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Their soft footsteps echoed up the stairs, and her heart started beating faster as they reached her door.

I want him to come inside.

It was not a surprising thought, considering what they had done in the library, but Alicia was too shy to voice it.

“You know, someday you are going to invite me in,” the Duke said, as if reading her thoughts.

Alicia licked her lips, pulling the blanket a little tighter around her shoulders as she looked up at him.

“Do you want to come in, now?” she asked hesitantly, a fresh blush suffusing her cheeks.

The Duke smiled, the corridor behind him so dark that she could only see one side of his face.

His fingers were still resting on her elbow, and they tightened a little at her words.

“Not tonight. When the time comes, you’ll beg for me, Duchess, and I shall relish hearing it.”

His intense stare reminded her of the first time she had seen him. Even across a ballroom, it had been penetrating, but at such proximity, she felt as if she could be bewitched by it forever.

Alicia’s guilt flared as she pulled the scratchy blanket tighter around her.

All this time, I have been trying to repel him, but it does not seem fair anymore.

“I have a confession to make,” she said as he leaned against the doorframe, his lips quirking up.

“Oh?” he said. “May I guess what it is?”

“I do not think you will be able to.”

“Hm,” he murmured, tapping a finger on his chin. “Is it the fact that ever since you came to this house, you have been trying to push me away at every turn?”

Alicia stared at him in shock. “I—That is…”

The Duke laughed, crossing his arms over his chest, the picture of an imperious aristocrat.

“I am not stupid, Duchess. I knew from the beginning that this marriage was not what you wanted. I could hardly miss the glares you sent my way or the anger you felt on our wedding day. Why, it was as if I were standing next to a coiled spring, the way you were vibrating with rage.”

Alicia pursed her lips and looked away, not liking his mocking tone. But his thumb and forefinger rose, and he turned her head back toward him.

“All the same, I have enjoyed your efforts. The dresses have been… an education in women’s fashion. I did not know how many ruffles one could fit around the bodice of a dress before I met you. I do hope we will get to five by the end of the week.”

Alicia snorted, rolling her eyes at him as his smile turned into a grin for the first time.

He looked younger, boyish even. She wanted to freeze the image and store it away.

“I am sorry,” she said, leaning against the door. “I did not know what to expect when I came here. I was determined to make you want to get rid of me. I thought it would be easy.”

The Duke’s expression had a softness to it, an intimacy that she feared as much as she craved.

“Mm, I am afraid you greatly underestimated your charms in that regard.”

Alicia held her breath as his relaxed expression suddenly turned into a frown. He cleared his throat, pushing off the doorframe and standing to his full height.

“I look forward to the confection that will greet me tomorrow.”

“Perhaps I shall get another cat,” she said thoughtfully.

The Duke narrowed his eyes. “Dove is quite enough; she is a menace.”