Page 25 of A Duchess Bound
His Grace sipped his brandy and smiled. “Did you have something that you wanted to tell me? Or have I stolen all your words, my lady?”
Summoning the last of her shattered defiance, she crossed the room and seized an empty glass. She fixed her eyes on His Grace’s face and poured herself a glass of brandy. With only a second of quivering hesitation, she tossed her head back and emptied the glass in a long gulp. The spirit burned down the back of her throat and brought tears to her eyes. She swallowed.
“And do you imagine that little display has earned you something?” the duke asked. “Good girls do not drink brandy like that. Are you a common drunkard, my lady?”
Dorothy could not think of anything to say, so she said nothing at all. She stormed from the room, fighting down the impulse to cry. And overwhat?
The Duke of Greenway had not forced himself upon her. He had not even tried to seduce her, not really. She had come to his townhouse with the intent of seeing him, and she had not even told Elias or Bridget of her whereabouts.
A throat cleared. She halted abruptly, her breath catching, as His Grace’s butler bowed deeply to her.
He knows,Dorothy thought, her mortification growing.
“Shall I fetch a carriage for you, my lady?” he asked.
“Y—yes,” she said.
“Very good.”
He left her alone in the foyer. Dorothy swallowed hard. She still felt damp between her legs, and she had no means with which to clean herself. Dorothy would have to ride all the way home with that uncomfortable dampness between her thighs.
She was not especially horrified at the prospect. Rather, there was something almost exciting about it. That worried her more than if she had detested the sensation. Dorothy curled her hands into fists, her mind whirling with everything that had happened. She hated that man, loathed him with every fiber of her being, and yet there was a small part of her that wanted to return to him at once.
To submit, like he had said. But Dorothy did not even really know what hemeantby that. Was she supposed to follow his every order like some trained pet?
The butler returned. “The carriage is ready, my lady.”
He had produced the carriage rather quickly, and with cold dread, Dorothy realized this must be a common occurrence. His Grace was a rake, after all. Ladies probably did not linger with him for very long. He might very well have another lady on her way.
“Thank you,” Dorothy said.
She wanted to scream and cry and break something. Possibly all three of those things at once. It took all the strength of her composure and genteel breeding to leave the townhouse with her back straight and her head held high.
“My lady,” the footman said as he helped her climb into the carriage.
Did he also realize what she and His Grace had done? Did the entire staff know of the duke’s sordid behavior? Dorothy swallowed down the lump that rose in her throat. They must think that she was nothing now.
Just another sullied woman who had received all the warnings of rakes and succumbed to one anyway.
“Thank you,” she said.
The footman flashed her a polite smile and closed the carriage door. Dorothy was alone. She took a shuddering breath for air. A second one.
Then, a sob tore from her throat. Tears burned in her eyes. She rubbed roughly at her face with the back of her hand. What had she done? Why had she not simply asked him to stop?
The Duke of Greenway was unquestionably a rake, but he had also sounded entirely sincere when he said he wouldstopif she only asked. So why hadn’t she? Why had she let him keep her pinned against that wall? Why had she let him touch her? She had arched against him and strained to make him kiss her.
The carriage jolted into motion, and Dorothy curled her hands into her skirts. She was ruined. Even though she had never desired marriage, the shame of being soiled still crept over her. This encounter could never happen again.
Whatever the duke had meant when he told her tosubmit, she could not do that. No, it was best for her to remain as distant from him as possible. She ought to avoid him at every ball and soiree and keep very, very far away from him.
But a sense of unease settled in the pit of her stomach. Slowly, she inched her fingers beneath her gown and traced along the inside of her thigh. The wetness was still there.
She wanted there to be another encounter. Against all reason, Dorothy wanted that man to doexactly thisand more to her.
CHAPTER 10
Gerard was in agony because of that terrible woman. It had been two days since she burst into his study like a Fury, and every moment since then, he had longed for her.Achedfor her. He had given her a week to decide if she would submit, and he was sorely regretting that choice. It would have been better if he had given her days. Hours.
