Page 65 of A Duke But No Gentleman
“Tristan,” she said, glaring at him because he was doing what he did best—pressing her to get his way.“I have not decided if I will attend.”
“If you cry off, it will be awfully humiliating for me when our family announces our betrothal.I do not know if I will be able to recover.”
“You think you are so clever,” Imogene muttered.
“Not particularly.If I was so intelligent, you would already be my duchess.”
She rolled her eyes.The man was persistent.“So our courtship has come to an end?”
“I have had your family’s blessing for weeks, Imogene.”His blue-gray eyes darkened as concern furrowed his brow.“Unless you have reconsidered.Perhaps you do blame me—”
“No,” she said firmly.“I do not recall most of what I said to you the night you arrived at the house.My head was muddled, but I have had time to discern the truth from the lies that I was told.”
“Excellent, then we can proceed as planned and announce our intentions to marry the night of the ball.”
“Why?”
Tristan grimaced, plainly frustrated by her reluctance.“Love, my lady.Is that not reason enough?”
“Sometimes,” she conceded.“I just…”
“Talk to me.You have doubts that I love you?”
Imogene shook her head.“Are you marrying me because of Norgrave?”she blurted out, relieved that she finally had the courage to ask the question that had been troubling her for weeks.
He stepped back as if she had pushed him.“What has brought this on?”
Imogene could see that she had angered him.If his answer was not so important to her, she would have let the matter drop.“Do you not see?You have been protecting your friend, cleaning up his messes for so long that you do not realize it.If you are feeling guilty about not protecting me, and have proposed marriage as some sort of misguided penance, then I must refuse.I am not ruined.If there is a scandal, my family and I will weather it.You told me that I was strong.I doubted you the night you told me, but I have come to see that you are right.I do not require a noble sacrifice from you.”
“I do not believe it!”Tristan muttered something unintelligible under his breath.“Your head is still muddled if you think I would marry out of guilt or to rectify a wrong.When I found you huddled on the floor in my mother’s bedchamber, I stopped denying my feelings for you because I realized I could have lost you.If marriage is a sacrifice of my freedom, then I gladly surrender it.I love you, Imogene.I want to build a life with you.Perhaps you do not feel the same about me?”
Tristan inclined his head.“Forgive me for intruding.”
“You are leaving?”Imogene trailed after him.She did not want to part from him in anger.
He halted, but did not turn around.“For now,” he said curtly.“You have been so concerned about my feelings that you have not contemplated your own.”
“I do not have to—I love you, Tristan.”
He sighed.“I have neglected my duties so you will not see me until my aunt and uncle’s ball.”
“Are you punishing me?”
Tristan pivoted and marched up to her.“No, I am giving you time to miss me.”
He grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her forcefully to him, his mouth muffling her exclamation.His kiss was unlike the chaste kisses she had grown accustomed to the past fortnight.It was rough, carnal, and her blood heated as he kissed her to vent his anger.If he had tossed her over his shoulder and carried her upstairs to her bedchamber, Imogene would have gone willingly.
This was the duke she had fallen in love with.
“Tristan,” she said, swaying slightly when he ended the kiss.
“I will settle for nothing less than marriage, Imogene,” he said, letting his arms fall to his sides as he stepped away from her.“You know I am not a patient man.But I am trying… for you.”
***
At dinner, her mother accused her of sulking.Imogene could not deny the charge so she delicately shrugged and continued to push the food around on her plate.Her exchange with Tristan was a lead weight on her heart.She had unintentionally hurt him.Her duke was offering her everything she had secretly wished for, but a part of her seemed incapable of trusting her good fortune.
When her melancholy increased as nightfall descended, Imogene kissed her mother and announced that she was retiring early.However, sleep was elusive.Lying on the bed, she refused to think of Norgrave, but she could not banish the night from her thoughts.He had been rough, but he had behaved as if he was her lover rather than her attacker.
