Page 4 of A Temporary Bride for the Duke

“I don’t care what I have to do to get it. I will never marry you.”

“Will you not?” He raised both eyebrows, showing his amusement at her predicament. “We shall have to see about that.”

“I-I need…” Daisy floundered. She sent a look at her father, hoping he might insert something here, and offer to help, buthe continued to sit in the chair, utterly stupefied and fairly oblivious to the events unfolding around him.

“Time.” She finished her statement belatedly but with gusto. Nothing else had occurred to her, so she clung to the idea ardently.

“But of course.” Baron Dulforth took a step back and spread his hands wide, as if to indicate that he was willing to negotiate. “I shall be generous and give you time.” He lowered his chin slightly so that he might stare directly in her eyes. The depths of those dark orbs were unfathomable, and it was only Daisy’s unshakeable will that kept her from turning away and breaking eye contact. “I am not an unreasonable fellow, my lady. What I want, above all things, is to have my money repaid, but…”

“You will leave us alone? Both my father and I?”

“I will.” He nodded. “You have my word. While you attempt to raise the required funds, I will give you space.”

He took another step away from Daisy and her father, proving that he meant what he said.

Daisy watched him closely. She knew better than to breathe a sigh of relief.

What is the catch?

They had not yet decided how much time the Baron would grant Daisy or her father to get their affairs in order and pay the debt, so she stood stock still and waited for him to continue.

The Baron’s eyes drifted toward Daisy’s father for a moment, then they darted back to hers. “However, if you fail to repay my generosity and persist in this notion that you will never marry me, then I’m afraid that every gossip rag in the city will get news of just what kind of dun territory your father finds himself in.”

Frustration pooled low in her abdomen. “How can you revel in my father’s failures? Have you no sense of propriety? He is supposed to be yourfriend!” Daisy tried because she felt as if she must say something.

Dulforth threw back his head and laughed before raking her with his eyes once more. “Indeed, he is. So, I’m sure he’ll be happy for me to take his precious daughter off his hands. After all, he will no longer need to dole out your pin money once you are wed to me. Knowing you are well taken care of and no longer a burden on his own purse should provide him with an immense sense of comfort.”

Daisy swallowed. Unfortunately, she could not be sure that her father would not be happy to sell her to his friend. He would persuade himself that he was doing her a favor or that it was for her benefit.

She stared at Dulforth, her eyes fixating on the bit of cabbage caught in the thicket of his mustache. She could not imagine surrendering herself to this man under any circumstances.

I shall just have to make sure I get the money.

“The physician is on his way,” the butler announced as he stepped back into the room.

Daisy looked at the servant and scrutinized his placid expression.

Just how much of my conversation with the Baron did he overhear?

She knew it did not matter if the butler eavesdropped, but Daisy sorely wished that he had stepped into the room earlier and saved her from enduring that horrid conversation.

Thankfully, no sooner had the butler arrived than Lydia slipped into the room as well. There was an anxious look on her face. Her eyes went from the slouched figure of the Earl to the worry on Daisy’s face, and she frowned.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“We’re just waiting for the physician,” Daisy said, trying to keep the quaking out of her voice.

Lydia nodded, still looking around, evidently sensing the tension in the room. She pointed to the chaise lounge near the window.

“Come, sit. Let’s wait in comfort,” she said, ignoring the Baron.

Daisy took a breath and nodded. “Yes, I am rather exhausted.”

She sat next to her friend, feeling relieved at her presence and that of the butler. Lydia leaned close to her. “Are you sure everything’s all right? You’re looking rather pale.”

They both looked up when the Baron left the room. Then Daisy turned back to Lydia and found her friend studying her keenly.

“What happened?” she asked.