Page 62 of Her Ruse with the Wicked Duke
Maxwell climbed in next to him, and they rode back to Grafton Mansion, the light from inside flickering in the windows as they arrived.
The house looked cold in the evening, and after the events of tonight, being in his father’s home was something Rowan dreaded.
Perhaps I will just sleep in the stables.
ChapterTwenty
Alice had sat in her bed, thinking over the night before, unable to sleep. She walked around the estate, feeling like a shell of a woman, upset at herself for letting herself be so vulnerable, but she was more upset at Rowan for abandoning her the way he did. She could not believe she read the situation so wrongly, and yet she did not have the heart to blame herself.
I was honest with him. It is all I could do.
She made her way to Richard’s study with a teapot, and he pulled his reading glasses off the bridge of his nose, looking over his newspaper. “Why do you look so mopey, Sister?”
“Oh, it is nothing, My Lord,” she said quickly, schooling her expression. According to the look she received from her brother, she had not done well enough. “If you truly must know, I am feeling less confident about the Season than I hoped.”
“I got in touch with the Earl several days ago, Alice,” he drawled as if she was making his life such an inconvenience by complaining. “In fact… Is it Thursday?”
“It is,” she said quietly, pouring his tea.
“Lord Eaton will be joining us this afternoon, and by the end of the day, I expect a proposal. How is that for an end to this dreaded Season?”
“You…”
“Sister, I am not a monster. He is the one you want, so be it.”
I could disagree on both of those points, but I suppose I should not comment on that.
“Honestly, you are a menace for spending so much time with the Duke, instead of the Earl. He seemed completely infatuated. You can be married in a week, based on his determination to pursue you.”
“He wants a maid for his family,” Alice blurted out, annoyed. She caught herself overstepping, but to her surprise, her brother smiled.
“You do want to be a wife, do you not? That is the occupation. It should be just the same as here.”
“Richard, why must you say things like that? Do you not think before saying such mean things?” she said. She was tired of this. Whether she married the Duke was no longer a question, but she needed to leave here. “You must tell me why you are so adamant about treating me this way.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, but he avoided her gaze.
“You know what I mean, Brother. What have I done to vex you so? Do you hate me so much that you cannot even spare a thought of kindness?”
“I do not hate you, Alice,” he muttered. “I… I am sorry for how I have treated you in the past. Some things I took too far.”
She was not expecting an apology. Perhaps an outburst, telling her off for being so nosy, or simply the silent treatment. But she was completely shocked into silence.
“What is wrong now?” he groaned, annoyed. “You can leave to get ready.”
She felt dumbfounded as she bowed her head to him and exited the room, confused. She made her way to her bedroom to prepare for the Earl’s visit, still feeling the ache of last night in her heart.
* * *
It had been a week since Rowan saw Alice, and he stumbled out of bed, still feeling awful. The regret of what he had said to Alice was haunting him, but knew that the hard truth was all he could give her.
I cannot marry her, and she knows this…
It did not soothe his mind to think that she would be in better hands with someone else, though, and his mind wandered to the feel of her skin and her lips against his. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and pinched the bridge of his nose as he made his way to his study. He sat down, flipping mindlessly through papers that he could not focus on when Maxwell came in with the newspaper, followed by a maid who was holding a platter that she set on the table and then quickly left.
Rowan flipped through the paper tiredly, scanning the pages for anything interesting to him, when he caught Alice’s name. He thought he was truly going mad, but before him was a wedding announcement of the Queen’s Diamond and the Earl of Eaton tomorrow, at a small chapel in the country. He felt his heart sink in an unfamiliar way—like disappointment, but more painful.
He sat back in his chair, closing his eyes.
