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“And it is,” he agreed. “Do not mistake what this is. This is not an effort to seduce you or break from what I said. I am not so dishonorable that I would lie to you so that I might trick you into sleeping with me.”

“Then what is it?”

“You are my wife, I am your husband, and this is our wedding night.” He continued to look at her as if only just now understanding why she was so upset. “I would have thought it was obvious what this was. The very reason that one marries in the first place.”

She balked at that, leaning back. “What are you...” It took a moment. Their eyes met. He raised an eyebrow. The meaning dawned on her. And she cried out and took another step back. “No! You cannot be serious!”

“I assure you I am nothing, if not serious. Why do you think I married in the first place? Not for love. Not for companionship. Not even for expectation, as you might have guessed by now I do not care for what others think of me. I married for one reason and one reason only. To produce an heir.”

Caroline could not help in that moment but remember her mother and father’s marriage. Not what her mother had told her, however, but what she had seen with her own two eyes. The words the duke spoke sounded suspiciously like something her father would have said; he who was so mean and cruel to her mother. And her mother, unable to deny him, would have done exactly as was asked.

Is that what Caroline wanted? A wife whose only use was to bear children for a man who hated her. Whom she also hated. If her parents’ marriage was anything to go by, it would lead to a lifetime of unhappiness. Never mind a marriage of convenience. This would be a marriage of servitude.

All this was clouded by the confusion she felt toiling away at her desires for the duke. That she had enjoyed their kiss so much more than he clearly had hurt her, even if she didn’t fully understand why. He felt nothing for her and if she was to give in...guilt and shame would be nothing to the pain and loneliness I’d be forced to suffer.

She shook her head. “You... you told me this marriage was for convenience. You promised!”

The duke took a moment to himself, brow furrowed, confusion still apparent. He was not upset with her, at least. In fact, if she was to guess it, he almost looked regretful.

“It seems there has been a misunderstanding.”

“You think!”

“What I told you originally was not a lie, and nothing I promised you will change. As I told you, under my roof you will be free to do pretty much anything you wish. As long as it does not bring shame upon my name or this household, this marriage will be a simple affair. However...”

He rose from the chair, his towering frame standing so tall it was as if he might go through the ceiling. She gasped, her neck craning back to look at him. “The simple fact is, I am a duke, and as a duke, it is expected that I will produce an heir. I thought you understood this?”

Caroline could not believe what she was hearing! She was furious because she had known that this was too good to be true, embarrassed because she could not believe she had fallen for his tricks, and hopeless, because she did not know what she could do to stop him.If there is anything at all.

“I...” Her voice began to tremble. “I am surprised. You do not seem like the type who would care for a child.”

“A child?” He frowned as if he didn’t understand the word. “We are not speaking of starting a family together. What I wish for is an heir.”

“Which is a child!”

He considered. “Yes, in a manner of speaking. But you are a lady of the ton, Your Grace?—”

“Caroline,” she snapped.

“Excuse me?”

“My name,” she said. “It is Caroline.”

He chuckled. “As you wish, Caroline. The point I am making is that you know, as do I, that things are expected of us. This marriage alone is proof of that. Such is the way of the world that if we did not have a child together, it would be considered strange. We have no choice.”

Caroline could not believe what she was hearing!

On the one hand, she understood well enough what the duke was saying to her, and she knew the truth of his words. What was more, the general shock present on his face suggested that he truly did think that this was all so expected and obvious that it had never occurred to him to confirm it.Is he really that dense? Or is he just so used to getting his way that he didn’t think it would be a problem?

Not that it mattered. Not that she cared! Caroline had made a promise to herself, and she was not about to break it because of expectation or what was considered right or any of that nonsense! Right was not being forced upon by her husband. Right was not being lied to.

“I said no!” she said, her eyes burning with defiant intensity as she locked them onto him. “You made me a promise. You told me...” She bared her teeth. “You told me what I wished to hear, a lie. That is what you did. You lied to me.”

“I most certainly did not.”

“Ha!”

He groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Peace and quiet…” he then muttered under his breath before giving his head a shake and looking at her again. “You mean to deny me?”