Page 16 of Bound to the Heartless Duke (Regency Beasts #4)

T he door to her chamber burst open without a warning.

“Get up.” Nathan’s voice dragged her out of slumber.

He sounded breathless, as though he had run up the stairs.

Lily blinked her eyes and let out a yawn, before pushing herself up on the bed. “Pardon?”

Why would her brother wake her up at such an early hour?

“I said, get up.” Nathan was pacing the room, glancing around as if checking for something in particular. “And while you are at it, dress nicely. Something soft and flattering.”

“You’re rambling.” Lily rose from the bed. “What’s going on?” She fixed with a confused look.

Nathan’s lips stretched into a grin that instantly made her suspicious. “Don’t look at me that way, dear sister. Rather, you should look glad.”

He puffed up his chest.

“I’ve done it,” he announced. “I’ve secured your future.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s vague and terrifying.”

Indeed, it was odd coming from her brother, who had yet to learn how to secure his own future.

Nathan gestured to the door dramatically. “Your suitor has arrived. Or he will be here in precisely ten minutes. Downstairs. In the drawing room.”

Lily’s heart lurched and stuttered, the remnants of sleep vanished. “A suitor?”

“A potential match,” he said triumphantly. “A respectable one. Connections. Land. A dash of eccentricity, but nothing you can’t handle.” He lifted his chin and gave her a proud smile. “You are very welcome, dear sister.”

Her lips parted with a short breath. “You’re serious.”

“Deadly, Lily.” He turned fully to the open door. “Hurry now. He’s here to formally meet you.”

“Who is he?” Lily pressed, despite her confusion. “What’s his name? Where does he come from?”

“Ronald Bailey,” Nathan replied, already halfway out the door. “That’s all I’ll say. It’s better if your reaction is… not practiced.”Lily blinked and quickly stepped after him. “Nathan?—”

But he was gone, shutting the door behind him.

She turned around slowly to see her disheveled reflection in the mirror.

“I don’t know whether to scream or faint,” she muttered, before sinking onto the bed.

A knock sounded at the door shortly after, and Summer stepped inside. She wore a little smile, unhelpfully.

“Shall I brush your hair and help you get dressed, My Lady?”

Twenty minutes later, Lily descended the stairs in a pale pink day dress that Summer had insisted made her look “just the right amount of innocent and intimidating.”

The day had barely begun, but her stomach was already twisting into knots, dreading the meeting.

The moment she reached the drawing room, she heard him. An unfamiliar voice that made her left eye twitch.

“Well, it’s rather magnificent, this estate,” the voice remarked, sounding rather… awed. “I daresay the ceilings alone could inspire poetry. Or vertigo!”

She took a deep breath before stepping into the room. The first person she noticed was Magnus, and her lips parted slightly in surprise. He was standing near the fireplace, leaning one shoulder against the mantelpiece, looking amused.

Of course, he is.

And then she noticed her brother, who immediately turned towards her. She closed her eyes, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her.

“There she is!”

Nathan didn’t disappoint.

Next to him sat an unfamiliar man, who rose from the settee upon seeing her. He bowed dramatically, sweeping out an arm like he was on stage.

“Lady Lily,” he greeted. “What a pleasure!”

Lily blinked.

What the…?

He wore striped trousers and a chartreuse waistcoat, topped with a fire-red cravat that seemed to pulse. His hair was slicked back and shiny, and his mustache curled up at either end, pointing toward the ceiling.

She bobbed a polite curtsy. “Mr. Bailey.”

“I am beside myself,” he declared. “Truly, your brother told me you were lovely, but he did not prepare me for… well, this level of elegance.”

“Thank you,” she said slowly.

She glanced at Magnus, who looked maddeningly entertained.

“I was just telling Mr. Bailey,” he drawled, “how fortunate he is. After all, Nathan’s approval is worth its weight in…” He paused. “Well, it’s worth something.”

Nathan shot him a glare.

However, Mr. Bailey chuckled, clueless.

“Indeed!” He beamed, extending a hand toward Magnus. “And Your Grace, I must say that it is an honor to make your acquaintance as well. I’ve never met a duke before. At least not one who owns… What was it? Ah, yes, the whole damn house .”

It took Lily a second to realize he was attempting to mimic Magnus’s tone. And damn, was it terrible.

Magnus’s eyebrow rose. “Fascinating,” he murmured, before picking up a teacup and swirling its contents lazily. “It’s not every day one hears their words so… enthusiastically butchered.” His smirk widened.

Mr. Bailey blinked. “Pardon?”

“Nothing,” Lily quickly cut in and stepped forward. “Mr. Bailey, would you like a tour of the grounds? I imagine you’d find the gardens far less… noisy.”

“Oh, that would be splendid!” Mr. Bailey exclaimed, startling her. “I’d be delighted.”

She nodded politely, sending the duke a appointed look.

She accepted Mr Bailey’s help to rise out of her seat and nodded her thanks to the man grinning brightly. He seemed pleasantly unaware of the tension in the room.

Before leading Mr. Bailey toward the door, she shot Nathan a glare. Just as she was about to step out, Magnus’s voice sounded behind her.

“Try not to lose him in the shrubbery, Lily.”

She didn’t turn back, though her fingers twitched in her gloves.

By the time she returned with Mr. Bailey, who had spent a full five minutes comparing the hedge maze to his aunt’s personality, her head ached terribly.

She walked back into the drawing room, surprised to find Magnus exactly where she had left him.

Soon enough, Mr. Bailey said his goodbyes (with an overly firm handshake and what she prayed wasn’t an attempt at a wink) and left.

“May I speak with you, Nathan?” Lily asked when she heard the sound of the door close to herald the man’s departure.

The man rose from his seat, straightening his jacket.

“I am afraid it will have to wait.” He answered. “I have to write a aletter to some people.”

Some people?

She scoffed, crossing her arms. “Wanting to flee disaster so bad?” Lily asked as her brother scurried away.

Silence fell over the room. Until it was broken by Magnus.

“Well,” he said, arching his eyebrows, “what a vision of matrimonial bliss. Almost enviable.”

Lily sucked in an exasperated breath. “I will smother you with a cushion,” she hissed.

Magnus chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. “Be honest. Was it the cravat or the ego?”

Lily sank into a chair across from him. “He said I looked like a ‘delicate rose about to bloom into a proper duchess.’ I nearly set the gardens on fire.”

“I’m disappointed you didn’t.” He laughed softly.

She sighed, falling quiet for a moment. Her mind drifted to her brother. Perhaps it was a good thing she hadn’t scolded him the moment Mr. Bailey left, because truth be told, he was just doing whatever he could to win back the manor.

“Nathan means well.” The thought slipped out before she could stop it.

Magnus tilted his head, studying her closely. “Does he?”

Although his tone was not mocking, she still turned to look at him sharply. “Yes.”

“Even when he’s throwing you at men like Bailey?” he prodded.

“He’s trying,” she muttered, before looking away. “It’s more than I can say for everyone else.”

“Meaning me.”

She turned to look at him, yet she didn’t answer.

They fell into a long silence, where they locked gazes.

But Magnus broke it.

“You really think I’m standing in your way?” he asked quietly, an edge to his voice.

Her lashes fluttered for a second. She had not expected those words from him, neither had she expected him to capture the thouhts she hadn’t even permitted herself to consciously sit upon so eloquently.

How had she failed so terribly to hide the fact that he afafected her so terribly?

“No. But you’re not moving aside, either,” she whispered.

Magnus nodded slowly, before turning his head to the fireplace. He seemed lost in thought. Except one could never know exactly what went through his mind.

“Perhaps I’m just waiting to see who deserves you.”

“My life is not some sort of entertainment for you. It shouldn’t be.”

“No,” he agreed, without missing a beat. “But I find myself… invested.”

He looked back at her, catching her eye.

More silence ensued, and despite the distance between them, the air thickened with tension.

Unable to bear it, and before she spiraled into her thoughts, she stood up. “I need some air.”

She turned and walked away, not bothering to look back.

Magnus watched without stopping her. But as soon as she reached the door, he spoke up, knowing the exact thing to say to stop her dead in her tracks.

“You know he is not your most promising suitor.”

She huffed, irked by his audacity.

The door closed sharply. Except she was still standing in the room, refusing to storm out.

She turned around and pinned him with a glare. How dare he find such amusement from her dire situation? She wasn’t unaware of the oddness of her current suitor but he had no right to judge either.

Magnus was in the same position, his arms folded across his chest, one eyebrow raised like he had just won a wager.

“Who are you to decide which suitor is promising or not?” she bit out. “And what if he is? What if I think him promising?”

“Promising?” Magnus snickered. He straightened his spine and walked over to her, a swagger in his step. “That’s one word for it. Delusional might be another.”

“I didn’t say he was ideal,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “But he has land. Wealth . Ambition ,” she emphasized.

“He also believes sonnets are an acceptable conversation starter.”

Magnus drew to a halt a short distance from her, yet something about it was provocative.

“You are insufferable,” she huffed.