Page 5 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke (Claimed by Regency Devils #1)

Chapter Five

“N ow that we are alone, tell me what really happened,” Aurelia demanded as she dragged Caroline into her bedroom, closing the door behind them.

“I told you already,” Caroline said, wishing that she was better at lying because the look on her face was sure to give the lie away. “It was as I explained it to mother.”

Aurelia blew through her lips. “Do not think I did not see the holes peppered throughout your little tale, Caroline. You might have mother fooled, and that dolt Daniel—which is no great compliment, as you know our brother only sees what he wishes to see. And to be fair, if he was to get even a whiff of foul play...” Her lip curled. “Honestly, he is turning more and more into our father by the day.”

“Aurelia...” Caroline felt her cheeks grow red. She tried to act aloof, walking across the room and opening the windows to allow in some fresh air, her back purposefully turned to her sister. “It is as I told you. I was being chased by some bandits, the duke saved me, and then he brought me here.”

“After a night spent together, you mean.”

Caroline spun about quickly, catching the accusatory tone. “We did not spend the night together!”

“Oh? Did the duke leave you on the side of the road last night? After having saved you. That is not very proper of him.”

“That is not what I meant. As I explained it just now?—”

“You two spent the night together.”

“I did not say that!”

“But the fact you are not denying it completely speaks volumes.” Her sister giggled. “Tell me true, what happened? And do not think I will allow you to leave before I wring the truth from you. Even if I have to do it with my bare hands.” Aurelia imitated shaking the air as if she had a hold of Caroline by the arms.

Aurelia was only one year older than Caroline, and of all her sisters, they got along best. She was perhaps the only one who treated Caroline as a real person, and she was certainly the only one who defended her against their mother and their older brother.

The two were similar in so many ways and different in so many others. Physically, Aurelia was pudgy, which was the cause of her and their mother’s constant bickering. But she was short like Caroline, had the same light brown hair, darker brown eyes, and even matching dimples when they smiled; some had mistaken them for twins. Caroline was no willow either, curvaceous and full-bodied, but still trim enough that their mother did not hassle her.

Regarding their personalities, Aurelia and Caroline were much the same in temperament and humor, even if Aurelia was outspoken about it and not as afraid of confrontation as Caroline was. Most importantly, Caroline trusted her older sister, knowing too that there was simply no way she could keep this from her.

She looked about the room, double checking they were alone. “You must promise you will tell nobody,” she hissed.

Aurelia’s eyes widened. “I was right! Something happened! Oh, it was so obvious, the way he fled as soon as he arrived. Caroline...” She clicked her tongue and smiled wickedly. “You little she-devil.”

“It is not like that!” Caroline cried. “Truly, the duke...” She sighed and shook her head. “I do not think I like him very much. He is cold and dispassionate and mean. More villain than hero.”

“Easy on the eyes though,” Aurelia giggled.

Despite herself, Caroline giggled along. She might dislike the man on a personal level, but there was no mistaking how handsome he was. And he was not typically goodlooking either, like the Duke of Aldworth. Rather, he was rugged and unrefined, messy about the edges, with a darkness to him that was dangerous, and had Caroline’s heart fluttering as she remembered last night... his hands on her thighs... how powerful they were and?—

“Come then,” Aurelia prompted, pulling Caroline out of her reverie. “What happened?”

Caroline sighed and then quickly told Aurelia everything. The moment they shared at the inn when he cleaned her wounds, the bed they shared after and how she woke wrapped over him, and then his most strange request demanding that she help him find a bride.

In Caroline’s mind, that last point was the most important, not that she was surprised to see that Aurelia barely paid it a moment of attention.

“Caroline!” she cried out gleefully. “I cannot believe you! You slept with the duke!”

“Will you keep it down!” Caroline hissed. “And we did not sleep together. We?—”

“Shared a bed.”

“Yes. But it was not anything scandalous.” She felt her body turning hot, her heart beginning to thud, as her panic increased. “We had no choice! If the innkeeper had seen us together and learned that we were not married, it might have led to awkward questions.”

“Certainly not as awkward as those you will have to navigate when mother learns that you threw yourself at?—”

“I did not!”

Caroline felt herself getting annoyed. Again, guilty also. Shame flooding her because in Caroline’s mind, such night-time activities were reserved for duty only, a wife’s duty to produce children for her husband and nothing more. That wasn’t to say that her sisters felt differently to her, but it was also a matter they rarely discussed openly. Growing up as children of a cold, dispassionate marriage as they all had, each was likely affected by it in different ways. Ways which they had never delved into because such feelings were personal.

“I am joking,” Aurelia giggled. She could not have looked more excited. “You must admit, it is rather delicious though...” Her eyes flashed excitement. “The Cruel Duke...” A click of the tongue next. “You are lucky to return in one piece.”

Caroline scoffed. “He is not as bad as that.”

A raised eyebrow. “Really?”

“Well...” Caroline hesitated. She had thought quite a bit about the rumors of the duke and how much truth there was to them. Yes, he was a little cold. Yes, he was distant. But was he evil? Capable of such a thing as they said? Somehow, Caroline didn’t think so. He had saved her, after all. Surely, that meant something. “That is not the point.”

“Then what is the point?”

“Did you not hear what I told you? He wishes for me to find him a bride, Aurelia. And this weekend! So, if you do not mind, I would prefer that be what you concentrate on. And you know better than I who is to attend this weekend, which means that I will need your help to—” She caught her tongue when she heard a noise.

It was hushed whispers, coming from the other side of the closed door. Caroline’s eyes widened and she rushed for it, not hesitating to throw the door open, not surprised either to find her younger sisters, Eveline and Iris crouched on the other side.

“You sneaks!” she cried.

Eveline grinned wickedly. “You can talk.”

“What are you doing?”

“Eveline!” Aurelia snapped and stormed toward them. “How long have you been there for? And Iris!” She turned her angered gaze on the youngest of their sisters. She was only twelve, a willowy thing, frail and constantly sickly in a way that made it impossible to ever be truly angry with her. “I thought you knew better.”

“It was not my fault,” Iris pleaded. “Eveline —”

“Don’t blame me!”

“Come here!” Aurelia snatched Eveline by the arm and yanked her into the room. Iris was quick to follow.

Caroline swung the door closed, her heart racing even more now because she had no doubt her sisters had overheard every word said. “It was not how it sounds,” she hurried to explain.

“And how does it sound?” Eveline could not have looked more pleased with herself. She was just seventeen, still coming into herself as a woman, still deciding what kind of woman she wished to be. Like Aurelia, she was loud and outspoken, although unlike Aurelia, she did not know when to keep her mouth shut.

“What did you hear?” Aurelia demanded of them. “And do not lie to me.”

“Is it true?” Iris asked softly. She was fidgeting with her hands, unable to look her sisters in the eyes. “Caroline, that you... that you slept with the duke?”

Caroline groaned.

“So, when is the baby due?” Eveline chided. “How fun, a wedding and a new little sister. This weekend is turning out better and better.”

“Please!” Caroline insisted. “What you heard—it is not true!”

“Then why are you acting with such panic?” Eveline grinned.

“That is not—I am merely—nothing happened!” She looked to Aurelia for support. “Aurelia, tell them.”

“And you think Eveline will listen to me?” she snorted.

“Please,” she said desperately, looking between Eveline and Iris. “You cannot repeat what you heard. Not one word! You must promise me.”

To this, Eveline grinned with a sense of mischievousness, while Iris continued to look confused.

It was the worst possible outcome. Caroline’s secret was out, likely to spread like a fire through a stable because she knew Eveline’s mouth was one not to be kept shut. Oh, she would beg, and she was certain Eveline would make promises, but she could see the future as clear as if it was happening and this scandal, as it had now become, threatened to be her undoing.

Her only hope was to somehow navigate through this weekend without making things worse. Find the duke a bride. Focus attention on the soon-to-be-married couple. And pray that her sister did not spill this secret for no other reason than she was bored and liked the attention.

Why do I get the feeling that things are going to get worse before they get better? Why do I get the feeling that this is but the first step in what promises to be a road filled with misery and scandal? And why oh why is it happening to me?

A lifetime spent avoiding drama and mischief and this was Caroline’s reward. All she could wonder now was why she had bothered at all.