Page 48 of Her Cursed Duke
My godmother told me about your bravery on the night of her dinner party. I do not wish to start a fight by stating the reasons why you really should not have bothered to defend me against those cretins—reasons we discussed later that same night—so I will simply relent, just this once, and say thank you.
For your kindness, your strength, and for coming after me. Your presence helped lift my mood greatly, and I would be honored if you grant me the opportunity to bask in it once more. This afternoon? We could promenade around the park. I will bring the pest along, since you like him so much.
Sincerely,
Aiden.
It was unapologetically like him to pen such a note riddled with snark and sweetness combined, and she could not help but feel a wave of fondness for him.
After their… activity, he had helped make her look presentable—a task not easily fulfilled, as they couldn’t resist kissing each other—and then proposed a tour of his castle. It would be a good way to pass the time until someone came to fetch her, and it was an innocent enough activity that no one would suspect them of any impropriety if they were spotted.
The tour had barely begun when Agnes had come to her, relieved to see that they were both in good spirits despite what had happened earlier. She had announced that they were going to leave the party early, and Prudence had said her goodbyes to Aiden reluctantly, feeling oddly desperate to linger for a little longer.
It had been three days since then, and she could not stop thinking about him. She felt caught up in some sort of storm, flailing and flying at the same time. It was unnerving, it was magical, it was terrifying, and it was wonderful.
She immediately sent word to him, agreeing to go on the proposed walk, with permission from Agnes, who was as willing as ever to chaperone. Prudence could scarcely wait for the afternoon to arrive, barely containing her excitement. Deep down, something about her enthusiasm begged for caution, urging her to tread lightly, but she was too caught up in the cozy bliss of it all to heed the warnings.
Seeing him again had silenced those ramblings, Prudence easily getting lost in his mischievous eyes to think of anything else. The walk had started out splendidly, with him smiling down at her warmly as she cooed and petted his puppy, playfully telling Snowflake that she was still very much willing to give him a comfortable bed to sleep in and more food than he could eat if he were to run away from the mean taunts of the Duke of Serpenhood.
Then, they went on a stroll, casually conversing about nothing in particular. It was a rare moment where they weren’t doing much posturing for the sake of their ruse but simply enjoying each other’s company—an occurrence that was becoming rather frequent. Then, all of a sudden, Prudence brought up other potential opportunities for them to showcase their courtship, and things went downhill from there.
“Aiden,” she sighed in exasperation. “I simply think it would benefit us both if we were more forward with our public appearances.”
Aiden frowned in confusion. “You are being awfully insistent about this. Why?”
She hesitated and then turned away, letting Snowflake lead her forward as she replied, “There is no reason in particular. I just think so, that is all.”
But Aiden did not believe her for some reason. He recalled moments when he had worried that he would be ruining her chances with other eligible bachelors after their agreement ranits course and wondered if this was likely about claiming the attention of some other men.
“Are you… trying to use me to bait other suitors?”
She whirled around to face him, her eyes wide with surprise. “What—” Her gaze darted behind him toward Agnes and Silas, and then she lowered her voice. “What? Why would you—”
“My aversion to making public appearances aside, you seem awfully more invested in this ruse than I am. And we are doing this mostly formybenefit. Yet, your sudden desire to have us up and about more often than not leads me to believe that perhaps you have found a way to obtain your own reward. Is there a specific agent you have in mind? Or are we just throwing the net out into the sea to see how many fish we could catch?”
Prudence continued to stare at him as though he had grown another head, sputtering incredulously for a moment before questioning in a hushed tone, “What are you on about? What man? You think I am trying to use our agreement to lure other men? Have you taken leave of your senses?”
Her cheeks were stained red, the flush spreading down to her neck rapidly as she let her words to sink into Aiden’s mind. He would not admit it out loud, but he could certainly see why she thought he had lost his mind. But one could hardly blame him for wondering so. Despite his reservations, he had grown to… appreciate her more. With each passing day, he thought about her more—beyond the feel of her writhing in pleasure beneath him.
Aiden had grown concerned about her well-being, and while she was one of the few people who believed otherwise, he knew he certainly lived a cursed life. Things had never gone his way when he needed it the most, from the loss of his parents to the devastating heartbreak he had suffered at the hands of his first love.
He was even surprised that their ruse had lasted as long as it did and no one had caught wind of their arrangement. And while this had started out for his own selfish benefit, he had grown a little concerned as to what would become of her afterward.
Prudence inhaled deeply, held her breath for a moment, and then exhaled slowly, stepping closer to him. “Aiden, there is no one else. I am interested in no one else. The reason I would like us to… show off our moderately happy courtship…”
“Moderately? What on earth do you mean by—”
“… is because I want all those people who assume that you would treat me badly or cause me harm can eat their words and preferably choke on them as well. I want there to be clear proof that for the duration of our courtship, you were kind, sweet, and nothing less than a perfect gentleman. So, if anyone wishes to claim otherwise, it will be obvious that all they have to go on is their vivid bias against you.
“I am not trying to tempt other men who might have any interest in me. The only man I am focused on, the only one on my mind, is the one in front of me right now. So, stop being ridiculous.”
Aiden stared at her, his lips slightly parted and his eyes wide. Absentmindedly, he wondered if his expression mirrored the one she had earlier—a little amused by the hilarity of it all.
With a sigh, he nodded gravely. “I see. I misinterpreted your intentions. I am sorry.”
Prudence eyed him wearily and then dropped her gaze to the puppy running about between them. “You should be. It is not nice to make baseless accusations without proof. Especially ones as strange as that. Whyever would you even think that I intend to use our farce to bait other men?”
“I didn’t think—well, not exactly,” he grunted in frustration. “It was merely a silly hunch. I apologize.”
