The Unexpected Duchess(44)
When he smiled at her, her heart forgot a beat.
“So you can understand now why you should leave Cass alone?” she said softly, but the words made her inexplicably sad. If he did go away and leave Cass alone, Lucy would never see him again, either. It’s what she’d been telling herself she wanted. But did she?
“I can’t do that,” he said.
Lucy’s head snapped up. “What do you mean? Why not?”
He turned to her and looked her in the eye. “I made a promise to my friend.”
“But Cass doesn’t love you.”
He groaned. “Believe me, I understand. It’s been no great fun chasing her around. But it sounds as if Cassandra won’t love anyone but Julian. He holds her in the highest regard, I can tell you that. But even if Julian were to live, he’d come back here and marry her cousin. He planned to do that. I know he did. He told me as much. I promised Swift I’d marry Lady Cassandra and I intend to keep that promise. I’ll be a good husband. She’ll receive a generous allowance after she provides me with an heir, she can go anywhere, do anything. I won’t stand in her way.”
Lucy clenched her fist. She couldn’t believe it. Even after what they’d just discussed, he didn’t intend to stop his pursuit of Cass. This man was refusing to listen to reason. And he was being so cold … so calculating about the prospect of marriage. It shouldn’t surprise her. Many ton marriages were based on much less but for some reason, coming from him, it made her angry. He wasn’t from the ton, damn it. It wasn’t his world. Or hadn’t been, at least. Why did he have to be so matter-of-fact about a proposal?
Lucy nearly scratched her nails down her arms in frustration. “Why do you want a woman who doesn’t want you?”
“You’re wrong. I want to marry a woman who doesn’t love me. That’s quite different than whether she’ll accept me. Don’t confuse marriage with love.”
Lucy’s head rang as if she’d been slapped. Don’t confuse marriage with love. What a mad, mad thing to say. But wasn’t it what she expected from her own marriage? If so, why was it making her so angry right now? It made no sense. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Me? Speechless? There’s a first time for everything indeed.
The duke nodded solemnly. “I plan to give Cassandra time to come to terms with all of this. But I will marry her.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“My dear cousin, I have some good news for you,” Garrett announced to Lucy two nights later, just as they were preparing to leave for yet another ball at the Assembly Rooms. They were walking down the stairway together.
Lucy eyed him askance. “Good news? Whatever do you mean?” She had spent the last two days, vowing, vowing, to keep her nose out of the affairs of her friends. Well, Cass’s at least. After her last frustrating and disappointing interaction with the maddening Duke of Claringdon, she decided to remove herself from the entire situation. She’d done what she could. If Cass wanted him to stop, it was up to her now to say so. He wasn’t listening to Lucy. He was on a blasted mission to honor a dying friend. No, the Duke of Claringdon had no intention of heeding Lucy’s pleas. Never had and never would. She hated to admit defeat but it was time. Only a fool didn’t know when to quit.
Garrett looked dashing in his black formal evening attire and snowy white cravat. “I just learned my friend Berkeley is in town. He’ll be at the ball tonight. He told me he’s very much looking forward to meeting you.”
Lucy wrinkled her brow, trying to remember her cousin’s friend. “Berkeley? Berkeley? The name sounds familiar.”
“We went up to Eton together. Capital fellow. A viscount, don’t you know?” Garrett said. He handed Lucy down onto the landing and followed her off the steps.
Lucy cocked her head to the side. “Why have I never met him?”
“What she means to ask is, Is he handsome?” Jane added from the foyer where she was busily pulling on her pelisse.
“That is not what I meant,” Lucy said, marching into the foyer to retrieve her own pelisse.
“If Lucy doesn’t want to know, I do.” Cass came quietly plodding down the stairs in a pretty green dress. She’d been doing her best the last two days to stop crying and remain brave in the face of the news about Julian. If the idea of a new gentleman’s interest in Lucy kept her preoccupied from her grief, Lucy was more than happy to oblige.
Jane, her pretty silvery pelisse smartly fastened, turned to face them all. “I do, too.”
Garrett arched his brow at all three of them. “Don’t tell me you’re all interested. He’s only one man.”