Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

W edding preparations were never going to be anything that Samantha looked forward to, but at least with Diana insisting on taking them over from their father, she knew that she would have something that she liked.

He had not taken it well, of course, and accused Diana of meddling, but upon being told that he could take the credit for it regardless, he settled in his room with a bottle of whiskey and did not come out for several hours. Fortunately, it being just Diana and Samantha in the room, they both felt much more at ease in speaking their mind.

"That stuff will be the end of him one day," Diana sighed.

"Do you suppose that one day might be soon?"

"Not soon enough."

"Diana!"

"Yes, I know. We are not supposed to speak of him that way, especially after what happened with mother. I cannot help it. I do not like him."

"I can count on one hand the number of poor souls that do, but that does not signify."

"Samantha, you used to enjoy such comments as that. What has gotten into you?"

"I do not know," she sighed. "Perhaps I am at last growing up."

"Is that to suggest that I am not?"

"No, of course not. Di, I do not mean to be difficult. This is simply…"

"A lot to have happen all at once. I know the feeling, you know, given that I was in your position not too long ago."

"You are right. I should listen to you. Then again, with how much you do not want me to go through with this, I have to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"Are you happy?"

Diana seemed to sit in thought for a moment, and Samantha worried that she had overstepped. They seemed happy together, but with how against Diana was for Samantha to marry, she had to be sure.

"I have never been happier in all my life," Diana sighed. "It feels selfish to say that because the happiest time of my life used to be when Mama was still with us, but now, it is a different sort of happiness. I have an adoring husband and our beautiful children, and you are not too far away, and I no longer have to see our father if I do not wish to. It is strange, and I never saw myself being happy as a wife, but there is no other word for it. It has been the greatest time of my life being a duchess and mother."

"Then why do you not want that for me?"

"I do! You are misunderstanding me, that is all. I want you to have everything in your life that you could possibly want and more, but I want that to be on your terms and at the right time. This, being blackmailed into marrying a stranger over a mistake you made, is neither of those things."

"Well, this is how it is."

"And you seem to have accepted that which is why I will no longer mention it unless you ask me to."

"But you are not happy for me?"

"I am concerned, that is all. You need someone in your life to be, and Father is all too happy to have you off of his hands. I want to be sure that this man will treat you well because after the lives we have had with Father…"

"I know. We both deserve more than we were given."

The two of them shared a look for a moment. For all that had happened to them, they had done what they could, and Diana had truly made something of herself. Samantha longed to as well, even if it meant marrying a stranger that she, quite frankly, did not like all too much.

"Perhaps I should meet him before the wedding?" Diana asked. "Then I can see for myself that he is a good man and will care for you."

"He shall be here later today. He is wanting to look at the marriage contract. You can meet him then if you wish."

"Heavens, no!" Diana said quickly. "No, that would not be the right time at all. We shall invite the two of you to dinner instead. Would you not prefer that?"

"It would give me an evening out of here," she agreed. "Very well. I shall inform him today."

"Wonderful. We shall have an invitation sent."

Diana then seemed to hastily leave, as if she truly did not wish to cross paths with the Duke by mistake. Samantha furrowed her brows at her as she left, wondering what her issue with him was beyond him being engaged to her younger sister. Samantha had at least been cordial with Diana's husband, and with him originally wishing to marry her, she thought that was fair.

She shook her head at herself. He did not wish to; he simply wanted to rescue one of the Earl of Colton's poor daughters, and Diana had been more willing than she had. At least in their case, they had fallen truly in love with one another, and even though Samantha knew she would not have that herself, she knew not to be too greedy. The Duke of Gloryfield was not a monster, she did not think so at least, and so he would be good enough.

A young lady of her background bordering on spinsterhood and risking ruin could not hope for anything more at least.

"My Lady," a maid said to her suddenly, "the Duke of Gloryfield is here."

"Yes, he is to speak with my father this afternoon."

"No, My Lady. He says he wishes to see you first."

Perhaps, Samantha thought as she made her way to the entrance, it was for the best that Diana had made herself scarce if she was not planning on meeting him yet.

"Hello, Your Grace," she said softly with a curtsy. "I had not been expecting you."

"I thought we might promenade," he suggested, but she knew better than to take it as a mere suggestion.

He was telling her that they would promenade, and she was not going to oppose him.

"You will accompany me, will you not?" Samantha asked the maid, who also knew better than to disobey orders and simply nodded and followed.

"Might you wish to tell your father that you are leaving?" the Duke suggested.

"He will not even notice my absence. I hear that my brother is to arrive soon, and so all of his attention is there."

"Very well."

It was an easy enough agreement, with Samantha not wanting the Duke to ask questions, and the Duke likely not caring enough to do so in the first place. Soon enough, they arrived at a park that was bustling with people. Samantha had not seen gatherings like this in a while, save for the party, and she hesitated before stepping out of the carriage.

Everywhere she went, it was the same. Her family was terrible, she was a social climber, and nothing she did would ever change that. Her own fiancé had thought as much himself after all. As if on cue, the stares began, but then, they quickly changed from judgment to bewilderment. Lady Samantha Winston was on the arm of a duke, just as her sister had been.

The Duke did not seem half as fazed by it, instead continuing with her on his arm.

"If anyone asks," he explained quietly, "you and I met through Lord Drowshire, who arranged for the two of us to see each other. We have been courting for three months but had not told the ton because I believed the social season should be about the new debutantes. You were, of course, perfectly happy not to say anything."

It was a good enough excuse and would not attract many questions, but Samantha hated it.

"So, you expect me to go along with that?"

"Of course. Why would you not?"

"Because," she hissed, "it makes it sound as though you are ashamed of me."

"You are on my arm right now, are you not?"

"Yes."

"Then I am quite clearly not ashamed of you. Besides that, it will reflect poorly on myself rather than on you."

"These things always reflect poorly on the lady, never the gentleman."

"Then I shall be sure to rectify situations that come of our agreement as and when necessary. Why are you being so difficult?"

"I am not being difficult!" Samantha snapped, but she could not help but smile at herself.

She was, and she knew she was, but she could not help it. She had known the feeling of being watched by everyone all of the time, and she had always hated it. It had been too much to bear at times whether she smiled through it or not.

"What would you like to tell everyone, then?"

"That we have met at an event, fallen madly in love with one another, and now cannot wait to be married."

"That will only suggest that you were untoward which I suppose is not far from the —"

"Then we could call it a deal between friends?" she suggested, "You spoke with my father, and we are now wanting a practical marriage which is also exactly what this is. Practical."

"I do not understand why we cannot simply say what I want."

"And that is precisely why we cannot," she grinned. "I cannot have you thinking you have complete control over me."

"Not yet. Perhaps when you are my wife?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he smirked.

"I know," he said. "You shall be free to do as you please as promised. Very well, we shall continue on with your version of events, if that is what you wish."

"In which case, as you have now allowed a discussion on the matter, I am willing to relent. We have been courting for three months now and wished for the debutantes to be the center of attention rather than the terrible news that another duke is no longer available."

"You are impossible."

"You proposed to me. You should have known that beforehand."

"There is no ring," he observed suddenly.

"Oh, are you eager to back out now?"

"No, not at all, but it is going to be difficult to explain that we are engaged when you are not wearing a ring."

"Then why did you not give me one?"

"I did not have one on hand at the time. Forgive me, but I did not plan to find a wife at a party when I was not actively seeking a bride at all. Fortunately, I remembered one today and simply forgot to give it to you in the carriage."

Samantha did not wish to marry, but she had always thought about the moment she saw her engagement ring for the first time. It was supposed to make her heart race and her face flush, something beautiful that had been in their family for generations.

Instead, she was given a pearl ring which he did not even put on her finger himself. He pressed it into her hand and then continued walking.

"Come," he said as he walked. "We have people to convince."

She followed along a few steps behind him whilst trying not to raise her voice at him. It would not have been appropriate in that setting.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "You are not beside me now."

"I'm surprised you have noticed."

"I am here with you. That would suggest that I notice you, would it not?"

"You could say that, I suppose."

"All right, we will stop here," he sighed, facing her. "Why are you being so difficult? Is it so hard to smile and act as though you are happy?"

"Is it so hard to act as though you want to marry me?" she snapped.

She did not want to say it, and she knew that she sounded ridiculous, but she could not help herself.

"Let us continue," she decided, forcing the ring onto her finger and walking ahead.

"What a lovely couple the two of you make," one lady in a group of mothers said kindly. "Are the rumors true, perchance?"

"Is the ton not always right about such matters?" The Duke grinned, taking Samantha's hand.

"Oh, it is beautiful!" Another lady gasped.

"It was my mother's. I have had it for years, and I had promised her to give it to the lady that at last made me fall in love."

"Then you, my dear," the first lady said, turning to Samantha, "are a very lucky lady indeed."

"I am the lucky one, I assure you," the Duke continued before Samantha could speak. "I could not be more fortunate to have met Samantha before another gentleman saw sense and married her first."

"Ah, that must be why it is so sudden."

"It is not strictly the proper thing to do, to be sure, but when you meet a lady as special as Lady Samantha, you have no choice."

Samantha blinked. Was he not supposed to pretend they had been courting? Regardless, the ladies liked this a lot and sighed wistfully together as if they were young ladies in love themselves.

"Well, you are both going to make a wonderful duke and duchess. I cannot wait for you to host your own events, too."

"Then we shall be sure to extend an invitation to you," he noted, and then they continued on their way.

"You do not even know those ladies, do you?" she asked.

"Of course not."

"It is funny. You seem to be so at ease with lies."

"I am doing this for your benefit," he groaned "Not to mention the fact that I went with your story rather than mine. You ought to be grateful rather than complaining."

Everything went quiet. Once again, Samantha was supposed to be grateful for something that she did not ask for, nor did she want. The Duke was supposed to be different to her father, but he was proving to her more with every minute that he was just the same. She was only as useful to him as she was willing to comply.

"Lady Samantha?" he asked, but she remained frozen on the path.

"Lady Samantha!"

And then, at last, she saw it — a horse and carriage approaching her at great speed, unable to stop in time. She could not move, only watch as it came closer and closer, and then —

Then there were strong arms around her waist, and she was flying out of the road. She waited for the hard hit of her head against the pavement, but it did not come. Instead, she landed softly, and she realized that she was being covered by someone.

The Duke.

The carriage continued, with the driver giving them a particularly nasty look, but all Samantha could think about was how the Duke's hand felt on her waist. They remained there for a moment, and she could not tear his eyes away from his face. Suddenly, he pulled her up, chuckling as he did so, and she could not help but join in.

Everyone looked away eventually, and Samantha knew that she had been quite unbecoming, but the Duke did not chastise her. He did not seem to care at all.

"Do you still believe that I do not care?" he asked, and her heart pounded.

He dusted himself off, stretching his neck after what had undoubtedly hurt him somewhat.

"Is the story true?" she asked as they continued on their way. "About your mother's ring."

"Of course," he replied. "And my grandmother's and my great-grandmother's. She had planned to give it to her daughter, I heard, but as they only had sons, it was not exactly possible. Nevertheless, she would have considered you a daughter if she were still here, so I do not see a difference."

She was supposed to tell him she was sorry for his loss, but she couldn't.

"I lost my mother too," she whispered. "I do not remember her at all, and I hate it. I shall never know a thing about her."

"I remember my mother, and I used to think I had it the worst of all of my brothers, but I was wrong. I was one of the lucky ones. Lady Samantha, I — give me your hand."

She offered it to him, and he removed the ring. She wondered if he would take it from her and tell her the deal was off and that he could no longer be around her. Instead, he dropped her hand and put the ring back into the box only to pull it out once more.

"May I have your hand once more?" he asked, and she held it up again whilst smirking at him.

He placed the ring on her finger himself, and this time Samantha felt completely different. He had to care about her, at least a little.

It was either that, or he was simply a wonderful liar.