Page 101 of An Unwanted Spinster for the Duke

“I want to visit my sisters later,” she said casually, the words meant to test him.

“No,” was the quick and firm reply, even as his eyes never left the papers in his hand.

“I beg your pardon?” Marianne blinked.

“It’s not safe for you to visit,” he said, straightening up and turning to glare at her. “From now on, you will remain at home, where you are well-guarded by people I know.”

Silence stretched between them. It was long enough for Marianne to realize that he meant everything he said.

“You’re serious,” she gasped, leaning forward slightly. She wanted to see his face. “Dominic, I can bring a maid with me. I’ll be with my sisters. With that number, do you think something can happen to me?”

“You’re not arguing with me, Marianne. You will remain here,” he said coldly.

“What is this? We went through something terrible together. You’ve barely spoken to me since the carriage accident. And now, you’ve decided what I must do? Be in a prison?”

Dominic stood up. The surprising movement made Marianne back away a little. Where he stood, the light cast shadows on his face, accentuating his profile. For a moment, he looked older and wearier. He was a man who might have lost so much sleep.

She thought of Linpool, and what he meant to her husband. The Viscount was responsible for some of the terrible memories that still plagued Dominic. He might have started new nightmares, too.

“You could have died, Marianne,” Dominic rasped, his voice barely audible.

“I know,” she replied, just as softly. Then, she took the moment to rise to her feet, as well. “But I didn’t. Look at me, Dominic. I am here. Alive.”

“That’s all because of luck, but it’s not something I can rely on,” he retorted. He looked at her as she requested, but his eyes were blazing, and his jaw remained clenched. “Someone tampered with our carriage. Someone who knew what he was doing. It wasn’t a mishap at all. They wanted to hurt you.”

“Me?” Marianne asked, pointing at herself, incredulous. “Or are you referring to both of us?”

He did not answer. So, she approached him and touched his arm lightly.

“So, you truly believe it was Linpool.”

Again, silence ensued.

“I can tell that you truly believe it was him. Is there a way to expose hi?—”

“You’ll stay in London,” he interrupted. “You will attend no events and you will avoid public gatherings. Once I confirm that there is a threat—and there is—you will leave London and findsomewhere safer if need be. I will make arrangements and tell you when and where to go.”

Marianne gaped at him. He was truly serious about the whole thing. She felt her control over the situation slipping.

“You’re willing to send me away?” she asked. The whole thing was surreal.

“I didn’t say I will send you away now. Only when there is a threat here.”

“It’s the same thing. You are willing to do that.”

“Marianne, you know that nothing has yet been confirmed. We are merely discussing what could happen?—”

“You’re controlling me, Dominic. That’s what’s happening!” she snapped, not quite certain why she was acting this way.

She’d felt fear, but somehow she had never felt thispanicbefore. It was not panic that Linpool or whoever else would do something to her. Instead, it was the intense fear of losing what she had thought she was building with her husband.

“Don’t twist this into something else, Marianne,” Dominic warned, his expression darkening.

“I’m not doing that. This is not how it’s supposed to happen. We are, after all, partners. We are supposed to face things together. Make decisions together.”

“You don’t understand,” he muttered, raking his fingers through his hair. He seemed distraught, but that would not fool her.

“Help me understand, then!” she demanded, her emotions unraveling in a way that she would normally be ashamed of.