“Thank you, your Grace. I fear my father will not care for them now I am gone.” Eva felt an explanation was needed.
“I am to leave soon, however my steward will call upon you in two days’ time, Duchess. He will always be at your service, should you require anything, and will explain the accounts I have set up for you that will look after all your needs.”
“Thank you, your Grace,” Eva quickly sank into a curtsy, then turned and walked toward the door. It was as she opened it that something inside her urged her to speak. “I wish you good health and happiness.”
Sleep did not come easy that night for Eva and it was just as she was drifting off that she heard the sound of her bedroom door closing.
“Who is there?”
“It is your husband, Duchess.”
“Is something wrong?” Eva pulled the covers aside and swung her feet out of bed. Surely something must be terribly wrong if he was forced to come into her room.
“Nothing is wrong. I have come to consummate our marriage.”
Eva was shocked at the cold, hard words and could not believe what she had heard. “You said to my father you would not c-consummate the marriage, your Grace - that you do not want an heir.” Eva clutched her chest where her heart was thumping with painful ferocity.#p#分页标题#e#
“I may have said that to your father, yet because it is stipulated in the vow I always intended to do this as my honor is at stake.”
Eva felt panic claw at her as he moved closer to where she sat on the edge of the bed.
“I will make it as painless as I can, Duchess.”
“I do not want you to…not like this!” Eva said, realizing she meant every word. Yes, she wanted a child, but not one conceived in anger. Jumping to her feet, she ran for the door but did not get far as the duke merely stretched out one arm as she raced past him, his fingers caught her and hauled her to his side.
“This must be done,” he then muttered, wrapping his arms around her as she began to struggle.
“Why! Who will know?”
“I will know.” He pulled her into his chest and held her tight. “I must do this!” he rasped, “I must honor the vow my father made.”
“P-please don’t,” she sobbed, struggling to break free from his hold. “Yes, I long for a child but not like this, not one conceived through pain and rage.”
“Many children are conceived in such a way.” His grip tightened as she renewed her struggles. Her efforts proved hopeless, however, against a man whose strength was twice hers. “You will harm only yourself if you do not stop this foolish struggling.”
“Please let me go.”
“I cannot.”
“Wh-why are you loyal to a man who cared so little for you?” she cried, still trying to push herself away from him. She knew he was naked beneath his robe; she felt the heat from his body pressed against her own. She took a deep breath, and her senses were instantly filled with his scent. Fear gripped her as Eva realized that once again she was at a man’s mercy. “I-I thought you were different.”
“I am,” he said softly. Eva stiffened as he ran a hand down her spine. His fingers felt warm through the material of her nightdress. “But it is a matter of honor.”
She knew further resistance was futile; the strength seeped from her body and Eva slumped into her husband. His hand continued to stroke her, as if soothing a skittish mare, and she could never remember being touched this way - not in kindness. “Honor is a word men use so they may commit a multitude of sins.”
“I will not hurt you.” Eva felt his breath in her hair.
“Men always s-say that but they do not mean it.”
“I mean it,” the duke vowed. “I know you have little reason to trust me, Duchess, yet I would ask that you try.”
“Please, your Grace, don’t do this now, not when we both harbor such a distrust of each other.”
Daniel fell silent and just held her close. Her heartbeat had eased; one of her hands held his robe, the other lay flat against his chest. He could feel the dampness of her tears as they trickled down his neck and something inside him moved. Something clenched in the region of his heart, and he was discomfited to realize he felt at peace holding her, almost as if they were comforting each other. His fingers absently loosened the silken length of her plait as his mind worked through the emotions that raged inside him. Her words kept repeating themselves inside his head: Why are you loyal to a man who cared so little for you?
“Honor is the one thing my father has not taken from me.” He heard the pain behind his words. The anger and sense of betrayal still ran deep within him.