Page 13 of The Duke Who Dared Me
She rolled her eyes.It wasn’t as if she could forget.
“It’ll be good for you to have a household of your own to manage.”
Verity nodded again, folding the blanket up, keeping her protests quiet.It didn’t matter anymore.They had made up their mind and seemed more than eager to be rid of her.And she wanted to leave, but there was so much uncertainty about her future.That was the issue.
That, and theton’sdismissal of her.They had made up their minds years ago, it seemed.
“Well, if you don’t need me, I think I’ll take a ride in the park.”She crept closer to Colin, who held his arms up for her.Verity kissed his hand and walked out of the room with her head high, even if tears brimmed in her eyes.
An hour later, Verity spotted Alistair riding through Hyde Park long before he saw her.
She hadn’t spoken to him in a week.Not since the ball or since gossip spread like wildfire about their wager.Not even at dinner the evening before.
Alistair sat tall on his perfect black stallion, one hand relaxed on the reins, the other resting on his thigh as he rode off the path, no doubt eager to find a spot of privacy.
She shouldn’t seek him out, but last evening at a dinner with the Stonehams, when he pretended as though she wasn’t seated across the table from him, was a slight too much.Yes, she was aware that many who knew her considered her excessive.She was reminded time and again since coming of age how she should strive to be admired, not heard.
She could tolerate the disinterest from the rest of London, but as hard as it was to sit with the truth, it was never the same with the infuriating duke.
Alistair had always acknowledged her.He seemed to be the only one who held the remarkable ability to make her feel seen.
Verity kept her chestnut mare at a careful trot as she approached.She relaxed her features, sure boredom would prick his interest more satisfyingly than irritation.
“Out for a ride, Your Grace?”she called.
Alistair turned, one brow arching, pinning her with that burning gaze of his.“Shouldn’t you be busy charming half of London into marriage proposals, Verity?”
“I thought I’d let them rest.They're only human.”
His gaze swept down her navy-blue riding habit, lingering just long enough to make her stomach flutter.When his eyes met hers again, his expression shifted to something darker, more intent.
“Lady Clara seems to occupy much of your time lately,” she said, adjusting her gloves.
“Lady Clara?”He sighed.“What about her?”
“You’ve seen her three times in the last fortnight.Is she to be your duchess?”
“Worried you’re about to lose our bet, Verity?”
She squared her shoulders.“You’re so certain you’ve secured her, but you’re forgetting you must be in love with her.”
“Have you ridden out here just to harass me?”Alistair ran a hand down his stallion’s neck, calming the beast.
Verity couldn’t look away, fascinated by the power of his touch.Strong, calming…
“She seems sweet.Gentle,” she said with a swallow.It made no sense why the idea of him with someone else, of being gentle, kind, less guarded, set her teeth on edge.“You’ll ruin her.”
“All of London knows she’s on the quest for a title.Gentle?”He chuckled, his laugh tight and annoyed, before he turned in the saddle to face her more fully.“You think you’d be better suited to the title?”
“Certainly not.”Verity clutched the reins, pulling up high in her seat, mortified at such a suggestion.“I’d bury you under the floorboards before our wedding night.”
She blinked, startled by her own words.The image of her walking toward Alistair to be wed came too easily.It was as if her mind and heart were years apart, and she was too foolish to catch up and make sense of the man who glared at her.
“Confessing now seems an odd choice,” he drawled.“I’ll leave a note before I head to the altar…”
“You’re impossible!”
“And you’re too pigheaded to admit I’m going to win.Afraid to lose?”
