Page 9 of The Duke’s Impossible Match

“Your Grace, perhaps you should come with me. Since you have a vast estate to manage, I’m sure you would not wish to tarry here,” Clara said, moving to the door and almost willing him to leave. There was a grin waiting to break out on his face, but he managed to keep it in check for now.

“It has been lovely meeting you, children. I look forward to my next visit. Your Grace, you are looking as radiant as my great-grandmother always said,” he said, bowing stiffly. Agatha waved her hand in the air, but giggled at the compliment.

The Duke followed Clara down the hall. He was a step behind her, and she could feel the weight of his gaze on the back of her neck. The fine hairs pricked up, and her heart adopted an unsteady beat, as though she wasn’t quite sure of the rhythm.

She badly wanted to ask him if he had made a decision yet because it felt torturous to have to wait for him to make up his mind. However, she buried the question. As it happened, he turned to her before he left.

“Miss Sterling, I have made a decision,” he said. Clara held her breath. “I will immediately renew the lease, pay for the urgent repairs, and personally support St. Margaret’s as my great-grandmother would have wanted.”

“That’s wonderful news, thank you so much, Your Grace. I do apologize for being difficult when we first met. It’s only because I care about these children so deeply and the thought of them being turned out into the street kills me. It truly kills me. This is such a relief, and the children will be overjoyed,” she said, the words tumbling out of her on rushed, excited breaths. Since he agreed to pay for the repairs, she could finally fix everything that needed fixing. She could make St. Margaret’s better than it had ever been.

But he hadn’t finished.

“There is something I need in return,” he said.

Clara’s hope began to diminish, like a flame that flared for a moment and then died down quickly.

“What?” The word came out as a whisper, in a single breath.

He turned his body so that he was facing her directly. There was a serious countenance to his face, and his arms were held rigidly at his side. His voice was low and secretive.

“Allow me to court you for the rest of the season,” he said.

Clara could barely believe her ears. She stared at him and, if she wasn’t rendered breathless by the surprise, she would have laughed. As it was, there was only one word that came to mind.

“No,” she said.

“It will be a fake courtship. I wish for the daughters of the ton to see me as uninterested and unavailable until the season is over.”

Then, after a moment:

“Never. Lying is a terrible example for me to set for the children.”

“Then you will have to be truthful and tell them that you are responsible for the orphanage closing.”

Gerald leaned back. What was he thinking? Surely he wouldn’t withhold helping the children because of this ridiculous, ludicrous proposal. What was he even thinking, asking such a thing of her? She had a good mind to rebuke him and send him running from the house. She would find another way to help the children.

There had to be another way.

However, as her active mind turned, such a way did not present itself. Even though her family had plenty of resources to draw upon, there was nothing they could do about the contract, and should the property go to auction, there was no telling what might happen. The children would be in limbo, fearing that their home would be taken from them. Clara could not allow them to suffer even more than they already had, even if Gerald’s offer was devilish.

As she strained to think of a miracle, Teddy’s soft footsteps approached.

“We just wanted to know if we should start packing our things,” he asked. There was a forlorn look on his face. The vulnerability in his round eyes touched Clara’s heart, and she knew that she must bear anything for the children, no matter how inconvenient it was for her. If this was the only way to save St. Margaret’s, then so be it.

Clara stared at Teddy, then at Gerald, waiting for him to yield. However, his eyes were icy, and his jaw was granite. Where she had been undecided about him until this moment, now she knew that she hated him. To hold this children’s home to ransom was unconscionable, but if he was heartless enough to ask it of her, then he was heartless enough to walk away without helping. Despite her stubbornness and creativity, she couldn’t be certain that she would think of a way to help the children.

Their salvation stood in front of her in the form of this rude, insulting man.

And she was at her mercy because unlike him, she did have a heart.

“No, Teddy, you don’t have to pack. The Duke is going to take care of you. We shall remain in the house. Go and tell the others,” Clara said, her words flat and blunt, each one thumping into the air. Teddy jumped for joy and, forgetting any rules of propriety, flung his arms around Gerald’s leg before galloping away.

“I take it we have an agreement?” he asked.

Clara stared into his cold eyes.

“We do,” she said. She clenched her jaw and grit her teeth, the annoyance she felt straining every muscle in her face.