Page 38 of A Duke's Unwanted Bride
“Yes.” Her chin jutted out at him, eyes defiant.
“How do I know you will not just say no?”
“You are going to have to trust me.” She shrugged, and Warner had the sense that this was some kind of test.
Why should I?The words died on his lips. He knew what she was asking him. He nodded. “I am not going to kneel.”
“Fine.”
“Will you marry me?” Warner asked, his voice clipped as his gaze met hers.
Silence. A few seconds then a minute and then finally, “Yes.”
Thirteen
“Well, you will need to pretend to be in love of course.” Cora sipped on her tea as she fanned herself.
Adele choked on her tea in her effort not to spray liquid all over her friend. It was the day after the ball, and Cora had dropped in to check on Adele. She had listened in thoughtful silence while Adele had shared everything that had happened the night before, finally concluding with accepting the Duke’s proposal.
“What?” Adele shook her head. “Cora, we cannot do that. It will just make the rumours worse.”
She thought of the wild look in Warner’s eyes the night he had proposed. She remembered the feel of his muscles as she tried to restrain him from the Bow Street Runners.
Because you owe your cousin a debt?Yes. There had been something in his words as he said it, a catch in his voice.Youare imagining things, Adele.Not that she wanted him to want to marry her.
“There will be rumours no matter what you do, Adele. This way you control what those rumours are.” Cora helped herself to a scone.
“But surely this will make everything worse?” Adele folded her arms across her chest. “If the ton sees me all moon-eyed over Wa–— the Duke, then they will just say that proves my guilt.”
“That is why you must both appear in love. You must make your love the loudest thing in the room.” Cora tapped a finger on her lips thoughtfully. “It was your grief that drew you together, and though you tried to fight it, your heart could not help but call to his.”
“Goodness, you make it sound like something out of a novel.” Adele could not help but laugh. “It is hard to imagine Wa— the Duke like that.”
She mentally kicked herself. Ever since that night, she had struggled to think of the Duke as anything other than Warner. It was as though she had broken something when she called his name.
And if I had not, goodness only knows what he would have done to the men.She ran a hand across her arms, remembering the feel of him as she had wrapped her arms around him, struggling to hold back his fury.
“Because that is what will capture their attention.” Cora’s voice brought her back to the present. “The ton will be desperate to curry favour with their latest duchess, but they will resent you if you do not appear to be in love with the Duke. They will call you a social climber.”
“Better than a murderer.” Adele scowled.
“They will probably call you both.” Cora pointed out and Adele winced. “The Duke is a powerful man, and if the ton have any reason to doubt his love for you, they will tear you to shreds. If they think he loves you, and that you love him, that will give them pause. They will fear what he will do to them. And more importantly, their own resentment will fade, for they will see that you and he are choosing one another.”
Except that we are not.A lump formed in Adele’s throat, and she shook her head. “It seems that whatever way I move, I cannot escape the ton’s judgement. At least as a widow, I did not have to rely on anyone else.”
“We all have to rely on people sometimes, dear Adele. That is what friends are for. I have no idea what I would do without my dear friend, Lucretia.” Cora’s eyes softened, and she squeezed Adele’s hand. “I know this is not what you thought, but this wedding will be different.”
“How?”
“You will have us.” Cora gave her an impish smile. “And you cannot think we would allow you to give up widowhood without a proper party.”
Adele laughed and felt some of the tension in her chest ease. Before she could say anything to Cora, the butler appeared. “His Grace is here to see you, Lady Kidlington.”
Adele looked past the man and saw Warner walking down the steps towards them. His strides held that same commanding grace, the same certainty that his eyes had held when he had told her that marrying him was her only option.
She could not help but wonder what it would feel like to have that certainty turned on her, to have him choose her. Her cheeks flushed.I do not want that.
“Your Grace, I had not expected to see you.” Adele was relieved that her voice was steady.
