Say Yes to the Duke (25 page)

She’d been so excited, thinking that perhaps she could fall in love with him. He’d
been attentive on their tour of the conservatory and portrait gallery. He’d been kind
to his grandmother. He’d had the intellectual curiosity Janice desired in a mate,
along with good looks. She could even be enchanted by the fact that he had a premium
title and gobs of wealth—enough to rescue her from her precarious social position
and make her parents proud of her.

Everything was in place, or so she’d thought.

Except for the fact that she preferred a groom to him—and, unbeknownst to her, the
duke had made a lecherous bet about her.

She paused halfway up the stairs, the base of her spine tingling from a sense that
someone was watching her.

She prayed that if it had to be anyone it would be one of the women. Janice understood
them better now and would plead with them to keep her nighttime wanderings secret.

But her stomach clenched when she looked over her shoulder and saw a man’s form at
the base of the staircase. The moon made it very clear that it was the Duke of Halsey
himself.

“Don’t bother wishing you hadn’t turned to see me,” he said quietly. “I would have
recognized you by that braid alone. No other woman here has hair that reflects the
moon so well.”

Her heart was out of control, but she gripped the railing hard in an effort to master
her panic. “Good evening, Your Grace.”

He gave a low laugh. “Come down, Lady Janice. We’ll talk about where you’ve been.
Although I already know.” He bent down and picked up a piece of straw from the tile
floor. “The stables. Yet again.”

She took a few steps down. “I have been there. But I was with—”

“The dog and her puppies?”

“You know about those?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course. I’m master here, my lady. I know everything
that goes on. As I told you when you arrived.”

“But you didn’t, Your Grace. You didn’t know that I was coming here at all.”

“Why are you being so obstreperous, my dear?” He gave a short laugh. “You know I find
it mesmerizing—is that it? You say no to me, but you say yes to everyone else. To
Mrs. Friday, my grandmother, to my other guests. And don’t think I don’t know about
that groom. Have you said yes to him, Lady Janice?”

His tone was silky, almost as if he’d like it were she to admit that she’d done scandalous
things with another man.

Her legs began to shake so hard, she sank down to the steps. “What do you want from
me, Your Grace?” She placed her palm on her coat, above her heart, and had a sudden
flash of longing for Luke.

“I want you to come down here.
Now.
We’re going to finish this conversation in the library.”

“There’s nothing to speak about,” she said. “You may rescind your offer. I won’t marry
you. I know about your wager.”

There was the slightest pause.

He put the edge of a boot on the stairs and his hand around the finial at the bottom
of the banister. “So the groom told you?”

“I don’t know what groom you’re referring to. My own driver told me.” She could use
Oscar’s name. His job wouldn’t be in jeopardy. “And it was despicable of you.”

He didn’t deserve being called Your Grace, and she wouldn’t do it anymore. Her nerves
were shot, and she felt tears building behind her eyes.

“I’m sure it was very upsetting to hear,” he said softly.

His tone set her even more off balance.

He pushed off the step. “Come with me to the library. I’m going to pour you a brandy.
You could use one. So could I.”

For the first time, she considered going. She did need something. She’d been here
only a few days, and nothing had been simple. Nothing.

She stood and walked down the stairs, wondering if she was making a huge mistake.
But if she went to bed now, she’d never sleep. She might as well finish the conversation.

He waited for her, but he didn’t offer his arm.
Thank goodness.
Because she wouldn’t have taken it. They walked side by side down the main corridor,
and as they went it grew darker as they left the bright moonlight behind.

Once inside the elegant room, a tribute to leading a civilized life, she stood quietly
while he lit a lamp and poured two brandies. When he handed her one, their fingers
touched and she felt instantly repelled, although she did her best not to show it.
It would bring her as low as he was.

“So you dislike me more than ever, I see.” He indicated a chair for her to sit on.

Oh, well.
So much for disguising her feelings.

She lowered herself onto an Egyptian-style chair and took a large sip from her glass.
Ugh.
It burned. But it was also what she needed. “You can’t expect me to have any sort
of respect or affection for you after finding out what you’ve done.”

He leaned on the edge of his desk. “Am I supposed to have any of the same for you?
The woman who claimed she’d consider my proposal—while staying out until the middle
of the night in my stables?”

He had her there.

She swallowed more of the brandy, and this time she began to appreciate the flavor
as well as the fiery sensation it produced. “I was going to tell you in the morning
that I couldn’t accept your proposal.”

“Have you considered that it was extraordinary that I offered in the first place?”

“Oh, I know it was.” She nodded. The brandy was beginning to relax her. “I never expected
you, a duke, to offer for me.”

“Yet you’re saying no.”

“Correct.”

He stood and paced before the fire. “This is how I see it, my lady. You’ve not had
a very successful run in London. Your older sister’s reputation seems to overshadow
you. You’ve now been found by me—a peer of the realm with great influence and a sterling
reputation—wandering about after midnight, unchaperoned, up to who-knows-what.” He
stopped and stared at her, and she couldn’t help blushing. “And you also have a terrible
scandal following at your heels, waiting to trip you up.”

“What scandal?” she whispered.

“Must I repeat it?”

“Yes. Let me hear from your lips what it’s about.” She hoped he felt vile and guilty
and slimy as he recounted it.

“It seems that a young man named Finnian Lattimore might have ruined you.” He eyed
her speculatively. “Or he might not have. But there’s been talk.”

She sighed. “It’s a lie.”

He stopped pacing. “The wager I embarked upon was to determine if the rumor was true.”

“How loathsome of you to take ridiculous gossip and use it as fodder for your own
entertainment!” She stood, her breath coming in shallow bursts.

“True or not, the rumor is there. And I admit that you’re right. My participating
in such a bet was a heinous act of cruelty. Shallow. Disgusting.”

“Yes, and if anyone in London knew—”

“But they won’t. Because then you’d have to reveal the rumor, which not everyone has
heard, have they? Probably including your own parents.”

“No.” She gripped her glass hard. “They can’t have. At least, I pray they haven’t.”
She watched him pour himself another brandy. “So why am I here? I won’t apologize
for turning down your offer. And I rescind being grateful for it. That’s all I can
do at this point, because you’re right. I can’t bring down the Duke of Halsey, and
I’m not interested even if I could. I simply want to be left alone. But what will
you
do?”

He came close to her and took the fingertips of her free hand. She wouldn’t let him
see her flinch, but she wanted to pull away.

Desperately.

His knowing brown eyes looked into hers. “Even now you captivate me, Lady Janice.
You act as if this rumor can’t be true, yet you’re spending time in the hay in my
stables. You turn down my proposal of marriage, yet your good reputation is seriously
in danger of being lost forever.”

“And you acted as if you had genuine respect for me,” she retorted, “yet you were
a snake in the grass waiting to strike. Is that why you suggested that near proposal?
So you could talk me into your bed this week—only to rescind the offer when the snow
melts and you can be rid of me?”

She did pull away from him. She walked to the other end of the room to get as far
away from him as she could.

He followed her and sprawled in a chair a few feet away. “My offer was sincere. And
still stands. I told you in my grandmother’s sitting room that every day I’ve had
opportunities to marry and not one woman has stirred me to even consider it until
you arrived. I’ll admit that I was thrown off by your blunt rebuttals of nearly everything
I said. No woman has ever spoken to me quite that way. Nor any man. But the truth
is, Lady Janice, your opposition is the very reason I must have you as my duchess.”

Her opposition …

Good Lord, the dowager’s advice had been right on target! And now Janice wished with
all her heart she’d never followed it. She’d done so out of fear. She hadn’t believed
in herself. She’d needed something outside to prop her up—

But it was wrong.

Wrong.

She had plenty to offer the world.

“I want you because you don’t want me.” He took a sip of brandy and shrugged.

“But I was playing a game,” she said. “A stupid game. I told you no simply to get
your attention, and now I rue that I ever did.”

He gave a short laugh. “I knew you loved Paris. And I could tell you adored Shakespeare.
I also knew that you wished to look at the stars through my telescope. And I happen
to believe you like strawberries and sparkling wine.”

She sighed. “I do. Very much. I was being foolish. And false. I was desperate for
approval, and I believed that by standing out from the others, I might get it.”

She remembered the dowager as the Queen—how driven she’d seemed. Yet desperate, too.
She’d struck a chord with Janice, who’d been just as insecure. Nothing mattered to
her more than being that successful woman everyone expected her to be. But she became
the wrong kind of ambitious as a result.

“You think I’ve never had experience with that sort of thing?” The duke gave a light
laugh. “Clever women know men love a good hunt. You’re not the first female who’s
acted standoffish to capture my attention. But as I watched you fumble your way through
it—and you improved as you went along, I might add—I saw something you didn’t even
see yourself. You truly had no interest in me whatsoever. You never have. From the
moment I met you outside the house. And even when I tried to woo you with a sleigh
ride, interesting conversation in the conservatory, and a declaration of admiration
on the stairs, your attention wasn’t really on me. That glow … it came from another
source.”

She knew very well it came from being with Luke.

“And damned if it didn’t frustrate me,” Grayson said. “But your game ended when you
brought Granny to the sitting room. You’d have fought me tooth and nail to keep her
there. Isn’t that true?”

“Yes. In fact, your grandmother needs to be moved to that wing. The sooner the better.”

“Which is why I still want you as my duchess. You do oppose me, at a much deeper level
than your silly games implied, and I find that … excruciatingly interesting—to the
point that I must have you.”

“There’s something terribly wrong with your reasoning. Don’t you see?”

He shrugged. “I am who I am. And quite frankly, you are who you are—virgin or no.
Yet I’m still willing to take you as my wife. Consider that, my lady. Consider that
very carefully.”

“I don’t need to. I’m not interested in being your trophy. You don’t love me. You
don’t even like me. I’m not sure you like anyone.”

He didn’t deny it.

“Do with my reputation what you will,” she said quietly, “but my answer is still no.”

His eyes flared with heat.

She couldn’t win, could she?

“As soon as the roads clear,” she said “I’m leaving, whether my carriage wheel is
fixed or not. I anticipate that my departure won’t be for several days, so until then,
please stay out of my way, as I will stay out of yours. I’ll take meals in my bedchamber.”

She tried to stride past him, but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Oh, Lady Janice.”

She swallowed hard. His voice was smooth but vastly unsettling. When she looked down
at him, his face wore that same icy expression she’d caught a fleeting glimpse of
twice before.

“What is it?” She dearly wished for her bed. And Luke. Being here with the duke was
becoming an absolute nightmare. Hadn’t Luke warned her when she’d first arrived?

“I appreciate your saying no so vehemently,” Halsey said. “But now, I’m afraid, you
must accept my proposal.”

“I told you,” she said evenly, “I won’t. And if you don’t like it, that’s unfortunate.
I don’t care what you say about me or to whom. Just
leave me alone.
”

He released her arm and stood. He wasn’t as tall as Luke, but he was strong. And athletic.
Luke’s warnings came back to her. His very strongly worded warnings …

The ones she’d ignored.

She had the sudden thought that if she ran, Halsey could chase her down easily and
physically force her to his will. Not that he’d ever do such a thing. He was a prideful
man, yes.

But not a dangerous one.

Surely.

“You
will
accept my proposal,” he said in that soft, understanding voice that made her ill.
“You’re a very caring young lady. So caring that you’re willing to wear hay in your
hair and risk your reputation if it means you can be with the lowlife friend you’ve
made in the stables. Wouldn’t it be a shame if he got into trouble? It’s very easy
to make mistakes as a groom. Tack goes missing; horses are stolen. Not to mention
that puppies can disappear. Quite easily.” He shrugged. “Why, even young widows can
succumb to masterful seduction.”

Their gazes locked.

“You can’t mean—” Janice’s heart beat wildly.

“I know about your little canine family. And Mrs. Friday
is
a luscious morsel. But I’m happy to leave them alone if you cooperate.”