Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

" I trust you can manage to behave yourself for the next few hours?" Lord Worlington growled at Nora, glaring at her like he would rather she hadn't been invited.

"Heaven only knows why the Duke would personally invite you," he muttered under his breath before turning to glare at her once more. "I certainly hope you haven't managed to cause any trouble for me, girl. I will not be as kind as I am now if that's the case."

Nora scoffed quietly. The Viscount did not know the meaning of the word kind . He had locked her in her room all week, only allowing the door to be opened whenever she was to have a bath or eat.

Unfortunately for her, none of the servants were willing to risk their positions for her, and she would never ask them to. Although she could tell that they pitied her and wished she did not have to experience this, they unfortunately feared Lord Worlington more, and that was all it took to keep her captive.

It was surprising even that he continued to feed her every time she was supposed to eat, although she was certain it was because he planned to marry her off and did not want her looking terrible when the time came time to marry her off.

To him, she was merely a means to fill his coffers with money. She had never been anything more, and it would be delusional for her to imagine the opposite. Until the day came when she was to marry, she would remain a stranger.

A prisoner in my own home.

"Is anything funny, girl?" Lord Worlington growled once more, coming to stand before her menacingly.

He had been more threatening towards her lately, which she knew was because now he believed she had no right to refuse to act in the way that he wanted her to act..

She shook her head immediately. This was the first time she would be let out of her room, and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin it and be sent back to her room before she could even make it out the door.

"No, Lord Worlington," she responded somewhat meekly.

She had not lost her fire as he thought. However, it was best that he thought so. Nora did not know what her next move would be. She hadn't expected her stepfather to find out about her ruining her reputation. Nor had she realized that she would be caught and locked the moment she returned, before she even had time to try to convince her mother to leave once more.

She stared at her mother now, wishing the woman would find her strength and try to help her at least once.

Her mother had come to her room once. Nora couldn't tell if it was on Lord Worlington's orders or if she had chosen to do so on her own. Her mother had tried to make her see reasons why marrying the man Lord Worlington had chosen for her might not be a bad choice after all, especially if it would get her out of her room.being locked up.

Her eyes remained fixed on the carriage door, looking anywhere but at her mother. In all the years she had willed her mother to fight back and leave her scoundrel of a husband, this was the first time she had ever truly been exceptionally disappointed in her.

They arrived at the dinner party in the estate that Nora had visited a few times. She looked up when she stepped out. This was the first time she would be arriving without a cloak wrapped around her, and yet it didn't feel as wonderful as she'd always imagined it would be.

"Remember what I said, Nora. You are to stay within sight at all times. The moment you leave my sight for even a moment, we will all be returning home, and you will face punishment for your actions. I need not try to impress upon you why that would be grave," the Viscount said in a threatening tone, wrapping his hand around her arm tightly.

"Your future husband will be visiting us in a couple of days to discuss the details of your marriage. You will be married off by the end of the month." He grinned at her, his smile widening when her mask of composure slipped, showing how horrified she truly was.

Hearing him set a date suddenly made her see how real it was. She would be losing her freedom soon enough and becoming the woman her mother had slowly become under the Viscount's terror.

He let go and sighed, putting on an air of civility. "Well, come on, then."

He held an arm out for her mother, who took it and followed him in while Nora walked behind them, her steps trudging, every second leading her to her doom.

Nora walked in, looking around for her friends. She heaved a sigh when she saw Selina waving her hands at her excitedly and rushed over to them.

"Nora, oh dear heavens, I have missed you so," Selina said, wrapping her in a hug. "Are you all right?"

Thalia looked at her before pulling her into her arms much like Selina had. "Tell me, Nora. What had happened in the past days?"

Nora swallowed back her tears now that she was away from the house and with her friends. "The Viscount was waiting for me when I returned home. He'd found out what happened and was so enraged. I have been locked up in my room all week, and this is the first time I've been allowed out since he locked me in."

She shook her head to clear the sadness she felt. "The Duke was kind enough to escort me back to London when I realized I couldn't leave my mother behind. I haven't been able to thank him."

She frowned. A part of her wanted to tell them all about the night she spent at the inn with him, but it suddenly seemed so private. A memory she wanted to cherish for herself.

"It's quite clear to me now. I am in love with the Duke, but he is not in love with me. I have decided it is best if I do as Lord Worlington says and marry the man he's chosen for me. Surely, he cannot be so terrible that he is worse than the Viscount," she said sadly, her words holding so much pain.

"Oh, but the Duke seemed to be?—"-"

Thalia shook her head at Selina, stopping her words. "Enough, Selina. I'm sure Nora knows more about how the Duke feels than we do."

Selina heaved a sigh, her usually happy mood suddenly dampened.

Guilt ripped through Nora. She had only just met her friends after over a week, and she had managed to ruin the mood.

Samuel's eyes continued to drift to Nora no matter how many times he tried not to look at her. He could tell that she did not wish to be there. Her eyes told the story of her tiredness, although every other part of her was so put together that he would be none the wiser if he hadn't already known all that she'd had to go through at the hands of that swine.

I have to find a way to speak with her alone.

That was the only way he would ever truly be able to ease his worries. Not that he thought he would ever be truly free of his worries about her.

"Samuel, the evening is perfect for a stroll, and I'm sure Lady Marina is quite wound up from being in such a crowded room. Perhaps you could take her for a walk around the gardens," his mother asked him, wearing a small smile.

Samuel looked between his mother and the petite blonde. She curtsied, giving him that beautiful smile, but he was not moved.

All night, his mother had constantly tried to get them to talk, even though he had made it clear from the moment she chose to invite the lady that he was not interested and would have nothing to do with her.

His mother had never been so resilient about matching him with a lady as she was with Lady Marina.

"May I speak with you for a moment, Mother?" he asked. "Alone?"

Lucy-Anne looked between her son and the woman she wished him to marry, her expression showing how torn she was to leave her out of their conversation.

Samuel scoffed. His mother had never been torn when it came to making decisions that concerned him, not even when she knew his interest lay elsewhere. He walked a short distance away, waiting for her to join him.

He stopped after he was sure they were out of earshot and stared at her. "Mother, I need you to stop insisting on matching me with Lady Marina because I will not marry her."

The Dowager Duchess matched his look. "You have not tried to find a duchess for yourself, which is why I have had to resort to such means. You can no longer avoid it. It is your duty as the Duke to marry and have an heir. How else will you carry on the family name?"

Samuel glared at her, utterly irritated by her refusal to let the topic go. "We have had this conversation before, Mother. I will not entertain it again, because this will be the end of this discussion."

His mother looked taken aback. "Samuel! Where is your understanding of responsibility?!"

Samuel walked off, leaving her standing there. He realized that he no longer cared about what was expected of him as the Duke. Nora had changed that for him.

He had always been able to pick up on the signs, although she tried not to let it show, since they were entertaining.

"Your Grace, this note came in for you," the butler said, handing him a note.

Samuel looked at it quizzically, turning it around for a clue of whom it was from. However, the note did not include a name.

Meet me at the veranda. We need to talk.

He crumbled the note in his hands, immediately turning and heading in that direction. Surely it had to be from Nora. She must have been looking for a way to speak with him. He struggled to wipe the smile off his face as he hurried towards the veranda.

Samuel paused when a movement caught his attention. He frowned when he saw Nora walking down the hallway. He hurried after her, eager to speak with her.

There were so many things he wished to speak with her about, none of which seemed right whenever he thought about them. But first, he wanted to apologize to her for being cold during their trip back. He knew she had begun to develop feelings for him, that much had been obvious for a while. However, he should have handled the situation better, even if he did not wish to be married.

He followed her, his brow furrowing as she turned a bend that led away from the veranda and into the study. She'd been there enough times to know where the veranda was. He shrugged as he followed her into the study.

"Nora," he called, reaching to touch her.

He withdrew his hand when she jumped and turned around in surprise. She looked shocked to see him there.

"Your Grace, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Samuel took in all of her and the letter in her hand. She hid it behind her, her face turning red at being caught.

"I should be asking you what you are doing here," he said.

Shouldn't you be on the veranda?

"I got lost and couldn't find my way back," she said in a small voice.

Samuel shook his head, advancing towards her. "You have been here a few times already. You cannot get lost so easily."

She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. At that moment, Samuel realized the one thing that mattered more than anything he'd been thinking about telling her when he finally had a chance to speak with her.

I've missed you.

He cleared his throat. "I have been so worried about you. So worried that Lord Worlington would try to hurt you that it has hounded my every waking and sleeping moment. I haven't been able to sleep for the past few days."

He looked away from her. it was the first time he would reveal his feelings to anyone, the first time he'd truly felt something for anyone, and it hadn't been so easy for him to admit.

"Your Grace, this may be the last time that we see each other," Nora said, ignoring what had turned out to be a slight confession on his part. But it possibly meant nothing to her, considering how much he'd changed his mind and how he had been harsh with her.

"I am to be married soon and will no longer be able to see you," she said, looking away from him.

Samuel's heart pounded heavily in his chest. He hadn't the faintest idea how he had expected things to go. However, things were turning out wrong. Despite knowing already that the Viscount wished to marry her off, hearing it from her lips and seeing the look of hopelessness that showed that her fight was over and that she believed she had lost was too much for him to bear.

"There is still one more night for us to spend together if we include the night spent at the inn," he said calmly, although his emotions were like a raging sea.

Nora looked up at him with disbelief. "Don't you get what I am trying to tell you, Your Grace? I do not have one more night to share with you. I am a prisoner until I am married, and even that is to happen sooner than I thought. It's all over."

Her words ended with a choked sob, her legs giving out as she used the table in his study to hold herself up. She breathed in deeply, her eyes filling with hurt and pain she'd tried so hard to keep from him in all the times that they were together.

They were two broken people, like she had said at the inn. Broken and hurt, disappointed by those who should've protected them. He was the only one she had left to protect him from what was beginning to seem like her fate.

Will I fail you too?

Samuel swallowed back his emotions. Now was the time to be logical and think up a way to help her. He reached behind her in her unguarded moment and snatched the letter from her hand.

"No… don't read that!" she screamed, rushing towards him to get it from him.

Her mouth opened in shock, and her eyes widened as she lost her footing and stumbled into him, knocking him down, with her on top of him.

She gasped, trying to pull away from him as she once again tried to get back her letter. "You cannot read that. Not yet, at least. Not before I leave."

Her voice was pleading, and yet Samuel paid her no mind, holding her to him with one hand and ripping the letter open with the other. His eyes scanned the letter, confirming what he already knew to be true. This was goodbye and regret at having not been able to tell him that she loved him. Wishing things had turned out differently between them.

"You were not supposed to see that until I left. I was planning to hide it in one of your drawers so you would find it someday, but not today," she said, her voice defeated.

She pushed herself up with her hands on his chest, but he held her in place. "Why did you send me a note to meet you on the veranda?"

Nora looked at him quizzically. "I never sent you any note. This is the only one I planned to send you."

She motioned to the letter in his hands just as they heard voices coming up in the direction of the study. She tried to stand up, her eyes wide with panic, but she was not quick enough, as the door opened to show a couple of the guests along with Lord Worlington walking into the room.

"Nora? We have been looking all over for you, and this is what you are up to?" he bellowed as she flinched.

Her mouth opened, and she got off Samuel, standing with so many eyes on her. They had been caught in a scandal.

"Get over here, girl," Timothy said, taking her hand in his and dragging her out of the room.

"Don't hurt her," Samuel said, getting up off the floor to follow after them.

He did not care much for what the crowd thought. The only thing he cared about was getting to her before Lord Worlington could hurt her, considering all she had already been through under his tyranny.

"Samuel, stop right this instant," his mother screamed, stopping in his path. Her eyes held her fury as she glared at him with so much anger than he had ever seen her display before.

"What is wrong with you? Your behavior is quite inappropriate. What is this I am hearing about a scandal?" she snapped, poking his chest. "You are an embarrassment. I can barely recognize you anymore."

Samuel returned his mother's glare, causing her to back down "I don't care what you think, Mother, and I certainly do not care what members of the ton think of me. I only care about Nora, and right now you are in my way."

He spoke loud enough to command the attention of those who were around him, and they stared at him in shock. He had meant it when he said he didn't care what anyone thought. Not even his mother.

He walked past her, relieved when she did not run after him or try to stop him. All he wanted was to reach them before they disappeared.

Guilt filled him as he ran outside. He should've let her go when she tried to get away from him. It was the only way he could ensure that her stepfather did not harm her.

No, that's not true.

He shook his head. The man delighted in hitting women weaker than him. He would have tried to hurt her no matter what had happened today.

Samuel's face set with determination. This would be the last time he would allow the Viscount to raise his hand to Nora. Never again would she be subjected to the kind of punishment he had constantly inflicted on her.

Samuel

He reached their carriage just as Lord Worlington pushed Nora towards it.

"Get in, you stupid girl. I should have known you would find a way to embarrass me no matter how much I tried to drill it into your head not to do so. I warned you of the consequences of your actions, but you didn't listen, and now whatever happens is on you."

He raised his hand to hit her just as Samuel rushed towards him and punched him in the chin, causing him to lose his balance and fall over.

The Viscountess rushed towards them, her arms stretched out to help her husband up to his feet, but he brushed her away, looking at her with scorn.

"Get off me, woman. This is all your doing. You should have been harsher with her and taught her how a woman should behave. Instead, you would rather chase after me and try to control everything I do," he bellowed, standing to his feet.

He stared at the Duke, his glare faltering the moment he saw the murderous glint in Samuel's eyes. Samuel regarded the pair with irritation. The mother for caring too much about a man who would hurt her daughter and the man for hitting Nora.

His hands clenched into fists, and he watched as the Viscount took a step back.

What a weakling of a man.

He calmed himself, looking at Nora, who stood with her hands wrapped around herself as though she would rather be anywhere but there. Regret and guilt filled him once again. This was not how he had expected things to play out when he planned the dinner party.

He shook his head. None of it mattered anymore. He would make it right one way or another.

"I will be coming by the estate tomorrow to speak with you. If I see any hair out of place or missing from her head, I will make sure you pay dearly for it. Are we clear?" he growled, glaring at the Viscount, who looked like he was barely managing to hold himself back from punching Samuel.

"You had better be there tomorrow like you have said," the Viscount said instead, climbing into the carriage after ushering Nora and the Viscountess in.

Nora remained silent as the carriage drove them home. Even her mother, who was often given to tears and pleading, knew to remain silent. The air between them was charged as Timothy massaged his chin where Samuel had punched him.

He laughed suddenly, the sound causing her to jump as he leaned forward to stare at her. "How cunning you are. I never would have expected this from you, with how you behave."

He laughed again, clapping his hands maniacally as Nora looked at her mother, who was watching him, not knowing how to respond to his sudden outburst of laughter.

"This is actually working in our favor, my dear. You did the right thing, and I must say that you have made me proud tonight. I have never been so impressed as I am now," he said, laughing once again, only stopping when he winced from the pain in his jaw.

"Perhaps I should be angry that he hit me, but I cannot be, not when you will be marrying a duke and making me a lot of money. My coffers have never had such a prospect of looking so abundant before."

The Viscount cackled once again, leaning back into his seat as the Viscountess wrapped her hand around Nora's.

Nora looked down at their intertwined hands as her stomach dropped. This was so much worse than marrying whatever old baron the Viscount had chosen for her. He only intended to use the Duke as a means to make money. She could not allow it.

What can I do?

The Viscount was so much stronger than her, and now that everyone knew they had been caught in a terrible position, it would ruin her if the Duke did not marry her. She doubted the Baron would be eager to marry her when he found out her reputation had truly been ruined.

She could only imagine Lord Worlington's reaction if things did not go the way he wanted them to.

The Viscount laughed once again, looking up at the ceiling of the carriage, his fingers calculating some imaginary sum.

"I do not care how it came to be or how you managed to lure him into the study with you, but marrying a duke is definitely better than the baron I had planned to marry you off to, no matter how ill-mannered of a man the Duke is."

He glowered before bursting into laughter once again, the sound grating on Nora's ears as the carriage drove them back home.