Page 95 of A Duchess Bound
“The Duke of Greenway?” Dorothy asked.
Why wouldhebe here? Her pulse jumped.
He has come for mewas her first, impulsive answer to that question, but she knew it was impossible. They were nothing to one another. He did not love her.
Perhaps, he had come to apologize or make amends? Dorothy could not decide if that would be for better or worse. What would his apology be worth if nothing changed between them?
Bridget let out a high-pitched, strangled sound. Dorothy heard the rustle of fabric and suspected that her sister had collapsed into her chair.
“Send him in.” Turning to Dorothy, Elias added, “Do you have any idea what he might want?”
He knew. Elias knew.
Dorothy forced down the lump in her throat and shook her head. “Why would I?” she asked. “It is not as though we are well-acquainted.”
His eyes narrowed. It was clear that he did not believe her.
“Well,” Elias said dryly. “I suppose we shall see soon enough.”
Gerard entered the room, and Dorothy, still standing, realized that he was just a short distance away. If she wanted, she could reach out and touch him. Had her siblings not been present, she might have.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, before anyone else could speak.
“I—I have…” He swallowed and fixed his gaze upon the floor. Every line of his body was taut with tension, and the longer Dorothy looked at him, the more worry twisted in her stomach.
“What have you done?” she asked, trying to sound gentle.
She had never before seen him look so uncertain about himself.
Gerard nodded, his dark eyes fixed upon her face with such intensity that her breath caught in her chest. “I have come to ask for Lady Bridget’s hand.”
Dorothy’s jaw nearly dropped. “B—Bridget’s hand?”
“Yes. May I sit? I will explain the situation as I see it.”
“Please,” Elias said.
“I do not wish to marry you,” Bridget said. “I will marry Fourton. I know that he will return for me, and this—this is all just a misunderstanding. He will do as he said he would!”
“That is enough,” Elias said quietly. “Let us hear what Layton has to say.”
Gerard lowered himself into the chair. Dorothy remained frozen to the floor, her mind working and failing to make sense of the situation before her. A small, hysterical part of her wondered if she ought to offer him tea and biscuits, but another part wanted to scream and rage at him. What could he possibly mean by coming into this room and offering to marryher sister? Had he always fancied Bridget? Had their entire affair been just a trap for him to—to?—
Had he engineered this with Lord Fourton? Dorothy dismissed the thought as soon as it formed, for that was ridiculous. Gerard was a good man. Even if he did not love her, he would not betray her in that terrible way.
“Perhaps you should also sit,” Gerard said, his face soft and gentle.
Dorothy did as he suggested, feeling vaguely as though her body was not her own.
“I did not expect this,” Elias said. “Why do you wish to marry Bridget?”
Elias sounded as though he truly wished to ask something else, perhaps something akin toWhy do you not want to marry Dorothy?
“I assume that you have already tried to find Lord Fourton,” Gerard said.
“Indeed,” Elias said, sighing. “I went to his residence this morning, and I was told that he was out, attending to an appointment.”
“Obviously untrue,” Dorothy muttered.
