Page 28 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity (Ton’s Beasts #2)
Margaret stood in the middle of the ballroom, the minutes ticking by until the auction was scheduled to take place. After Christopher made his reproachful remarks about her and his desire for money more than anything, she found that every other man was more unpleasant than the last.
Some of them were boring, which was by far the best she could say about them.
Others were here merely for money, greed making it clear to her that they cared not one iota about her.
Some had the same hungry look on her grandfather’s face, and she shuddered to think what her future would hold if they were to win.
Her grandfather stood back and watched her interact with each of them, a smile playing on his lips.
At times, he looked genuinely pleased with himself for organizing this party.
Other times, he looked as though thunder crossed his features—usually when Margaret did not respond the way he would have liked her to.
As each man came up to her and retreated, he offered her more advice. It did not escape her notice that the advice was always to increase the price for her hand.
“And where have you been all this time, My Lady?” One of the men was bold enough to voice what she was sure had been on their minds.
How could the Earl have a granddaughter whom he did not marry off until this moment?
“I have been in a convent,” she mumbled.
“A woman who fears the Lord.” The man nodded. “But what has made you rethink taking your vows?”
“Who is to say that I have rethought taking my vows?” Margaret batted her eyelashes and looked down. She would not make this easy for her grandfather. “I may return to the convent. The auction has not taken place yet.”
She chanced a look at her grandfather, whose face turned cherry red. She knew she was playing a dangerous game, defying the old Earl like this. But she could not bring herself to care.
“If you will excuse me and my granddaughter for a moment,” he said to the man. “I believe there is a matter we need to discuss.”
The man pressed a warm kiss to the back of Margaret’s hand before she walked away with her grandfather. He grabbed her roughly by the upper arm and, when they were out of earshot, yanked her around to face him.
“You will not ruin this for me,” he growled. “There will be no more talk of you returning to the convent. There will be no more talk of taking your vows. You are here to be married, and married you will be. Tonight.”
“I cannot ignore the Lord’s call,” she said steadily, hiding the fear she felt at defying her grandfather. “It is only fair to let the men know that they may have competition.”
“You will get back out there and make these men want you. Speak less, and when you do, make sure that your language befits your station. I own you, and you will do as I say.”
Margaret tried to look thoroughly chastised, but she could not commit herself to meeting his demands. So far, he had told her to smile more, stand taller, and speak less. Soon, she would be nothing more than a statue, like the statues that lined the drive to Riley Manor.
The Earl guided her to the next man who had come for her hand. At least he looked interested in her, unlike Christopher. He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand upon greeting her and smiled at her, revealing a perfect set of pearly white teeth.
“I regret that we had not had an opportunity to get to know one another before now,” he said, a wolfish smile crossing his face. “But I look forward to getting to know you tonight.”
Margaret could not believe what she heard. Would a man speak of being intimate with her before their marriage had even been sealed by the auction?
Had Leo been the one to do it, she would not have blushed. But she did not know his man.
“You will have to excuse me,” she said, withdrawing her hand and turning around to retreat from the ballroom.
“You could do better to look sweeter, more feminine,” her grandfather chided as she made her exit. “These men must want you. And they cannot do that if you make it impossible for them to envision being with you.”
“I believe the last man had no trouble with his visions,” she said curtly.
“You must make the same impression on every man here,” he insisted. “There must be no question about whether you will deliver on the promise of consummating the marriage.”
Margaret paused to study her grandfather. She wondered if this had been her mother’s experience as well. If this was why her mother had fallen in love with her father, who was far removed from the tactless Earl. Perhaps this was why she had eloped and set these events in motion.
Margaret did not doubt that her mother would not want this for her.
But she had spent so few years with her mother.
She hoped she could have had more time with her.
That they could have talked more about her life before she had Margaret, about her dreams for the future.
The one person who could fill in the blanks was standing before her now, trying to marry her off to the highest bidder.
She swallowed down her fear and decided to change the subject. Maybe if she were able to play on his emotions, her grandfather would show her some grace.
Margaret took a deep breath. “What was my mother like as a child?”
The Earl glared at her for changing the subject and crossed his arms over his chest. “She was a nightmare, much like you.” He reached out and pressed a hand to her spine. “Now, I told you to stand taller. I cannot afford for even one of these men to hate you.”
“And if they do hate me?”
“It is not an option,” the Earl growled at her. “I need that money, and you are going to deliver on your duty to me. Had you done this long ago, we would not be here now.”
“But—” Margaret started to speak, but was interrupted by a man’s stern voice behind her.
The doors to the ballroom burst open, and someone walked inside in long strides. She noted the dark hair and the dark clothes, but it seemed as though it were too good to be true.
Had he come for her?
“Stop this farce,” he called out to her grandfather. “The bride is mine as per the Queen’s edict.”
She had expected a thunderous reaction. But when she looked back at her grandfather, he seemed pleased by this sudden turn of events. His eyes lit up at the approach of the Duke of Devishire, who reached for her.
As pleased as she was to see Leo, Margaret could not help but feel confused. He had made it quite clear that he would not—could not—marry her. So why was he here, demanding that she be his?
Was he here simply to whisk her away from her grandfather so that she could return to the convent and take her vows, to buy her some time to make a more permanent escape from life among the ton?
She had very little time to contemplate all of this because the Earl jumped at the opportunity to rid himself of her. He must have seen the coins stack up at the prospect of her marrying a man as prominent as the Duke.
“She can be yours,” he said. “But you will pay me at least half the amount the Queen has offered. Otherwise, I will auction her hand to the many gentlemen you see here. They are willing to pay for her hand.”
“I do not think you heard me,” Leo growled, taking Margaret by the arm. “She. Is. Mine.”
“She is no more yours than she belongs to any of the men here. If you want to marry my granddaughter, you will have to play by my rules.”
“We do not owe you anything.” Leo pulled Margaret toward the door, and she let herself be led by him.
To her surprise, it was not the Earl who stopped them at the door. Instead, it was Christopher, the man who had made it quite clear that he had no real desire for her. He thought of money and nothing else.
“I do not want to duel with a second Duke of Devishire,” he said smoothly as he accosted Leo and Margaret before they could make it out the door.
She was so close to escape, and this man would stand in her way?
She did not know what he meant when he said that he would duel with a second Duke of Devishire, and she looked to Leo for answers. His eyes clouded over at the mention of his brother.
“I know what happened to my brother. I am truly sorry that you could not see it was your sister’s fault,” Leo said, moving to sidestep him.
“It was nothing of the sort,” Christopher countered. “I have this scar as a reminder of your brother and what he did to my sister. I am not afraid to make the same bet twice.”
“Maybe someday, you will see that Augusta was to blame for the situation she found herself in. However, you are free to challenge me now, if you so desire. Once we leave this ballroom, you will never get the chance to do so again.”
Christopher pursed his lips. He looked back to the Earl for help, but the old man could do nothing but gape at them.
Margaret wanted to tell Christopher that she would never marry him, even if she did not understand what was transpiring between him and Leo. She would get the full story, eventually.
Now that Leo was here, she did not doubt that she would leave with him one way or the other. She merely had to set her sights on a clear path out of the mess she was mired in.
If the Queen’s edict was not enough to persuade her grandfather to let her go, then they needed to do something else.
Her grandfather glared at her from where she had left him.
From this distance, he did not look like the frightening man she had always thought him to be.
He was old and stooped, with a bit of a belly and thinning hair.
He looked every bit as old as his years would suggest. He was just a man who could not harm her anymore.
“You can reject the Duke of Devishire,” he said, his voice more commanding than Margaret had ever heard it. “Choose another man. I urge you not to ruin the opportunity I have given you to make a more suitable match.”