Page 4 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke (Claimed by Regency Devils #1)

Chapter Four

T he duke sighed. “If you are going to continue to look at me like that, ask the question and be done with it.”

“Wh—what question?” Caroline balked, not even realizing that she had been staring.

“The one that is on your mind,” he said. “And do not tell me otherwise, for I can see it in your eyes. Unless you are staring at me for a different reason?” He cocked an eyebrow and that smirk from yesterday returned; the sense that he was mocking her.

Caroline felt her cheeks flush bright red, thanking God that in this instance she was not staring at him for reasons that had anything to do with his physical appearance; she found him handsome, of course, and she doubted there was a woman alive who wouldn’t. Brooding and dark, she wondered quietly why she was so drawn to these qualities when they should have frightened her.

Lucky that for once, her mind was far too busy to be wasted on such fancies. Sitting across from the duke, the carriage moving at pace down the winding road, Caroline’s thoughts were still back at the inn, the request he had made, and what on earth he was thinking by asking such a thing of her.

“I think you know what is on my mind.” She cleared her throat and looked warningly. “The only thing.”

He exhaled sharply, the smirk fading. “Go on then, before I change my mind.”

“I am struggling to understand exactly what it is that you require of me, is all—and I am not slow,” she spoke quickly, widening her eyes at him and glaring. “I understand the request, for you made that perfectly clear. What I do not understand is why.”

“Why I wish to marry?” He was sitting with his legs crossed, his comfort a perfect contrast to how awkward Caroline was feeling. “I would say the answer to that is perfectly obvious.” He looked plainly at her, and she indicated for him to continue. “I am a duke, thirty and one years of age, and single for my entire life, but marriage is expected of me. The real question should be why I would not want to marry.”

“That is not—” She caught her tongue, stopping her first thought because it was brimming with anger. “It just seems odd, is all. The suddenness of the request. That you should ask me to help you.”

“You said that you owed me.”

“Not this!”

“Speak plainly, Lady Caroline, for as much as I enjoy seeing you flustered, even I have my limits.”

She hesitated as she considered how to frame the question. It was clear to her that there was more going on here than a mere desire to marry because the duke thought it the right time and the proper thing to do. Based on what she had seen of the man, he did not strike her as one to care one wit about social expectations, nor did he seem the type who would burden himself with a wife because he thought it proper.

Her mind wandered back to the rumors she knew of him. The Cruel Duke and the things he was said to have done. Is that why he wishes for a bride? Someone else whom he can trap and torment... and then kill? She shuddered at the thought.

“You just do not seem like the...” She clicked her tongue. “Like one who cares for marriage.”

“Do I not?”

“I admit I do not know you very well —”

“Yet you speak as if you do,” he cut over her, his tone turning cold; it brought a chill through the carriage, and she shivered. “Which leads me to suspect the true nature of your hesitation.” He sat himself up and looked right at her, his lips pressed together, and his expression as cold as his tone. “Shall I ask what you have heard of me, or do you wish to pretend as if you do not know about what I speak?”

She gasped, her hand moving to her mouth to try and keep it from turning to a frightened cry. “I... I do not... what I have heard of you?”

He scoffed. “You are a terrible liar, Lady Caroline. And regarding that little nuisance, it is of no concern, nor is it something with which you need worry yourself.”

“I do not know what you?—”

“I am not seeking a love match,” he cut her off, suddenly annoyed. “I am not interested in falling for my wife and living a happily ever after, so you can dispel with the notion. What I want, the only thing, is a marriage of convenience and nothing more. Is that understood?”

It was the first time he had gotten truly angry with her. He had been annoyed by her before. Frustrated. Even short tempered. But in this, she saw a hint of why the name which people called him was very likely a fair moniker, well earned. Strangely, the fact that it annoyed him so spoke volumes, suggesting that perhaps he wasn’t a fan of the name. Which makes sense, for why would he be?”

“A marriage of convenience,” she said. “I think I understand.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am just trying to deduce the parameters of whom I should find for you, is all,” she said. “You have asked for my help, and I intend to do my best. What do you look for in a wife? Physical? Emotional? Her pedigree?”

“As I said, it does not matter.” He smirked again. “Unless you are considering putting up your hand for the position?”

Her cheeks flushed pink again and she looked away. “Of course I am not.”

“Good,” he said sharply. “Then none of that is cause for concern. What I require is a lady of the ton, one willing to marry me, and soon. Beyond that...” He exhaled sharply to himself. “I leave my future in your capable hands.”

“But —”

“We are done here,” he snapped at her, raising his eyebrows in warning, holding his glare on her to ensure that she did not push.

Caroline scrunched her brow and met the glare, because she did not appreciate being spoken to like this. So used to being ignored and walked over and treated as invisible, to suddenly be the object of focus like this, and done so with such venom, was perhaps an even worse fate.

The duke rolled his eyes and shook his head and then went back to looking out of the carriage window, and Caroline sensed that short of her slapping him across the face, he would do everything in his power to ignore her.

She fell back in her seat, still watching him, running through their conversation just now with keen interest and confusion. There was so much he wasn’t telling her. But was it because he really did not care about her opinion or who she chose for him? Or was there another reason, one which for reasons she could only guess, he was determined to keep hidden?

Why do I even care? He wishes to treat me as if I do not matter, I should do the same—I will do the same! I will find him a bride, as I owe him that, and I do not break promises. Beyond that most bizarre of tasks, Caroline decided in the moment that once she was done, she would do everything she could to never hear from or speak to the duke again.

Watching him still, the way he purposefully ignored her, she got the sense that this was one decision made that the two might agree upon.

* * *

They arrived at the Aldworth Estate shortly before noon.

It was a breathtaking piece of land, spread across acres of rolling green fields and farmlands. At its center sat the manor, which itself was one of the biggest Caroline had ever seen; the front doors alone stood two stories high while the colonnades that framed the home were each as thick as the carriage in which she rode.

The carriage trotted through the iron gates at the end of the drive, steadily making its way toward the manor which was nearly another mile in distance. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief to see they had finally reached their destination, as she and the duke had not spoken in hours, and she was just about ready to see him out of her sight for good.

This good mood of hers faltered, however, when the front doors of the manor swung open, pouring from inside her entire family who rushed the carriage like locusts devouring a field of wheat.

She grimaced, her eyes flicking to the duke, who she noticed was eyeing her family with an unreadable expression. Likely annoyance.

“My family,” she explained.

“I do not care,” he said simply.

She curled her lip at him, which he did not see. Why I waste any emotion at all on the man is beyond me!

The carriage soon came to a steady stop. Her family were still rushing for it, and Caroline took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the clamor. Back home, she might go days without being spoken to by her mother, practically ignored as if she was one of the help. Yet she had no doubt that, in this instance, her mother would treat her as if she was the favorite and her heart had broken to find her missing.

I would not be missing if she had looked for me in the first place. But I best not point this out, because that would only upset her further.

Thus, Caroline popped open the door and climbed down from the carriage, just in time for her mother to be on her.

“Caroline!” Her mother was on her instantly, pulling Caroline into a hug so tight that it knocked the wind from out of her lungs. “I knew you would be safe! I knew it!” She then took hold of Caroline by the arms and kissed her on both cheeks. “I did not worry for a moment.”

“Greetings, mother...”

“Did I not say?” Her mother looked back at the others, who were not quite as quick to crowd Caroline but were still coming for her. “Of all of you, if there is one child of mine who is not to be fretted over, it is Caroline.”

“That is simply your way of averting responsibility,” Caroline’s sister, Aurelia swept in next, kissing Caroline once on the cheek. “Which is what you have been doing from the moment you noticed she was missing.”

“I have not been!”

“It is good to see you safe,” Aurelia said before turning on her mother. “Perhaps next time you will save yourself the stress and not leave Caroline behind.”

“You can talk!” her mother blustered. “You were the one I asked to make sure everyone was ready. I cannot be expected to do everything!”

“Averting blame,” Aurelia shrugged. “There she goes again.”

“Caroline!” Her eldest sister, Violet came in next, shoving past Aurelia and her mother to hug Caroline; and thankfully cutting through their bickering. “What on earth were you thinking? Getting left behind like that.” Perhaps not the warmest or most caring of words, but that had always been Violet’s way.

“The blame does not lie with her,” Daniel said. He was standing back, eyeing the scene with a curled lip and sultry expression that was common. “Mother, you ought to count yourself lucky that no harm has befallen Caroline. The fact she was in this position at all…”

As compassionate as her older brother’s words might have sounded, Caroline knew them to be anything but. As the oldest of the troupe, and the only son, he was the official patriarch of the family, a role he took very seriously. What was more, he had traveled ahead of them to be here, leaving a day early and entrusting his sister’s care to that of their mother. The fact that his mother had made such a tremendous mistake no doubt irked him, very likely infuriating his own sense of worth

“I was not blaming her,” Violet said rightly. “Merely observing a fact. And you are correct…” Violet looked to their mother. “This should never have happened.”

Their mother flushed with embarrassment. “As I explained, Daniel, it was Aurelia who I entrusted with?—”

“It does not matter,” he spoke over her. “Their care was in your hands. Although perhaps I should blame myself for trusting you in the first place.”

“Daniel, do us all a favor and go practice falling over somewhere, will you?” That was Eveline, the third sister. She saddled in beside Caroline and winked. “Glad to see you well, Caroline. Although I hope you have a story for us, lest this all be for nothing.”

“Caroline...” Sneaking through her siblings was Iris, the fourth sister—not counting Caroline. She was the youngest, the most shy, and the most doted upon by their mother. “I am glad you are safe.” She smiled warmly, albeit with hesitation.

Her arrival to Aldworth Estate was nothing short of chaotic, but that was to be expected when it came to Caroline and her family.

The oldest of them, Daniel, was distant and closed off. The second eldest, Violet was the most proper and well-liked by their mother. The third sibling, Aurelia, was the black sheep of the family, always fighting with their mother because Aurelia was physically a little plump and this, to their mother, was the worst thing a young lady could be.

Eveline, who was younger than Caroline, had developed a wild side borne from the need to stand out from her older siblings, while Iris, the youngest of the group, was treated as the baby by all; overly looked after and yet to grow into herself.

“What happened?” Eveline demanded.

“Yes, tell us,” Aurelia perked up.

“Give her some space,” Violet sighed.

“Children, children!” her mother cried above them. “One at a time!”

They bickered and carried on like chickens fighting over freshly tossed seed, pulling this way and that on Caroline who did as she always did when she found herself in the throes of her family’s chaos. She shrunk back into herself. The best way to deal with them, she had found, was to let them tire themselves out and grow bored, then she could simply slip away and no one would even notice.

It was at that moment that the duke appeared in the carriage door. His hulking frame had the carriage rocking, and when he stepped down, the ground seemed to shake. A presence that was indomitable, one that was deserving of attention, he said nothing and still it was enough for Caroline’s family to fall silent and gape stupidly.

“Your Grace!” her mother squawked. “This is a most unexpected... we did not... our daughter...”

“Mother,” Caroline sighed and stepped around her siblings and mother. “His Grace was the one who assisted in ensuring that I arrived in one piece.”

“He did what?!”

“He found me,” she said. “And offered to bring me here. A coincidence and nothing more, but one for which I am grateful.”

“You... you did?” her mother balked, only to get a hold of herself and then sweep toward the duke. “Your Grace! We are forever in your debt.” She reached him and curtsied. “And if there is anything you need, you have only to ask. I cannot tell you how much this means, rescuing my daughter as you have done. Truly, words cannot do it justice.”

The duke looked down at her coldly. Then he swept his eyes over Caroline’s brother and four sisters. They were massed together, each staring wide-eyed and in fear—no doubt they recognized him and knew the rumors as Caroline did—none of them making so much as a sound as if hoping he might not notice them.

The duke’s lip curled. “Roderick,” he said.

Her mother reared back. “Roderick? What are you...?”

“Aldworth,” he corrected with a frustrated growl. “Where is he?”

“Oh...” Her mother frowned and looked back at her children. “I am not?—”

“His study, Your Grace,” Violet spoke up. “I was just with him.” She was set to marry the Duke of Aldworth, this weekend being their engagement party, so it made sense that she would know his whereabouts.

The duke exhaled through his nose, stepped around Caroline’s mother, and stormed down the drive toward the manor. Not once did he look back. Not once did he give any indication that he was appreciative of Caroline’s mother’s thanks or gave a damn. The doors to the manor were already open and he strode inside, gone in an instant as if he never was.

“Was that the Duke of Eggelton?” Aurelia gasped.

“The Cruel Duke?” Eveline added.

“Eveline!” her mother cried. “Do not say such things!”

“That is what he is called!”

“It is only rumor,” Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes. “Everyone knows that.”

“It is not!” Eveline argued. “It is true!”

“What is true?” Iris asked, her voice barely heard. “What is true?”

“Ignore them.” Violet rested a hand on Iris's shoulder.

“He is a strange one, at the very least,” Caroline’s mother said, still watching where the duke had left them. “Caroline, how on earth did you come to be in his company?”

To this, Caroline shook her head to herself. A story that even now, she could not believe that she had found herself to be a part of. The damsel in distress, saved not by a dashing prince, but by a monster posing as a gentleman. Where to even begin?

She looked to her family, finding all eyes upon her, silent and expecting. For once, she realized, she had found herself at the center of their attention, rather than having to fight for it. Whether this was a good thing or not... she was not so sure.