Chapter 6

Chapter Six

T he serious demeanor of the Duke when he requested a meeting in the gardens had raised her hackles.

Over the course of the three dates, she had forgotten what was at stake probably because she was lost enjoying his attention and flirtation. She could swear that he was attracted to as well, going by the way he looked at her

She might be innocent about matters of the marriage bed but there was no mistaking the look in his eyes when he looked at her, like he would love nothing better than the chance to devour her.

The answering shivers those looks inspired on her body, led her to believe that she would not be objecting to his possession whatever dark pleasures those looks promised.

Slowly their banter and numerous meetings had further driven away from her mind the true precarious nature of her stance, but the whispers that had trailed them today had jolted her back to reality, rather rudely she might add.

Unfortunately it seems she was not the only one that had jolted since the Duke had reverted back to his serious, remote personality and the look of determination on his face gave her an inkling on the direction of the thoughts.

She panicked internally, the Duke couldn't change his mind at this point, not when she had promised her sister that she had successfully deflected the duke's attention from her to allow her pursue her romantic interests with her baron.

No, there was nothing to do about it, she had to convince the Duke by any means necessary because the alternative was not tenable.

She stood at the fringes of the ballroom sipping the bad punch slowly, while she waited for the half hour to pass before she left to meet the duke. She tried to appear as calm as possible to prevent any attention on her. That was easier now because it seems that the gossips had moved on to more fleshy prey now that Anthony had left the ballroom and no longer stood beside her

She felt she should probably be slightly insulted that her relevance was determined by the duke's presence around her, but then she was used to being invisible for most of the time of her sojourn in high society.

She was only referred to as 'Miss Charity's sister' or for the more cruel gossips she was ' The old spinster sister'. There was usually nothing interesting to talk about that involved an old spinster but enter the Duke? She seemed to have turned into a succulent morsel for the ton 's gossip to gobble up.

When the half hour was up, the musicians struck their instruments for the third dance of the night. A quadrille.

She heaved a sense of relief because it provided a suitable distraction for her to slip away without anyone noticing, Walking along the wall, she slipped into the gardens, her shoes stepping unto the slightly damp grass, she walked carefully and as quietly as possible, while keeping an eye out for the tall figure of the duke.

By the time she got to the middle of the garden she saw him standing, his back to her, the dim light of the moon glinting you off his dark hair. Standing there he reminded of her of the sculptures of ancient warriors of old. But then he was a battle hero, so it was safe to say he was in league with said warriors.

Clearing her throat, she called, " Your Grace?"

He turned.

"You are here" he said matter of factly not offering her a smile of welcome. If nothing drove home the seriousness of this meeting nothing did.

" It appears that I am " she said shakingly

"The promised three dates elapses today, Miss Hobbs. And while I immensely enjoyed the company of your lovely self, I have come to a decision. My marriage proposal to Miss Charity still stands."

Victoria was frozen for a moment, she had known that this was the direction of the duke's thoughts but something about hearing it proclaimed aloud made it more real

"Why?" she gasped out "I... I thought I was changing your mind

What changed?"

"I definitely enjoyed your companionship but Miss Charity remains the best bride for me taking into consideration my peculiar situation " he said stiffly

"What peculiar situation might that be?" she asked bitterly

"I require a lady that could help me repair the damage to my family's reputation. I require a lady, well loved by the ton , If I marry a lady such as your sister who holds the admiration of the ton , they might look more favorably on me."

"Don't tell me you are willing to marry a woman that does not love you on the slim chance that she might change the opinion of the ton about you."

"We all have to make sacrifices and the amount of responsibility on my shoulders means I cannot afford to make selfish decisions. At least for the best interest of any children I might have in the future and for the tenants in my estate"

"But that is a path to sure misery, your grace. Surely that is too steep a price to pay for some perceived responsibility. Surely you deserve to have a wife that love you. Everyone deserves that"

"I have never considered love as a criteria in my marriage. That is simply a silly emotion that school girls giggle about, it has no place in a marriage between two adults"

As if anybody would venture to profess love to the scarred Beastly duke.

After his betrothed Rose, had fainted on seeing him when he first returned from battle and had broken off their engagement. He had come to the realization that no lady would love the empty scarred shell that the war had turned him into

He remembered with a bitter smile, how beautiful blonde Rose had cried when he had received his commission, proclaiming that she would miss him and promising to write to him. She had kept her word writing to him. Her passionate letters had made the dark painful nights of the days of war pass faster. It was because of those letters he had fought through his pain when he got injuries. It was those letters that had led him to believe she would accept him when he returned.

If such a lady could take one look on his scarred face and reject him, he could never hope that another lady could look beyond his deformity. He was better off marrying for convenience with no such hope involved, that way he could preserve his tattered heart.

Squaring his shoulders, he turned back to Victoria

"I will call on your family home tomorrow at the earliest hour possible. I believe I have a lot to discuss with the viscount. I will bid you goodnight " he said and with a bow, he made to take his leave but was stopped by the feel of dainty fingers on his arm.

He turned back to her, askance.

" Is there any problem, Miss Hobbs?"

" I....I," she stuttered, seemingly at loss for words.

Looking down at her face, he saw the vulnerability and pain that he suffered reflected in her eyes. As much as this decision had hurt him, she suffered also.

He wished he could turn the situation around so that they could go back to having their easy camaraderie between them but if wishes were horses beggars would ride.

* * *

Victoria had experienced pain in her life but the heavy ache that had developed in her chest when Anthony announced his plan to marry her sister despite all her efforts to dissuade him had given her a new interpretation of pain

She had deluded herself that she was only going on dates with the Duke for her sister's sake but in that moment she realized a horrible truth, she had been doing it primarily for herself because she didn't want the duke to marry her sister who despised him at an elemental level. Not when she was here longing and pinning for the littlest scrap of his attention.

The realization was jolting, because she had always thought herself selfless but it seemed that when it came to matters pertaining to this particular duke she could be selfish and possessive to a degree she had never expected

When he turned to leave, she could never understood the desperation that stemmed from a horrible feeling of loss. This desperation had led her to try to stop his retreat, somewhere in her fevered brain she just wanted to stop him because she was sure that if he left that garden it would signify the end of all the joy she had found in the past few weeks. A reality she was not willing to accept.

Now that she stopped him, she could not find the words to express the jumble of emotions that rumbled in her chest. She just stood staring into his eyes watching the familiar pain she felt reflected in his dark eyes. She was totally at loss for what to do but she was definitely not ready to let him go anytime soon.

There was a roaring sound in her ears and it took her sometime but she realized that the sound was that of approaching footsteps.

At that point an idea appeared in her mind and no matter how much she tried to shake it. It lingered as the only plausible solution to her dilemma, never mind that it might be the most devious.

The footsteps were louder now and the duke seemed not to be aware, a lost expression on his face. So she did it. She threw herself on his body curving her arm on his neck to bring his head down for her kiss.

At first, he stiffened with shock, then he responded possessing her mouth ruthlessly. Soon she became lost in the kiss, the idea of the approaching footsteps completely faded in her mind.

He drew her even closer to his body, urged her mouth open to allow his tongue in. At that point the kiss turned volatile, and she could feel herself drawing him even closer overwhelmed by the urge to be even closer to him.

A sound in the garden must have alerted him, because he raised his head to look around but the fever in her blood demanded that he continued kissing her so she turned his face back to her and continued the kiss.

In no time they were as list as before in each other, she could feel his hand fighting her bodice for access to the flesh underneath. Dimly she realized that they were very close to being found naked, as the footsteps she had heard sounded even closer but she could not summon the will to stop him, not when she was drowning in the pleasure he was eliciting from her body.

"Heavens what are they doing," a high screechy voice exclaimed, causing them to jerk apart. Anthony stepped forward using his considerable bulk to shield her while she tried to bring some other to her appearance.

"I should think that was quite obvious My dear Lady Pembroke, the Duke of Devlin was sampling the goods of the old Spinster, " The Viscount Mowbry replied darting a look at her, a sly smile appeared on his face.

"But I must say they are quite considerable charms. I would not mind sampling them myself," he said with a lascivious smile that cause her to shiver in revulsion.

"If you value the teeth in your mouth, my lord, I would advise you keep your eyes on me and desist from making disparaging remarks about my intended. All else I would be happy to retrieve your teeth with a well-placed blow. Trust me, you would not like it if I rearranged your pretty face," the Duke said with a chilling tone.

That had the intended effect of shutting the Viscount's mouth because unlike other dukes who might have made threats involving a duel at dawn, the Duke of Devlin was at heart a warrior and was definitely not afraid to settle scores using brute force no matter what civilized society thought. The dangerous scar that ran down one half of his face also helped in making people wary of him. But once in a while there was always one fool that decided to invade the proverbial lion's den.

Victoria was slowly getting lost in her admiration of the man, until she was reminded of their audience.

"Your intended? But I thought you made an offer for her younger sister," Lady Pembroke's whiny voice came again

"I do have a right to change my mind, don't you think," he replied.

"If you would excuse me, I will guide my fiancée back to the ball."

Turning to her with an impassive look he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her away from their spectators but instead of taking her back to the ballroom he guided her to the entrance, called up her carriage to carry her home, all with an impassive look on her face.

When she got into the carriage and looked up at his cold face, pleading with him with her eyes, her words of apology stuck in her throat, because try as she might, she felt no regret about her actions.

But the cold look on his face made her wonder whether she had just gotten her heart desire at a steep cost.