Page 76 of Her Ruse with the Rakish Duke
After she had recovered from her crying episode, Daphne had thought it best to stay in the library. As far as she was concerned it wasn’t worth the effort to force herself to socialize when she didn’t feel in the mood to at all. She decided it was better to read a book.
“There you are.”
Daphne looked up and saw Amelia and Harry standing at the doorway.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” her sister added.
“Oh. Is that so?”
“Yes! You were missed at the wedding breakfast. Is anything the matter?”
At that, Daphne looked down guiltily before meeting her sister’s eyes. “I am sorry,” she said looking up at her sister. “I was not really myself so I came here to pull myself together, so I don’t ruin your happy day. Forgive me, please?”
“Of course, you are forgiven,” Amelia stepped forward to gather her in a warm embrace.
“I feel there is more you want to tell me. There is no way the two of you left your wedding feast to find this spinster in this dusty library,” Daphne said as she pulled back, waving a hand to encompass the room.
“First of all,” Amelia started with a deep furrow of frustration on her brow, “you are not a spinster, so stop referring to yourself as such. And you were right, there is another reason why we were looking for you.”
She looked at her husband and when he gave her an encouraging nod she continued “We wanted to talk to you about the duke.”
Daphne’s mood plummeted back down and she wrung her hands in an attempt to stem the flow of melancholy that was threatening to overwhelm her.
“What about him?” she asked in what she hoped was a normal voice.
“He loves you,” Harry replied.
Daphne snorted. “Please. I assure you he does not feel that way about me. He told me himself.”
“He was lying,” Harry insisted.
“I assure you, His Grace is quite accomplished in a number of things, but none of them includes loving me. Besides, you have tried this before to get us to stop bickering. Trust me, we knew,” she said smiling ruefully. “I guess it is a testament to our good acting skills that you thought we actually had romantic feelings for each other. I am sorry to inform you that it was all a ruse. An elaborate one, I would concede, but a ruse nonetheless.”
Harry took a step forward. “I have been watching you both over the course of the last week, and while the both of you might pretend, it was really clear to anyone who cares to look closely that you were in love with each other. And it is quite frustrating that you are willing to throw away everything the two of you could have together simply because of fear.”
Daphne gulped. They had discovered her. It was useless pretending not to care for Victor in front of them.
She took a deep breath before responding. “I can admit to both of you that I do love Victor. I fell for him from the first day I set my eyes on him at that ball four years ago. I thought he was the man that fate had sent me until he abandoned me and ran away without so much as a farewell. I am willing to accept that he doesn’t love me even if it kills me. Do not attempt to placate me by insinuating that he cares,” she said in a heated tone
“Well, Victor had written you several letters over the span of the last four years. He kept them to himself because he didn’t want to raise your hopes and then disappoint you when he was not sure when he was going to return.”
Daphne blinked.No, that’s just part of their plan, she thought.
“While I appreciate the efforts both of you are making toward my happiness, I cannot believe this until I see proof. I am sorry,” she said, turning away while blinking back tears.
“What if I were to provide proof?” a deep voice asked.
Daphne gasped, immediately recognizing it.Victor.
She looked up to see the duke standing at the doorway of the library, trying to catch his breath. It seemed the man had run all the way here, clutching a small bundle that was covered in cloth and tied with a rope.
“When did you get back, you oaf?” Harry asked laughing and went to hug his friend. “You missed the entire wedding!”
“Just now and I rode like the devil to get here,” Victor panted.
“No wonder.” Harry laughed. “You look as though you have been mugged by a flock of geese.”
“Manners, darling.” Amelia scolded.
