Page 7 of Captured By the Cold Duke
“I will not allow you to be ruined!” he snarled, squeezing his fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “Nor will I risk my own social standing, not to mention my relationship with your brother, who is the only true friend I have ever had. There is no other way, and at the very least, it will save you from a life of being the Countess of Rochford!”
The harshness in his tone surprised Cherie, and her own hands balled into fists.
“I will not be coerced into a marriage I did not choose,” she said, holding her head high. The duke’s eyes flashed with anger, and when he spoke, it was in the most unfeeling tone of voice she had ever heard.
“Then you should have thought first before sneaking out of your home and traveling, unchaperoned, to a dangerous town. I understand why you did it—believe me, I do—but you should have known what a risky undertaking it was.”
“It’s not as if I planned to run into you here!” she said desperately.
“Hang meeting me—you could have been killed! Do you not realize that?”
“I would rather be dead than forced into a marriage I don’t want!”
The duke scoffed. “Then you are as foolish as you are reckless.”
“Don’t call me foolish,” Cherie shouted, and she was furious to feel the prick of tears in her eyes. “Not when you say you understand the fate that awaited me if I stayed home! You should be showing me compassion, not cruelty!”
“I do understand,” Thomas said, his voice softening slightly. “But it was still a terrible risk to run away, both to your honor and your safety. Your actions put not only your own reputation in danger but also the reputations of all those who associate with you, including your brother. Now, you are being forced to deal with the consequences of your actions. And while you might not like it, I do not see what other choice you have. What other choiceeitherof us have.”
Cherie could not believe the words that were coming out of the duke’s mouth. She had known Casserly—as she still thought of him—for many years. They had been friends, of a sort. He had always been kind to her; not just to her, but to everyone. In fact, his kindness was one of her favorite things about him. And now, he was speaking to her with such coldness and cruelty that she could hardly believe that this was the same person.
“When did you become so cruel?” she whispered, as tears filled her eyes. She didn’t want to cry in front of this cold, unfeeling man, but the last twelve hours had been the most emotionally fraught of her life, and she was so overwhelmed, scared, and alone.
If only Aidan were here… her brother would know how to set everything right.
The duke’s face hardened at her words, and he turned away. “Life is cruel,” he said, not looking at her. “The sooner we accept that, the better. Now come, we must get you back to London before news of your escape gets out.”
Cherie sniffled involuntarily, then wiped the tears from her cheeks quickly. The duke, however, had heard her. He paused, and his shoulders slumped slightly, as if the sound of her tears had actually broken through his shell.
When he spoke, his voice was kinder, and she wondered if he truly thought what he said next was meant to comfort her. “Fear not about our lack of a love match, my lady. This will be a marriage only on paper. We will not live together as true husband and wife.”
But this did not comfort Cherie one bit.
Four
“Are you really refusing to talk to me? Surely you recognize this is childish?”
Lady Cherie was quiet all the way from Dover. She sat in front of Thomas on his horse, with his arms wrapped around her as he awkwardly held the reins. And despite her riding sideways, she avoided looking at him. In fact, her body was turned away from him as far as the saddle allowed.
“Truly you cannot fault me, I know it seems cruel, but you cannot pretend this was not our only reasonable option. Even if I adhered to your wishes, you would have a truly hard time finding someone after the scandal.”
He could feel how stiffly she rode, her back as straight as a board, and he knew what it meant: she was furious at him.
He huffed. “Keep your silence if you wish, then. My conscience is clear.”
Thomas didn’t know if he should be angry at her for her naivete and stubbornness, hurt by her apparent disgust at marrying him, or pitying that she was, despite her best efforts to the contrary, being forced to marry against her will.
“That is not to say that I don’t understand where you were coming from, of course I recognize your position, and empathize with the bitter irony of it. Believe me. It wasn’t as if I wanted to marry you, either.”
You’ve thought about it though,a voice in his ear whispered. Again, the voice that sounded so eerily similar to his father’s.You’ve thought about marrying her, but you knew you weren’t worthy.
And nothing had changed, even with a new title and everything that came with it.
“Oh, isn’t that lovely!” her head snapped back to glare at him. “In addition to everything, now I am being told that you feel repulsed by me!”
“I did not say that!”
“You didn’t have to!”
