Page 7 of Sincerely, the Duke
The muscles in his shoulders and back tightened. More flashes of memory returned as he stared at the paper. He’d been at his mother’s feeling like hell and seeming to be burning hot. That’s where he’d seen Miss Fine’s name. On a list. The dowager had been talking about marriage. But damnation, his mother always talked about marriage. His thoughts had been as blurry as his eyes that night. He’d been tortured with debilitating pain, drenching fevers, and an overindulgence of brandy. After leaving her house, he barely remembered anything for the three or four days while the fever had ravaged his body.
He turned the paper over and looked at the stamp. His gut clenched. There was no doubt it was his mother’s. He made a growling noise and took another step closer to her. “How did you get this, Miss Fine?”
She gave him a perplexed blink as her gorgeously long lashes slowly moved up and down. “Mail coach,” she said forthrightly. “The way you intended, I assume. Perhaps you would have preferred we answer your letter by correspondence, but it’s too late for that now.”
Pieces of memory continued to rush back to Rick like a fast-flowing river over flat rocks. Parts of conversation echoed in his mind. He tried to focus through the fog and pull them all together to determine what happened at his mother’s house.
Yes, he remembered hastily writing the letter, but he thought he’d thrown it into the fire before he left. Or, maybe, he thought his mother had. But as unbelievable as it was, the dowager had obviously saved it from destruction and mailed the damned thing. Now, he was standing in his vestibule looking at a stunning young lady who was ready to take him at his word that he had offered for her hand and walk with him to the altar.
Miss Fine’s lips pursed grudgingly for a moment before she spoke. “I know it’s not written on your official stationery and with your seal, but Auntie feels sure it’s your mother’s. As you can see, it’s addressed to me and signed by you. Unless of course, you aren’t the one who signed it.”
For the first time, she looked at him with apprehension. Her eyes narrowed and tightened as her lips pressed tightly closed. Seemingly without movement, her body went rigid.
Her quick change in demeanor caught him off guard and stirred emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time. Compassion surged through him. Perhaps a little sorrow too. She remained still. Quiet. He could see in the depths of her eyes she was suddenly alarmed by the idea she might have come to his home on a fool’s errand. Her words hadbeen said with all sincerity. The lady, who only moments before looked fearless enough to withstand any assault or condemnation he might put forth, was unmistakably rattled by the possibility the letter was a ruse. Rick sensed if he said it wasn’t his hand that put the quill to the paper, she would accept his word.
He watched as she seemingly reached within herself and pulled from a well of strength she hadn’t heretofore tapped. She swallowed hard and lowered her lashes in what he could only perceive as innocence while her hands squeezed the ribbons of her reticule.
“Tell me now if your letter asking me to marry you was a prank or a forgery, Your Grace. I will abide by your word and leave immediately. You’ll never hear from me again.”
Did she know she was giving him a way out of this unfathomable debacle?
He was certain she assumed he was a man of his word. Instinct told him she wasn’t as brave as she appeared or pretended to be. Behind her undoubtable strength, something troubled her. Whether it was his reaction to why she was there or something deeper, he wasn’t sure. But he sensed she held a secret. Her heartfelt response, her sudden fragile expression, and her vulnerability tightened his gut.
Compassion for her rippled through him once again. He unfolded the sheet of parchment and looked down to study it. Those few words could alter his life.
Surely, she saw in his face that he knew it was his signature at the bottom of the letter and his mother’s seal on the back of it the moment he glanced at them. Yet, she gave him opportunity to admit or deny it. All he had to do was lie and say it wasn’t. Or perhaps he could get by with simply hedging on the truth and say it wasn’t aprank, but it wasn’t exactly an official proposal of marriage either and send her on her way.
Then again, cynical, mistrusting scoundrel that he was, and had been most of his life, he was, above all, a man of honor. She was innocent in the back-and-forth that had happened between him and his mother that night. Her story was legitimate in every way as far as he could tell. In his hand he held her proof of the claim. That’s what should make the difference in how he answered her.
A chill worked through him as he studied the paper. Miss Fine had a legitimate marriage proposal from him. He was tempted to take the easy way out of this misfortune and end the discussion here, now, and forever. What was he going to do? Marriage was for better or worse. For life. Could he do the right thing and agree to marry her? Or should he send her on her way?
She would never know the truth.
But he would.
Unable to stop himself, Rick allowed his attention to linger on the delicate line of her nose and delicious fullness of her lips before trailing down to the hollow of her throat, barely visible above the neckline of her clothing. The thought of kissing her caused a whorl of desire to coil tight and spread through him. His attraction to her was real, though he wasn’t certain she’d returned it. Thus far.
She remained still, quiet, and continued to watch him as he glanced from her to the letter and back again. Actually, she was being very patient with him.
There was much to appreciate other than her intense comportment and lovely features. Starting with her nerves of iron. She was exceptionally brave, strong-minded, and had a sense of self-reliance about her that impressed him.And the Duke of Stonerick was not easily impressed by anyone. He’d want his son to have those qualities.
She wasn’t very practical, which was evidenced by her showing up at his door, no matter the reason or how good it might be. That could be overlooked in a lady. Many things could be understood or entirely excused when it came to Miss Fine. Including her overzealous attitude that she had the right to confront him.
He was perplexed because she wasn’t flirtatious in the least considering she was looking at the prospects of marrying him. She hadn’t batted her eyelashes at him once. Nor had she given him a shy smile that so many young ladies liked to present. Someone should have schooled her on the proper way to woo a man. Maybe that was one of the reasons he felt so drawn to her. She wasn’t using anything but the weapon he gave her.
However, he couldn’t get away from wanting to know more about her. What pushed her to seek out a duke who wrote a proposal on unofficial stationery and had the confidence to hand it back to him. Trust him with it. He could have easily kept it or tossed it into a fire and there would be no proof it ever existed.
She looked sturdy without being robust, healthy, and her lineage had to be solid or she wouldn’t have been on his mother’s list of those making their entrance into Society. For that reason too, she would have been schooled in all manners of the elite ton, whether she chose to always abide by them, and well-trained to manage an array of extensive households. She’d just tackled the haughtiest butler in London.
The high fevers, sweats, and agonizing weakness he’d experienced the past few days swept through his mind again. It had taken a long time to recover from the ailmentboth times he’d had it. He was reminded there was the possibility a time would come when the willow bark and other tonics and teas no longer brought the episodes under control.
He didn’t know if or when the fever might return. Or, when he married, how long it would take for his wife to get in the family way. It had taken Shubert’s wife mere weeks, but Wyatt and Fredericka had been married almost a year and still had no babe on the way.
No matter which way it would go for him, Rickneededan heir.
And by gambler’s luck—or the more likely scenario, his mother’s interfering mischief—he had an acceptable, desirable, and intriguing lady standing in front of him expecting to be his bride. He could handle her bold way, yet there was something delicate about her inner being as well. He felt it and wanted to explore it.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have a few strong words with his mother for taking this matter into her own hands and not even alerting him to what she had done.
