Chapter 2

Chapter Two

“M other, how could you!” Selina shouted after her mother as she chased her through the house.

Each step rattled her, for despite it being later in the day, the dregs of her hangover still lingered, and when paired with the calamity and horror of what had occurred today, it was a wonder that Selina could walk at all, let alone give chase.

“I did what was right,” her mother responded calmly as she strolled down the hallway, apparently none too concerned about her daughter’s hysteria. “And really, dear, with everything that has happened, you should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you! You tricked me! You tricked His Grace and his brother! And the way you did it?—”

“Was necessary!” Lady Langham rounded on Selina quickly. “I thought to include you, dear. I did. But I knew that you would object. You left me no choice.”

“I thought that we had an agreement, Mother? The Season has not yet started, and you allowed me to believe that I would have its entire length to find a husband.”

“And that was the plan,” Lady Langham said simply, showing not an ounce of guilt for her actions. “Truly, I meant it when I said it. But you are three-and-twenty, Selina. If things did not work out the way we hoped this Season, it would be next to impossible for you to find a man of good standing. It was a risk I could not take.”

“And what about me!” Selina cried, her body shaking—part anger, part disbelief, part sickness from the day’s events… and last night’s, for that matter. “I am supposed to marry Lord Edmund without even knowing him? Without having any say whatsoever?!”

Her mother fixed her with an unamused expression, a cold dismissal of her objections. “You had your chance, Selina. You were betrothed to a good man, a duke who was more than either of us could have hoped for. But you ruined that chance, and for that reason, I needed to take matters into my own hands.”

“But—”

“No buts.” Lady Langham held a hand up to silence her daughter. “It is done, and nothing is going to change that. Isn’t that right…” She looked warningly at Selina now, the implication all too clear.

Selina was angry. She was mortified. She was still in disbelief because her mother was many things, but this was a level of conniving yet unseen. But the look her mother fixed her with, as well as its implication, was enough to make her suppress her anger and look away—properly chastised.

My mother is correct in saying that this is all my fault. Mistakes made, actions taken, and consequences now reckoned with.

“You lied to me,” Selina seethed. “You lied to me, and for what? Because you do not trust me.”

“Oh, do not pout, dear,” Lady Langham sighed. “This is about more than marriage, and you know it. You have three sisters to think about—sisters whose chances will considerably improve once you are married to Lord Edmund.”

“They will, regardless of my affairs?—”

“And none of that is to mention your uncle,” Lady Langham cut her off. “Leopold has been a terror since inheriting your father’s title, and I do not need to tell you how cheap the man is! Once you are wed and we have the power of Lord Edmund’s name behind you, he will have no choice but to support us as your father originally wished.”

“Oh, certainly it cannot be that bad!”

“It is worse, dear. Much, much worse.”

The Viscount Langham was the patriarch of their family, an honor inherited after Selina’s father had passed away, leaving behind four daughters and not a son to carry on his legacy. As was the way, this gave Leopold full control of their allowances, which she knew he was withholding because he was as miserly as he was repugnant.

Selina frowned. “Surely, Uncle Leopold does not know how bad things are for us? If you were to speak with him?—”

“Ha! What do you think I have been doing?” Lady Langham scoffed. “The man is intent on turning us into paupers, dear. Which he will do if we do not act! I had hoped it would not come to this, yet here we are. Desperate times, Selina. And I do mean desperate .”

Selina had no idea things were that bad. Oh sure, she was vaguely aware of her family’s financial issues, brought about by the death of her father. But she had not known they were so serious. And she had certainly not known that her family’s entire future rested on her shoulders.

“I am sorry, Mother,” she sighed. “I should not have yelled at you.”

“It is alright, dear.” Her mother took her hands and squeezed them. “I understand perfectly well why you are upset, and I do not begrudge you. All I ask is that you at least try with Lord Edmund. Yes, his reputation is a tad?—”

“Grotesque.”

Lady Langham chuckled. “That is just because he has not met the right woman yet. And if I know one thing about my daughter, there is hardly a man who can resist her charm. Win him over, Selina. Make him realize how lucky he is to have you as his wife, and I promise that if you do that, your marriage will not only be strong but also happy.” She smiled softly, her eyes twinkling as if holding back tears.

“I will, Mother,” Selina said, squeezing her mother’s hands back and returning her smile. “I promise.”

Although Selina could not feel any excitement at the prospect of marrying Lord Edmund, she realized now that she had no real choice. Worse, too, that, unlike the last time she was betrothed, she would have no choice but to proceed with this marriage.

For her family, if nothing else.

Oh yes, Selina had been engaged once before. It was last Season when she had been engaged to the Duke of Thorne—an engagement she had not wanted, for the Duke was said to be a cold and cruel man incapable of love.

She had wanted a love match—ever since she was a little girl, that was all she had wished for. Sensing such a thing would not occur between herself and the Duke of Thorne, she had used trickery to end the engagement, orchestrating a scandal involving the Duke and her cousin. This saw the Duke marry her cousin instead, thus allowing her to escape the betrothal so that she might have a chance to marry the man she wanted, not the one foisted on her.

The irony was bitter to swallow, and if Selina was not feeling so positively crestfallen, she might have even seen the humor in it.

Her only hope was that the man she had met this morning was not the same who would share her bed for the rest of her life. Surely, there was more to Lord Edmund than what the rumors said?

* * *

Something was wrong. And for once, it was not Selina’s fault.

The ball was in full swing, and Selina was desperate not to appear as if her world was about to end. She smiled as she wandered. She laughed as people joked. She feigned excitement the best she could, all the while wondering to herself what would happen when she was forced to speak with Lord Edmund for the first real time.

Lord Edmund, however, was nowhere to be found.

The Duke had arrived late at the ball, and once he had, he asked to have a word with Lady Langham. Selina had seen it happen from across the ballroom, but caught up in conversation with her sisters, she was unable to excuse herself in time to follow them.

The Duke and her mother had disappeared for five minutes, and it did not escape her notice that while the Duke was here, his brother was not. In that, Selina allowed herself to feel hope. She dared to dream. She even hurried out of the house, found the carriage that the Duke had arrived in, and confirmed that it was empty.

Lord Edmund… Where is he?

When she returned to the ballroom, she found the Duke standing in the middle of the ballroom, trying to capture the room’s attention. Lady Langham stood beside him, and when she saw Selina, she beckoned her over.

“There you are!” Lady Langham grabbed her by the arm and pulled her beside her. “Where did you go?”

“What is going on, Mother?” Selina asked, tempering her excitement. “Where is Lord Edmund?”

“Do not worry yourself with such things.”

“He is not here,” Selina noted, still doing her best to refrain from sounding relieved. “Where is he? What has?—”

“I said, do not worry.” Her mother squeezed her hand warningly. “His Grace is about to speak, and all your questions will be answered.”

The Duke stood tall and firm as he patiently waited for the chatter to die down. Selina had forgotten just how powerful the man’s presence was. The scars were one thing, and it did not escape her notice that a few people were looking at them and gasping. But it was his stature that made the murmurs die down quickly, his steely gaze which he swept over the room and fixed on the few who were a bit too slow to stop chattering.

“I wish to make an announcement,” he began, his voice deep like the rumble of thunder. “The reason why Lady Langham is hosting us at her estate this week might not have been spoken about openly, but I am sure that many of you have guessed the reason. Now, it is my pleasure to reveal that reason.”

Selina frowned as she listened. And that frown deepened as she noticed the resigned look on the Duke’s face. He did not seem eager or excited, nor did he seem upset.

Again, Lord Edmund was not here. But the way the Duke spoke suggested that this marriage was still going ahead. Only, if that was the case…

“Oh no…” Selina gasped as realization dawned on her.

“It brings me great pleasure to announce that I have asked for Miss Selina Gouldsmith’s hand in marriage and that she has graciously accepted. We are to be wed!”

The room seemed to spin around Selina as the announcement struck home. Those around them erupted in applause and cheers, but she barely heard it. Hands grabbed at her and pulled her into tight hugs. Kisses on cheeks. Smiles and words of congratulations—a blur, it was, for Selina felt detached from her body, as if she was floating and watching from above.

This cannot be happening . I must have misheard. A mistake! This must be a mistake!

The next ten minutes passed quickly as Selina was passed around the room like a delicious entrée that everyone wished to sample before there was nothing left. Lady Langham stayed by her side, speaking for her, blissfully unaware of how distraught her daughter was.

And as this was happening, Selina watched the Duke closely, the way he shook hands with those who approached him. The way he nodded his head and accepted congratulations without a hint of disappointment. Oh sure, he was not smiling or laughing, but that was not his way.

What she noticed most was, for how shattered her reality was, he seemed completely unaffected!

When he strode out of the room, heading in the direction of the washroom down the hall, Selina followed him. She did not remember saying anything to her mother, instead pulling away and charging after the man set to ruin her life.

What she planned on saying to him, she had no idea. But she was certain something would come to mind once they were alone—a moment that came once she rounded the corner into the empty hallway.

“What do you think you are doing!” she exclaimed in anger, the first words she could remember speaking since the announcement. Not the most elegant turn-of-phrase, but it was a start.

The Duke stopped walking and turned around, saw Selina coming for him, and frowned as if surprised that she was there. Or perhaps he was surprised that she was upset? This lack of empathy, however, only angered her further.

“Miss Gouldsmith, what are you?—”

“I said, what do you think you are doing?!” she snarled as she marched toward him. “How dare you do this!”

At that moment, with how enraged and betrayed she was feeling, she thought she might just charge at him like a bull flying out of the gates.

The Duke did not balk, nor did he move so much as an inch. And as she came closer, his size and breadth seemed to rear up like a mountain springing from the ground, and her temper withered as she was forced to stop before running headfirst into him.

“Will you please calm down,” he said to her, ironically not looking nearly so calm himself.

She could see the corner of his lips twitching and his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. While Selina shook from anger, he appeared at pains to keep himself from exploding.

“Let us discuss this rationally.”

“Rationally, he says!” She threw her hands in the air. “There is nothing rational about this! Your brother, where is he?!”

“He has left.”

“Left? What does that mean?”

“It means that he ran. Rather than marrying you, he chose to flee. With no other choice, I have decided to marry you in his stead.”

“You decided!”

“Yes.”

“What of me? What of what I want!”

“That is irrelevant,” he said in a dispassionate tone. “After what occurred this morning, someone had to marry you. We could not risk letting word get out?—”

“Nobody knows!” she cut him off angrily. The Duke stiffened, likely not used to being spoken over like that. “My mother was the only one who saw what happened, and if you had requested it, surely she would have seen reason.”

“I am afraid that was not an option.”

“It is! If you had just told my mother—stood up to her!” she shouted in his face, caring not for the way his lip twitched. “But no, you… you are a coward! You let my mother walk all over you.”

“Your mother had nothing to do with this.” A growl rumbled in his chest, and she could see the fire in his eyes. “This was about my brother and his reputation. If I canceled the betrothal completely, the ton would have found out. Our family name was at stake here, and you should know there is nothing I would not do to protect it.”

“Ha! If you are so concerned about your family name, perhaps it is your brother whom you should be attempting to control better, not me. I know of his reputation. I know the scoundrel that he is, the rake, the?—”

It happened quickly.

The Duke, fed up with the way he was being treated, took her by the arms, lifted her off her feet, and swung her about until he had her pressed against the wall. He let her go then, careful not to hurt her, but he stayed standing over her, his hulking frame cutting her off so that she could see nothing but his hideous face.

“Let us be clear,” he hissed. “This marriage is not my doing. I do not want this any more than you, but unlike you, I can see reason and understand that duty is what matters now. What we want is secondary. Is that understood?”

Selina stood frozen, terror cascading over her body. She felt like prey cornered by a ravenous predator—one wrong move would surely be the end of her.

She tried to meet his eyes in an effort to show some bravery. But she saw his scars, the fire in his gaze, and she looked away. All the while, her body trembled.

“No, no.” His hand snatched her face, and he forced her to look right at him, right into his eyes. “Do not cower, Miss Gouldsmith. I know that is not who you are.”

“I…” Her voice trembled as she looked into his eyes, as she held them, and as he held her. His hand was hooked under her chin, his grip strong as he bore down on her.

He was terrifying .

“This is me,” he said through a clenched jaw. “And you better get used to it. We have no choice.”

“B-But we do,” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper as her entire body shook with fear at the way he loomed over her. “There is no need to go through with this.”

“This marriage,” he continued, still standing over her—a boulder that she could not move, no matter how hard she tried. “Neither of us wants it, but it is done. And behaving like a child, as you are doing right now, will only worsen what is already a most embarrassing situation.”

Despite the fear, there was something else trickling down Selina’s spine that she could not fathom. The heat radiating from the Duke’s body, his breath, for she could feel its warmth on her skin, made her legs tremble and her heart race… but not in a way that had her wanting to cry or cower.

A tingling sensation began to work its way up her thighs, memories of how she had felt in his arms, the power of the man, the dominance that was his presence. She hated what was happening, but, strangely, a part of her was excited by it.

“Tonight,” he continued, still growling, even if he seemed perfectly calm, “I want you on your best behavior. My brother has already brought shame upon this family, and I will not take such behavior from my future wife. Is that understood?”

She said nothing, refusing to look at him because if she did, her heart rate would spike.

“Answer me,” he barked.

“Y-Yes.”

“Good.” Slowly, he stepped back, but she did not breathe a sigh of relief, still against the wall, still feeling utterly powerless and at his mercy. “And during our wedding—for it will happen soon—I want no surprises. We will marry, and there is nothing either of us can do to stop it.”

“Y-Yes,” she stammered again. “I understand.”

He stepped back further, exhaled, and then straightened. “This was regrettable, Miss Gouldsmith. I would ask that you do not force such an action from me again.” And then, without another word, he turned and strode back down the hallway.

Selina gasped the moment she was alone—a deep breath, for she realized that she had been holding it.

She thought to feel anger, for that was rational. She thought to feel fear, for now she saw the true nature of the beast she was set to marry. But for reasons that she could not fathom, her mind went to the sensation of helplessness and powerlessness and vulnerability she had felt just now, how utterly in the Duke’s thrall she had been. And dammit… it wasn’t nearly as bad as it should have been.

What was that?

It excited her. Far more than it would have had it been Lord Edmund, that was for sure.