Page 19 of Taken By the Dangerous Duke

Perhaps this was why he was thinking of taking Margaret as a wife. She treated him as a person and not a duke. It was refreshing. And, when all was said and done, she would make a life for herself.

“You want out of London,” started the duke. “And, you have accomplished that so far. You have left your awful family behind, and you have vowed never to go back there again. But, you are stuck as to how to do that. I presume you have no friends and family outside of London or you would be headed there. Perhaps you would find some work and a place to live and have a decent life, but I am offering you the guarantee of a better life.”

“Go on,” said Margaret, taking more of the wine.

“To start, you would live in the Garriot residence with me. I have all you could ever want there, and your life will be easy. You could take up hobbies, or do whatever you like in York. You could be far from your family, and I would give you a monthly stipend for the rest of your life. Secondly, you would be married to me, so you would not have to marry the man your father wants to sell you to.”

Margaret nodded her head slowly. “And, what is in it for you?”

“I have never wished to marry, but I do want to carry on my family name. That is the conundrum I face. What I am proposing is that we have a child together. Of course, I cannot dream of bringing a child into this world as a bastard, so the marriage is a must.”

“Of course,” agreed Margaret, a frown on her face.

“As soon as we have a boy, which I hope our first child will be, you can live out your life anywhere you please and however you wish. We will be married in name only, and I will have no claim over you.”

“Only breeding rights,” sniped Margaret.

“Excuse me?” whispered Arthur as the bowls of stew were brought to the table.

“You are as bad as my father,” claimed Margaret, not keeping her voice down. “You want to breed me instead of sell me.”

The barmaid stopped for a second and opened her mouth slightly. She pressed her lips together and walked away from the table.

“I don’t want to breed you,” said the duke. “I just thought that I could offer you something in return for something I need. It is a trade of services.”

“A trade of services?”

“And you don’t even have to put up with me at all. We can be married in a simple affair, you can leave your past behind, and you don’t even need to see me in the estate except for….”

“Except for the one thing all men want,” quipped Margaret.

“Women want it too,” replied Arthur.

Margaret pushed her lips to the side as she squirmed to find a retort to that. A smile came to her face—she knew it was true. “All right, I will concede that one point to you.”

“That is very gracious,” said the duke.

“I don’t like to be trapped.”

“You shall not. I don’t want anything from you except for that one thing, and you will get to live a better life than you could ever dream. You can leave right after you give birth.”

“And not see my child?”

“Or stay,” said the duke. “This is what I am saying. The choice will be yours. But, I expect nothing from you, so you will be able to do whatever you please. And, our son will inherit the Garriot name and fortune. And, you will not want for money.”

“I—”

“And you will not have to be touched by that greasy man.”

“But, I will have to be touched by you,” said Margaret.

“Yes,” was all the duke said.

Margaret sipped some more of the wine and then started eating the stew without saying a word.

“Well?” asked the duke, eager to put this matter to bed.

“I shall think about it,” replied Margaret. “We still have two more days of travel to York, so there is plenty of time to consider the proposition. This is not something I can answer immediately.”

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