Page 23 of Taken By the Dangerous Duke

“I will come with you,” she said.

“To York?”

“Yes, to York. And, I accept your terms.”

“My terms? You mean…?” asked the duke.

“Yes, I will marry you.”

“What changed your mind?” he asked.

“What?”

“Did something change your mind?”

“No,” claimed Margaret, the dream still fresh in her mind. “I thought about it, and it is the best thing to do for both of us. But that is all it is—we will have a child together, and then we will go our separate ways.”

“You have sole breeding rights to me,” quipped the duke.

Margaret did not respond to that. She was not in the mood to be joking, not with the feeling of dread still pulsing through her. The dream was still fresh in her mind, and while she knew it was only a dream, she worried that it would become a reality—that she had seen the future. She needed to make sure that she could never be taken back there.

“When do we leave?” she asked.

“We can leave now,” said the duke. “To tell the truth, I wanted to wait around a little in case you changed your mind.”

“You thought I was not going to come?” asked Margaret.

“I had a hunch.”

“I will give you the money back.”

“Don’t worry about it. As I already said, if we are to be married, you have nothing to worry about ever again. Keep the money, and think of it as….”

“Were you going to say, a deposit?” asked Margaret. “You really are romantic.” Margaret had recomposed herself.

“I try,” said the duke. “Come on, we can get going immediately and make it back to York before supper. The cooks will have prepared some food for my return, and they always have extra food in case I bring company.”

“Company?” asked Margaret. “Should I be getting jealous already?”

“Only if you are jealous of old businessmen,” he replied.

“I would like to avoid old men for now,” said Margaret, not adding any context to that statement. She could still see the drooling face of Gerald above her. The feeling of fear sat in her stomach until the coach pulled away from Lescott. Once she was on the road again with the duke to keep her safe, and Jester by her side, she felt the relief wash over her.

Margaret poked her head out of the coach a couple of times to look behind, and there were occasionally walkers or riders, but no coaches, and no sign of Gerald or her parents. She wondered if the feeling that washed over her was happiness or just the lack of sadness. She was not sure if she was truly happy with her decisions, but at least she was not joyless anymore.

When she decided to run away from her home, from London, she never expected in a million years that it would end up like this. She now had two men by her side, a duke and a cat. What would Cynthia think when she finally got a chance to write to her? Would she even believe the tale? Two days from London, and she had lived a lifetime of experiences.

The duke graciously did not try to make small-talk as they rode. He had sensed that Margaret was dealing with something—something new—and he remained silent. Margaret glanced over at him occasionally and felt grateful to the man. He had saved her, and he was giving her a new life.

Would she need to plan the wedding? They were not marrying for love, so would it be better to have a simple affair? And, she would not have any family there, but would he? Did the duke have any family? Was she really prepared to marry a man she did not know? Compared to the alternative, it felt like the sanest decision she could make.

But there was worry too. A worry of the unknown. What would this new chapter of her life bring, and could she deal with the problems that would surely arise? And when she got pregnant, what would she do with her life after that? And, would her parents even bother to look for her, and how far would they go to find her?

Margaret had a million questions running around in her mind, but they quickly slipped away when they arrived at the outskirts of York, and the Garriot residence. Margaret peered out the window in awe as they passed through the gates. The mansion was spectacular, and it was her new home.

CHAPTER11

A Wedding Like No Other

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