Page 10 of Bound to the Heartless Duke (Regency Beasts #4)

M agnus was standing at the window of his study when he saw Nathan coming into the manor.

Hastings had informed him how the Earl had acted towards his servants, and Magnus had decided to make some clarifications. He had brought his servants over to work for him, their master, not for the Earl. He wanted Nathan to know that he didn’t deserve to be waited on like a royal.

He waited for a while, giving him enough time to settle in so he would approach him when he least expected it.

When he finally got up and opened the door to go downstairs, he spotted Lily turning into the hallway.

He paused, studying her, though she hadn’t seen him yet. He could tell she was not happy about something.

“Lady Lily?” he called, completely forgetting about his initial plan to terrorize her brother. “You look grave. What is the matter?” he asked, genuinely worried.

Lily started, clearly she hadn’t been expecting to see him. She would have tripped on her feet had she not braced her hand against the wall. Worry was evident on her face but she quickly buried the expression and put on a placid look, shaking her head.

“It is nothing, Your Grace,” she replied.

And yet Magnus heard the lie in her voice. He was sure she was hiding something and he didn’t want to leave well enough alone.

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes boring into hers as though he could see right through her. “You seem troubled, My Lady. And I know that there is something wrong. What is it?”

Lily forced a smile. “Nothing,” she replied, her voice strained. “There is nothing wrong, Your Grace.”

She was lying; he could tell, but he didn’t know how. Something was definitely wrong, but he didn’t know what.

“I have reason to believe that there is something wrong you are hiding from me. And I think”—he took a step closer—“that it is in my best interest to know what that thing is.” His tone was firm, commanding.

Lily huffed, visibly annoyed at his insistence. She fixed him with a hard look, that softened when he shot her a look saying he didn’t intend to let her leave without an answer.

“You do not need to worry about me, Your Grace,” she said so calmly that he almost believed her. “I will find a solution. You can be sure of that.”

Well, two can play that game.

“Now, what if I say that I am not leaving you until you have told me what it is that has made you so crestfallen? Because I know that something is wrong.”

She pursed her lips in annoyance, and he almost cracked a smile just by looking at them.

She blinked and lowered her head.

“I will handle it, Your Grace,” she insisted. “You need not worry about anything.”

She’s still not going to tell me.

Magnus sighed inwardly.

“Well, whatever it is, it must have been quite disappointing to have you so close to tears,” he joked, looking away to avoid seeing her reaction.

She didn’t speak for a while, drawing his attention back to her.

“You have no idea what it is like to be in my position, Your Grace,” she bit out, her gaze accusatory.

He knew he had struck a nerve.

He sobered up then, as she had also struck a nerve.

“Perhaps not,” he relented, painful memories flashing through his mind. “I might not know what it’s like to be in your position, but I do know a thing or two about what it’s like to be trapped. Which is what you must be feeling right now.”

Awkward silence fell between them, and she looked away, blinking as if holding back tears.

“I received a letter from the matchmaker,” she sighed, breaking the silence. “A response to the letter I had sent last week.”

Magnus nodded, tucking his hands behind his back. “I see. So, what was it about?” he asked.

Lily shook her head. “I just know I have to look for another alternative,” she replied.

He quickly understood what that meant. If she had to look for another alternative, then the matchmaker must have declined her request to set her up with someone.

That wasn’t good at all.

“So, it seems you were rejected by the matchmaker.” He had expected it to come out as a joke, but it sounded like a jeer even to him.

Her face reddened with either anger or embarrassment. “It is nothing like that, Your Grace.”

He almost scoffed. Why did she insist on lying when she could just tell him the truth he already knew? Was she that determined to do everything on her own while her brother, the cause of her current problems, caroused around town?

“Is it, Lady Lily?” he challenged.

Lily blinked her eyes again, determined to hold back her tears. She was clearly fighting with everything in her not to give in to despair in front of him.

She stared up at him for a moment, then her eyes flitted away. “I will handle it, Your Grace. You need not worry about it.”

“But are you sure about that?” Magnus took another step toward her. “I might not be a woman, but I am somewhat familiar with how hard it could be for a lady of your… calibre to try to find a husband, especially under the circumstances.”

He paused, as though to let that sink in.

“Especially when we put your family’s history into consideration,” he added, without much thought.

Her eyes shot up at the mention of her family, and she sure didn’t look very happy about it.

“What do you think you know about my family’s history, Your Grace?” She didn’t sound happy either.

Magnus smirked. “I am a duke, My Lady. I happen to know quite a lot of things. I know what your father was like. I wasn’t there, but I also know what his father before him was like.

I was told about him, and I know that the fragile foundation they laid down is part of the cause of the problems you are experiencing today. ”

He watched as she lowered her head again and clasped her hands together, rubbing them nervously.

He felt a pang of guilt; he had made her anxious.

“But you can always start afresh,” he continued, hoping to make things better. “You just need to desire it enough.”

Lily looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes. “It is not as easy as you make it sound, Your Grace. Not when I’m constantly chained by my duty to my family. There is no such thing as starting afresh for me.”

Her eyes glistened, and he couldn’t look away from them.

In truth, he admired her sense of duty. He couldn’t even compare his to it.

It must have been so much harder for her.

But he couldn’t bring himself to picture it all in his mind.

He wanted to shift the focus of their discussion, but he didn’t have much in mind.

At that moment, he couldn’t help but think about his sister, Cecilia.

Though younger, they had the same attitude. They had been close friends, the two of them, but their friendship had suffered a couple of bumps after Cecilia got married to the Duke of Emerton.

Despite her sense of duty, Cecilia had still managed to find her footing without pressure from any angle. She had fallen in love with the Duke of Emerton and married him, even when Magnus expressed his disapproval.

It was the first time he had to watch her make a big decision on her own, and it hadn’t been easy. But she had chosen on her own, and had never been more dedicated to her duties.

Magnus wasn’t sure if Lily could relate to that, but he didn’t think it would hurt to bring it up.

“You remind me of my sister,” he admitted.

Her expression barely shifted as she thought about her old friend.

“I do not think she’s ever had to suffer the same misfortune I have,” she muttered, more to herself than to him.

“Not that. It’s your sense of duty. Cecilia wanted to do everything she could to help me manage the duchy, just like you’re doing now with your brother.” That made her look at him, and he felt he was doing something right. “She never faltered once, despite everything.”

She wasn’t moved by what he was saying. “I do not get the point of this, Your Grace.”

“The point is that Cecilia still had a choice amidst all of that. Amidst duty, love, friendship, freedom… She made a decision on her own, even when I didn’t agree with it.

” Magnus paused for a moment. “Lady Lily, you can choose to do what you desire without letting yourself be held back by the circumstances.”

Lily held his gaze for a long moment, making him think he was getting somewhere.

But then she scoffed. “Except, Your Grace, Cecilia never had a reckless brother who gambled away the family fortune and lost a house in a stupid bet.”

Magnus sighed and glanced around.

She wasn’t wrong; there was nothing more he could say. But he wanted to keep the conversation going, even if she would only grow angrier at him and his choice of words.

He cleared his throat. “So tell me, My Lady, what is the real challenge here? Is it only the pressure to marry the right person? Or are you trying to meet societal expectations? Or…” He took another step closer to her. “Is this just about you not losing the manor to me?”

Lily seemed to think about it, and he took the chance to study every inch of her face.

If he had a knack for painting, he would have been able to paint her face on canvas from memory. If he could write a book, he would have been able to make a detailed description of her face without a single mistake.

“Your Grace… it still boils down to one thing,” she said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“I need to marry a man of both suitable rank and fortune, as the sister of an earl. I am also expected to behave in a manner befitting a lady of my station. I would be able to pay off the debt if I were able to do all of that. So, everything is intertwined. And I’m trapped in the middle. ” She murmured the last part.

“I see. And do you think you would be able to do all of that? Wouldn’t you like to… make your own path?”

“I am twenty-five years old, Your Grace. Most women are expected to be married by the age of twenty-two. But I have spent more than half of my life cleaning up my brother’s messes. So no, I do not think there is another path for me. I cannot avoid this, no matter how hard I try.”

“You can choose,” he whispered, defeated. “You do have a choice.”