Page 57 of A Night of Desire with a Duke
"We're in public view in Hyde Park," James pointed out. "Hardly the setting for impropriety."
"Still, one must be careful of appearances," Mrs. Worthing added. "Especially given yesterday's... excitement."
"You mean the excitement your daughter created with her false accusations?" James's voice was dangerously quiet.
"I saw what I saw," Miss Worthing insisted, though she wouldn't meet his eyes.
"You saw what you wanted to see," Catherine said calmly. "But it doesn't matter now. His Grace has declared his intentions, and I've accepted his courtship. I trust that settles any questions about propriety?"
It was a bold move, publicly confirming what had only been implied yesterday. But Catherine was tired of implications and whispers.
"You've accepted?" Miss Worthing's voice rose. "But Lord Pemberton..."
"Has my deep respect and friendship," Catherine said firmly. "Nothing more."
"How convenient," Miss Worthing sneered. "You throw over a viscount for a duke. How very calculating of you."
"Amelia!" her mother hissed.
But the damage was done. James's expression had gone cold, dangerous.
"Miss Worthing," he said with icy precision, "I believe you owe Lady Catherine an apology."
"For speaking the truth?"
"For being a petty, vindictive child who can't accept that she's lost," James said bluntly. "You've pursued me relentlessly for weeks despite my clear disinterest. Now that I've chosen someone else, you seek to destroy her reputation. It's pathetic."
Miss Worthing gasped. "How dare you?"
"I dare because I'm a duke and you're a fortune hunter who thought a pretty face and ambitious mother would be enough. It wasn't. It never would have been. Even if Lady Catherine didn't exist, I would never have chosen you."
It was brutal, perhaps crueler than necessary. But Catherine saw what James was doing—he was burning bridges publicly, making it clear that Miss Worthing had never been and would never be an option.
"You'll regret this," Mrs. Worthing said coldly. "Both of you."
"I doubt it," James said. "Good day, ladies. Ashford."
He urged the horses forward, leaving the shocked group behind.
"That was rather harsh," Catherine said once they were out of earshot.
"It needed to be. She would have continued her attacks otherwise."
"And now she'll attack more viciously."
"Let her try. She's a nobody with delusions of grandeur. You're the daughter of an earl, soon to be a duchess."
"I haven't agreed to marry you," Catherine pointed out.
"Yet," James said with a confidence that should have annoyed her but instead made her pulse race. "You haven't agreed yet."
Chapter 11
"If one more person asks me about the weather while obviously dying to interrogate me about the Duke, I shall scream. Right here. In the middle of Hyde Park. It will be spectacular."
Catherine's aunt Vivienne laughed, adjusting her parasol against the morning sun. "My dear, you're being courted by the most eligible bachelor in England after he literally fought for your honour. Of course everyone's desperate for details."
"There are no details to give. We've ridden in the park twice, danced at three balls, and had exactly one unchaperoned conversation that lasted all of ten minutes."
