Page 29 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke (Claimed by Regency Devils #1)

“D aniel! Come back here!” Caroline powered across the garden as she chased down her older brother. “We need to talk!”

“And, as I told you, I have nothing to say!” Daniel did not turn around. He was heading in the direction of the stables, which sat beyond the edges of the back garden.

“I do not care! Will you stop and listen to me?”

Daniel sighed loudly as he stopped walking. Back to her, she saw him shake his head and run his hand through his hair. He was angry with her, she could tell. Annoyed that she had dared to question his authority. Not something that he was used to, clearly. Also, not something that she was used to either.

“If this is about the letter,” he started as he turned around. “It is done. Sent. And there is nothing more that needs to be said about the matter.”

She stormed toward him, the letter in her hand, shaking it before her face as she reached where he stood waiting. “How could you write this? And how could you send it without speaking to me first?”

“Why would I?” He looked genuinely confused by the statement.

“Why would you?” Caroline gawked. “Why would you not! It is about me, after all! And my marriage! The things you wrote in this letter?—”

“Are true,” he spoke over her. “And they needed to be said.”

“They are not! ”

“Caroline...” He shook his head as if with pity. “I do not know why you are so insistent on defending the man. Why you continue to try and convince yourself of a lie which we can all see through.”

“I am not lying. The only lie is?—”

“His Grace is a monster,” her brother spoke over her. “He did not deserve you. What is more, he did not deserve this family. We gave him a chance—more than we should have. And what did he do with it? He spat in our faces, is what.”

“That is simply not what happened?—”

“And this is not about you,” he continued, a snarl now to his tone. “And frankly, I am surprised that you are behaving so selfishly. You of all people, Caroline, must realize that this isn’t only about your marriage to the duke. It is about our family. About me.” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

She shook her head. “This letter... it made me look like a... like a helpless maid! Weak and pathetic and?—”

“Which you were,” he countered before she could finish. “And there is no shame in that. Anybody in your position would be the same, and anybody who reads that letter will understand this. We need to get on top of this, Caroline. We need it known that there was nothing you could have done.”

“But it is all lies! Anthony is nothing like what this letter says!” She waved the letter again. “Nor was our marriage anything like this depicts!”

He chuckled. “You are upset. I see that.”

“I am more than?—”

“But I will remind you of your place!” he snapped. “Remember, you are the one who returned to us! In tears! Broken and suffering. You are the one who fled. We did not force it. We did not come and save you. You ran!”

“I did not flee,” she said. “I simply?—”

“Enough!” he snarled. “I do not know what has gotten into you, but it stops here! I do not have time for this nonsense, Caroline...” He groaned and rubbed his eyes. “And nor do you, for that matter. How we proceed over this next week is paramount to our family’s survival and I expect you to play your part.” He looked warningly at her. “Questions will be raised. Answers will be needed. And when it comes times to give them, I trust I can count on you to do what you do best.” There was a beat as he continued to glare. “Behave yourself!”

To say that Caroline was furious would be an understatement.

When Daniel had told her that he was crafting a letter to send throughout the ton, she had assumed it would be several days before he dared to send it. Enough time at least for her to get her head on straight and assess how she felt. Still, she couldn’t say whether she had done the right thing or not. And still, she could not say if she planned on going back to Anthony and asking for forgiveness.

Not that I can do such a thing now! Even if I wanted to, this letter all but assures our marriage is over.

She shuddered to think of how Anthony might react when he read it, her only saving grace being the assumption that he probably wouldn’t care. This letter, as odd as it was to admit, was exactly how Anthony saw himself, such that he might even be pleased to read it.

Caroline, however, was not pleased. When she finally got her hands on the letter and read its contents... I do not think I have ever been so furious! Worse that it was only days after the fact. Worse that Daniel did not care.

Her brother expected subservience from her. He expected her to behave as she always did. Why would he not? That was the Caroline who he knew best. The coward. The quiet weakling. The good sister who never put a foot wrong. That was who she had always been... or rather, who she was.

Her marriage was over now, she knew, and there was nothing she could do about it. That did not mean that Caroline had not learned from it. She had changed irrevocably during her marriage to Anthony, finding a side to herself she had not known existed until it was screaming in her husband’s face. And where Anthony might not have liked that side of her, she did not give a damn what Daniel thought.

“No,” she spat at Daniel. “I will not behave.”

“Excuse me?” Daniel frowned and leaned back in bewilderment.

“You heard me,” she snarled. “I will not behave . And I certainly will not play along as you intend!”

“Is that right...?” His tone turned cold, and his posture stiffened.

“This is a lie.” She scrunched the letter into a ball and tossed it on the ground by his feet. “And I intend for everyone to know it. In fact, I will write my own letter, one that tells the truth.”

“Will you now?” He took a step toward her.

Once, Caroline might have shrunk back. Now, she stood up to Daniel and sneered. “I will. And what is more, there is nothing you can do about it.”

Caroline fixed her brother in a glare which he returned in kind. He was taller than her by quite a bit, and bigger physically too. If he wished, he could overpower her with ease; something he had done many times in the past. But Caroline wasn’t afraid. After living with Anthony, having stood up to him on many occasions, she almost laughed to see her brother try and intimidate her.

“This is your last chance, Caroline,” he said. “Apologize. Go inside. And I will forget this ever happened.”

“Or what?”

“Or what?” He laughed coldly. “Or this—” He stepped forward and snatched her arm. She cried out and tried to pull free, but he refused to let go. “I did not want it to come to this,” he snarled, spittle flying from between his teeth. “But you leave me no choice. If you will not listen to reason, then I will have to force you to heed my words.”

“Let me go!”

“No!”

“Let me go !” she cried out.

“Or what?”

“I suggest you listen to her,” a voice spoke from behind Caroline. It was not a raised voice. It was not angry. Yet it cut through her and her brother’s arguing like a hammer smashing into the side of a gong. “That is, if you know what is good for you.”

Daniel’s eyes turned wide as he looked over Caroline’s shoulder. “Your Grace!”

While her arm was still held by her brother, Caroline turned about, gasping at the sight of Anthony striding across the garden. Again, he did not look particularly angered. Nor did he hurry. But such was the presence of the man that it was as if he had his own gravitational pull, forcing attention on him fully.

“Anthony...” she gasped.

“Did you not hear her?” Anthony said, coming to a stop several feet back. “She asked you to let her go.”

“This... this does not concern you,” Daniel said bravely. “As far as I am aware, your marriage to my sister has ended! As she tells it.”

Anthony considered this. His eyes flicked to Caroline and behind them she saw something which made her heart leap through her throat. A smile. He fixed it on her, lips pressed together, but that smile in his eyes told her instantly that he was not angry with her as she might have thought. Not even a little bit.

“This is true,” Anthony said. “But you misunderstand me, boy. It is not your sister who I am worried for.” Then, a flicker of a smirk crossed his lips. “Your safety is my concern.”

“What?” Daniel barked. “My safety? What are you on?”

“Handling Her Grace like that is not such a smart idea,” he continued, speaking plainly. “Frankly, I am surprised she has put up with it for as long as she has.”

Caroline looked with confusion at Anthony. What was he doing here? Her first thought was that he had read the letter and it had infuriated him. That he was here to chastise her and her brother for daring to send it out. Not that he was here because he wanted to see her or make up, but to double down on what he had said before.

But again, Caroline found his eyes, and saw that smile in them. This time, it was paired with what looked like regret, a silent plea of an apology which told her the real reason he was here. It told her that she had been right all along.

“Let me go,” she turned back on Daniel. “I will not ask you again.”

He could not have looked more confused. “And if I refuse—argh!” Caroline did not hesitate. Rather, she acted on instinct, slapping her palm across her brother’s cheek with all the force she could muster. He released her instantly, stumbling back and clutching at his face. “You struck me!”

“I did warn you.”

Her brother saw red and lunged for her?—

“I don’t think so.” Moving quickly, Anthony stepped between them, his hand snatching out and grabbing Daniel by the arm before he had a chance to attack. Anthony was bigger than Daniel by quite some way, like a bear standing over a puppy, he barely struggled to hold Daniel’s arm back and then shove him away.

Daniel tripped up, not falling over, but stumbling to regain his balance. “How dare you!”

Anthony stood between Caroline and her brother. Calm. Collected. In total control. “The other night when you were in my home, I overreacted,” Anthony said. “For that, I apologize.”

“Move out of my way!”

“However, if you continue in this action toward my wife, I assure you that the way I treated you the last time we spoke will feel like a warm bath in comparison. Now…” Still perfectly calm, he glared at Daniel, almost daring him to overreact. “… if I let you go, will you do the smart thing? Or the stupid thing?”

Daniel looked furious! He glared at Anthony, then at Caroline, before he seemed to consider the situation and if it was worth pursuing. But Caroline knew her brother well enough to know how cowardly he could be, and where he might have happily taken his anger out on her, he would not do the same to Anthony.

“Fine!” he said, straightening himself up. “Have it your way. All I have done was for this family. But if you wish to... to sully our name! If you wish to be with him . So be it. I will not stop you...” He curled his lip. “Have her.” With that, Daniel turned on his heel and strode for the stables.

Anthony stayed where he was for a moment, watching after Daniel until he was certain that he had left. Only once he was sure that Caroline was safe from him, did he turn back. And once again, he was smiling.

“That was quite the performance,” he said.

Caroline gaped up at Anthony. Her heart was racing. Her mind was running in a dozen different directions. That he was here was one thing. But that he appeared amused, his mood clearly better than the last time she saw him, was another. It gave her hope.

He looked down at her, still wearing that same smile, still looking regretful but also confident, affirmed in his decision to be here and what had made him. Whatever that might be.

“I—”

“Please, Caroline,” he spoke over her. “Before you speak, there is something I need to say. So many things, truth be told.”

Caroline forced her mouth closed, nodding for him to continue, while ignoring the way her heart raced because she suddenly knew what he was going to say without him having to say it. That was how well she knew the man.

“I have been lying to myself,” he began, his voice cracking. “Worse than that, I have lied to you—about everything. I…” He hesitated, biting into his lip. “For my entire life, I have believed what people said of me. What they thought of me. The Cruel Duke…” He laughed bitterly. “So assured was everyone who I met that this was the real me that I let that persona take over. The truth is, I wanted it to.”

“Anthony…”

He held out a hand to silence her. “When my mother died, it broke me. It hurt in ways that even now I still struggle with. It hurt me so much that I made a promise that I would never let anyone make me feel that loss again. I would become cold. Dispassionate. Remove myself emotionally from this world because I figured that would be easier to do. And for a time there, it was…” He shook his head at that. “And then something happened.” He looked at her.

She knew what he wanted her to say, so she said it. “What happened?”

“You entered my life.” He was looking right at her, his eyes seeing her as they always did. There was no anger there. No frustration. No sense that he wished her gone from his sight. The way he looked at her, it was as if he was afraid to blink in case doing so would see her vanish. “I was telling you the truth, that night we first married. What I wanted from this marriage—not just an heir.”

“Peace and quiet,” she said with a smile.

He shook his head. “A marriage that is more than one of convenience. A marriage to a woman who sees me for more than what I am, beyond what people say of me, through me as you always have. You are the first person I have met who has done that, Caroline. Who has dared to give me a chance. At first, I thought it made me weak, caring about you the way I did—relying on your love, as I have done. But now, I know the opposite is true.”

“Which means…” she pressed him gently.

“It makes me strong,” he said, stepping into her. “It makes me whole. It makes me a better man than I thought was possible. What is more, it shows me a future that I had long since given up on. I should have never asked you to leave in the first place.”

“Is that right?” She cocked an eyebrow at him, her heart soaring.

“I want you to return with me. Not because of what your brother wrote, and not because I want an heir or because you might feel obliged. But because…” He hesitated, the lingering remnants of his old self toiling with his conscience.

“Say it,” she said to him. “Say it.”

He straightened up and looked down at her; even before speaking, she could see in his eyes what he was going to say. “I love you, Caroline. I am sick of denying it. I am sick of pretending that it is not what I want or who I am.” He took her hand and squeezed it; her body flooded with warmth at his touch, the same as it did every single time he touched her. “I love you and if you feel the same, I want to give this marriage another chance. I want you in my life, Caroline. Now and forever.”

Caroline’s heart swelled at the words. Indeed, such happiness took her that she felt as if she could fly. She wanted to tell him that she loved him back. She wanted to throw herself at him and kiss him until the world ended. She wanted him, her husband, in ways that defied logic and reason, but she knew to be true.

However, before she did any of that...

“Another chance, you say?”

Anthony frowned. “I just meant?—”

“You have had more than enough chances. Five by my count.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “So tell me, why should I do such a thing?”

“To be fair…” He was grinning. “I have only had four. I am still owed one more.”

She laughed. “So, that is why you are here? To make good on your promise?”

“No,” he said. “To stop breaking them.”

“And after the fifth chance? What then?”

Through with words. Done playing games. And certainly not about to beg. Anthony reached a hand to Caroline’s face, pulling her lips toward his mouth, and kissing her.Proving through action how he felt about her.

She kissed him back. Her arms wrapped around his neck. Her body melded into his. She held on for dear life, their kiss saying everything that needed to be said, confirming the truth of what Anthony had told her, locking down fully what Caroline knew herself to feel for him, and realizing in them both how perfect they were for one another.

Caroline had known that what Anthony had said to her last night wasn’t the truth. She had known it because the love that she felt could not be faked. It was a type of love that they had both fought against. That neither of them had wanted. But that had grown between them because of who they were and how perfect together they were.

Anthony was not the Cruel Duke. Nor was he perfect. But Caroline loved Anthony for who he was, just as he loved her for the same reason. She loved how she felt when she was with him. She loved how he saw her. She loved how he saved her, just as she saved him. She loved... well, she loved him, and it really was that simple.

This marriage of convenience, built on the premise of peace and quiet, had proven to be anything but convenient, anything but quiet, and anything but peaceful. But then again, that was what made it so perfect, the same as it was what made them so perfect for one another.

The End?