Page 44 of The Duke's Spinster Bride
What is wrong with me?
“So you are telling me you had to kiss her? And I suppose her looks had nothing to do with the carnal desire that swept over you at that moment.” Thomas teased darting out of reach as Frederick half-heartedly swiped at him.
“There was nothing carnal about it.” Frederick made a dismissive gesture. “It was just a kiss.”
He ran a hand through his hair, his tongue running along his bottom lip as he did so. He shifted as the hair on his body stood on end.
Thomas laughed. “That is not the way the grandmama tells it. She said the sparks between the two of you were enough to set the grounds ablaze.”
“We put on a good show, that is all.” Frederick could not quite bring himself to look into his cousin’s eye and stared determinedly ahead of them, shrugging as he did. “We had to make it convincing.”
“Of course you did.” Thomas gently bumped into him.
Frederick threw his hands up in exasperation. “Without it, her father would not have permitted the match. If I had simply asked for her hand and there was no scandal that bound us, he would have said no.”
“But why were you so desperate to marry her in the first place? One moment, you are swearing off marriage forever and then the next I hear you are embroiled in scandal and married so quickly I could not even make the ceremony.” His cousin pouted as they walked through the corridor. “And you know how much I like a good wedding! There is dancing, revelry. And the best part is I am not the one getting married!”
“We had to move quickly. And as to your question about why we needed to get married. Well…” He let out a disgruntled puff of air. “Grandmother tricked me. She announced, very loudly, that I was in want of a wife. I was getting mobbed by practically every eligible woman in the ton – one of the debutantes hid in a bush, no doubt to waylay me, and if Andrea had not discovered her, the plan may very well have worked.”
Thomas stopped walking, his arms folded across his chest, eyes wide with disbelief. “So to thank her you decided to marry her?”
“What? No.” Frederick dug his knuckles into his forehead, and threw open the door to the study, striding towards the decanter and pouring two glasses of wine. “I went to thank her and over the course of our conversation I learned she had no wish to be married, and well, it seemed like the perfect way to solve both of our problems.”
Thomas flopped into one of the armchairs, throwing his legs over one of the arms and leaning back. “Your problems being the attention of the ton’s debutantes?”
Frederick handed him a glass, resisting the urge to dump the contents into his cousin’s lap. “You try being hounded like that and tell me how you like it.”
“Oh you poor thing, to be so wanted by so many women.” Thomas’s tone dripped with sarcasm as he arched an eyebrow at Frederick.
The motion reminded him strongly of Andrea and he found himself smiling as he sipped his wine. “That is what And- the Duchess said to me. Though with more disdain than you have managed.”
“Your marriage is making even less sense by the minute. Why on Earth did she agree to it?” Thomas took a swig of his drink, running a hand through his hair.
“To avoid marrying Lord Crossley.” Frederick scowled at his drink.
“Lord Crossley? Why would she marry him? He is utterly vile by all accounts.” Thomas shuddered.
“Her father made the match and apparently had his heart set on it.” Frederick’s grip tightened around the glass as he thought about Andrea’s father and the words he had said to her on the day of their wedding. “He is the reason we were married so quickly, so that he could not cause any problems for us.”
Why did she agree to it? Why would she listen to him when he treats her like he does?Frederick forced himself to stop grinding his teeth and loosened his grip on the glass.
“Problems? But you outrank Lord Crossley! No man would choose him over you.” Thomas shook his head in disbelief, swinging his feet off the arm rest and onto the floor so he could sit up straighter.
“The Earl is not like most men.” Frederick kept his voice as neutral as he could while a tidal wave of anger washed over him. “He likes control.”
“So you married her to save her from a marriage to Lord Crossley? A rather gallant thing to do.” Thomas swirled the contents of his cup staring at them rather intently.
Frederick stiffened and shook his head.The last thing I need is Elington reading into the situation.“That is not why I did it. Neither of us wanted a marriage, yet neither of us could have avoided it. It was the most logical thing to do.”
He stared into the fire, running a hand across his jaw. “This way we both get what we want. She will go back to her life, and I will go back to mine. Once the honeymoon is over… It will all be over.”
He rubbed a hand across his chest, trying to ease the tightness he felt. Out of the corner of his eye, he sensed Thomas watching him intently.
“Then there really is nothing between you?” Thomas asked.
Frederick shook his head. “We are friendlier than we were, but that is all. We are just working towards a common goal.”
“And that is how you wish for it to remain?”
