Page 5 of The Duchess Trap
Then he spoke in a voice like thunder cloaked in thick, heavy cloud cover, “Marry me.”
CHAPTER 2
“What?” Catherine’s head spun. She’d heard him. They were standing so close to one another, it would have been impossible to miss every word that came out of his finely sculpted lips. But still—she had trouble processing the offer.
The Duke of Raynsford did not blink. “I am in earnest.”
She stared, lips parted, searching his face for the flicker of a jest.
Surely, this hasty proposal was meant to mock her. It must have been some cruel reminder that she had been backed into a corner. Moments ago, she would not have imagined that their conversation would dip back into territory they’d already traversed.
Apparently, the Duke thinks himself rather comic. He wishes to entertain himself at my expense by pretending that I locked us in here together to force an offer of marriage.
But his expression remained stoic. His blue eyes reminded her of a piece of granite, and his mouth was drawn into a maddening line of command.
Perhaps, he does not mean to tease me. But then, what can he hope to achieve?
“You must be mad,” she managed at last, her laugh brittle. “If this is your idea of humor, Your Grace, I assure you I am in no mood for jokes.”
“Nor am I,” he said evenly.
She inhaled deeply. “You say you are in earnest, but you cannot possibly mean to propose.”
“I do.” He stepped closer, unhurriedly, as though, with every inch he crept, he meant to put her at ease rather than cause her muscles to tense. “You require money to protect Brightwater. I require a wife to thwart the meddling of every ambitious matron in London. This solves both dilemmas.”
Catherine gaped.
He speaks of marriage as though it were the purchase of a new pair of boots.
“You are out of your mind,” she whispered. “You were just accusing me of attempting to trap you into marriage, and now you are offering it?”
“I assure you that I am quite sane. In fact, I have never been more practical.”
Her chest tightened with indignation. “Practical?”
“Yes.” His gaze swept over her, unflinchingly, as though weighing her not as a woman but as a solution. “We marry, you retain Brightwater, and I rid myself of schemes such as this ridiculous entrapment. By Christmastide, we may settle into our new lives and return merrily to our own pursuits. Clean. Efficient.”
Catherine’s mouth went dry.
Marriage. The word swirled in her head like smoke. The thought of binding herself to this man who had cornered her with such infuriating arrogance, who unsettled her with every look, who made her knees threaten treachery with every step he took closer, made her feel conflicted. She did not love him; moreover, she did not know anything about him, barring what had passed between them these last few moments and the whispers she’d heard from other young ladies.
“You cannot be serious,” she breathed.
“I am always serious.” His tone deepened, and she once again surveyed his expression because whether he was jesting or not was not immediately apparent.
As she cataloged his looks, he continued to fix her with a keen stare. Flustered, Catherine pressed her palms to her skirts, desperate for composure. “This is absurd. You have done nothing but hurl accusations at me throughout the duration of this… unfortunate situation, Your Grace.”
His mouth twitched, almost into a smirk. “Well, you seem to be vehemently denying taking any part in any scheme. And besides, I know of Lord Felton; he’s not the kind to conspire. Not with the intention of trapping dukes into marriage, at least. Either way, I think we both get what we need from a union between us.”
Catherine’s brows furrowed.
This Duke only believed her because the villain Felton decided to threaten her?
She huffed. “I could not accept a union that is based on little more than a shared contempt for Lord Felton and his crooked business dealings.”
The Duke produced a wry smile. “I confess that I have never much cared for Felton. And I certainly do not admire the way he sought you out, then whispered your family secrets through the keyhole. But—business is just that. If your family owes him money, it must be paid. With one word from you, your family’s affairs will become my business, too.”
She swallowed hard, fury and humiliation battling inside her.
