doing me a favor, and I should treat you with more respect and consideration. And… I am sorry. For behaving childishly.”
Prudence was pleasantly surprised by his apology. She had expected him not to consider his faults at all, but rather than put all the blame for their petty argument on her, he was taking responsibility. It was remarkable, considering she did not think she would side with herself if she had been in his shoes.
“I accept your apology only on the grounds that you accept mine. The situation was less than ideal, and I teased you for a simple accident that occurred because you were trying to save a stray puppy. If I were you, I would have felt irritated as well. If anyone had been childish that day, it was me. I am sorry, Your Grace.”
Aiden felt the concerns that had been dwelling within him dissipate, and he sighed in relief.After some deliberation, he had decided to take his godmother’s advice and appeal to Prudence with a much gentler approach, understanding that it was easier to attract bees with honey than with vinegar. Perhaps her cooperation would be obtained much more seamlessly if he was sweeter about how he requested it.
And maybe he could get her to do much more than just play a part for his benefit.
“I am asking quite a lot of you, and it is important to me that things go off without a hitch. And I understand that to achieve that, we must have a solid partnership. I will do my best to ensure that my problems do not burden you more than necessary,” he said earnestly.
“I will do the very same,” Prudence agreed. “This is proving to be a little trickier than I had imagined it would be, admittedly, and I think we would need to find some sort of balance in order for us to succeed until the end of this agreement.”
Aiden held out a hand to her. “Here is to a more peaceful partnership, then.”
Prudence found herself getting a little lost in his dark gaze, unconsciously slipping her hand into his. With a small smile, he lifted it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it, never taking his eyes off her. A strange sensation tugged at her insides, and she felt waves of heat fill her cheeks.
His touch burned, like always, but instead of pain, it was an intense heat she felt in danger of losing herself to.
