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M uch to Arabella’s frustration, she was not invited into the sitting room after all. She and her mother were instead instructed to wait outside.

“Your father wants to speak to him first,” Arabella’s mother explained. Almost all the anxiety had faded from her face now; she looked calm and at ease. “That’s a perfectly normal thing, Arabella. You’re not to worry yourself about it.”

“I’m not worried that it isn’t normal ,” Arabella said, straining to hear what was going on behind the door. “I’m worried about what they could be talking about that they wouldn’t want me to hear, Mother. Why can’t I be in the room for this conversation?”

“Well, I’m sure it’s because the Duke wishes to discuss the terms of his offer with your father,” her mother said brightly. “Once they’ve finished doing that, they will call you in and let you know what they’ve decided.”

“Once they’ve finished deciding my future, they’ll allow me to know what it’s going to be?”

Her mother sighed. “Arabella, you need to be thankful that the Duke is here at all,” she said.

“We discussed this, you may recall. You know perfectly well that he was under no obligation to come, that he could have stayed away and never given you a scrap of his attention again as long as you lived. Even when the scandal broke, no one would think any the worse of him for it. All he would ever have to say would be that you came into a room where he was trying to enjoy a quiet moment to himself and tried to entrap him.”

“That isn’t what happened,” Arabella insisted.

“Silly girl—don’t you understand that it doesn’t matter what really happened?

Appearance is everything. What matters is what people are going to think, not what’s true.

The fact that he is here this morning means that he’s going to be a part of the fallout from this scandal.

He’s going to try to help you, even if it doesn’t look the way you might have liked it to.

So whatever he’s offering, we are going to accept. ”

“You say that without even knowing what it is?” Arabella asked incredulously. “This might not have anything to do with marriage, you know, Mother.”

“The Duke is an important ally for us to have in the wake of your misdeeds,” her mother said firmly. “Your father will negotiate with your future—and that of your sisters—in mind. But whatever agreement they have come to when that door opens, you will accept it.”

As if on cue, the door to the sitting room was opened. A footman stood back, away from the entrance, and it was clear that they were being summoned.

Arabella’s mother brushed past her into the room, and Arabella knew that she was expected to follow. She did so warily, feeling as if she was walking into a trap. How was she going to face this—whatever it was? What was she going to say?

The Duke stood beside her father. He was as handsome as she recalled—tall, broad-shouldered with dark hair that was just a bit outside the latest style, making him look the part of an arrogant rebel, and bright eyes that captivated her even though she did not want to see him and certainly did not want to look into his eyes.

She forced herself to focus her attention on her father instead.

“Arabella,” he said, “the Duke of Redmayne has been good enough to ask for your hand, and I have accepted. The marriage is to take place next week.”

Arabella had half-anticipated the offer of marriage, of course, but the timeline stunned her. “Next week ? So soon?”

“I’ve already obtained a special license,” the Duke confirmed. “There will be no trouble about it.” He flashed her a roguish grin.

“But—but you and I don’t even know one another,” Arabella stammered. “You wish to marry without even spending any time together?”

“We will have plenty of time to get to know one another once we marry and you come to live at my estate with me,” the Duke observed.

Going to live at his estate next week sounded unthinkable. And the way he was looking at her now—as if this was all some game that he had already won—confused and frightened her.

“Can we discuss this?” Arabella asked, turning to her father.

“It’s all decided,” he said. “There’s nothing left to discuss. You should thank the Duke for his kind offer, Arabella.”

But Arabella couldn’t bring herself to offer thanks. Had anyone thought she would be able to face this moment with anything other than dread? How could she possibly have done that?

The Duke was looking at her with a barely suppressed smile, almost as if he knew something she didn’t, and it made Arabella feel deeply uncomfortable.

She also resented it. She was sure he knew many things she didn’t know.

It was hardly a secret that she was the least informed person in this room.

It was a fact that she resented greatly.

This was her life that was being decided.

Surely she ought, at the very least, to be a party to the decisions that were being made!

But this was the way the world worked. One night, she might wander into a room hoping for a quiet moment to mend her torn gown, and the next morning, she was being promised in marriage to a man she hardly knew.

She couldn’t find the place where she ought to have done anything differently. Nothing had ever been in her control.

“Miss Arabella,” the Duke said, “will you walk me to my carriage?”

It certainly didn’t help matters that that smug smile on his face made him look even more handsome than he already had. Even if he hadn’t been a duke, Arabella could easily imagine that he would have had his pick of the ladies of the ton.

He doesn’t need me , in other words, so why is he doing this?

She didn’t want to be anywhere near him at the moment. “I hardly think that’s proper.”

“No, you should go with him,” her father advised. “After all, the two of you are soon to be married, and besides, there are members of staff between here and the carriage.”

This was straining the truth nearly to the breaking point, Arabella thought. Her father could only afford to keep three people on staff, and even they might need to be dismissed soon if the family’s economic fortunes didn’t change.

On the other hand, maybe our fortunes are about to change if I’m to marry a duke. I’m sure that’s at least one reason Father agreed so hastily to this match .

At any rate, it was unlikely that they would have the eyes of the staff on them all the way out to the carriage. It was possible that they wouldn’t meet anyone at all. And Arabella’s father would know that.

He was telling her that he didn’t mind them being alone.

How ironic. How ironic that just last night she had been scolded so harshly for accidentally finding herself alone with this man—to the point that it had been viewed as something that might ruin all their lives—and now, her father was telling her that she ought to be on her own with him.

Giving in would get rid of the Duke more quickly and easily than putting up resistance would, so she inclined her head. “Lead the way, Your Grace,” she told him.

He led her out of the room. Her mother had vacated the foyer, and her sisters were nowhere in sight. Possibly they were still asleep. They would wake up and discover that the whole messy affair had been resolved in their absence.

And yet, Arabella couldn’t quite allow herself to give in to it. “I don’t know what you’re thinking,” she murmured to the Duke as they crossed the foyer.

He glanced at her, his eyes sparkling with something like amusement.

Oh, how she loathed him for that look—it was exactly the kind of merry, mischievous expression she had always pictured when she’d daydreamed about falling in love.

She certainly wasn’t going to fall in love with him , so why did he have to fit so perfectly into the mold of what she had always imagined? “You don’t?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“You must know that my father can’t afford to pay you a dowry.”

“What did you think we were in there discussing all that time? How much money he would give me to marry you?” He sounded on the verge of laughter now.

“Well, why did you come?” she asked. “I’d have guessed you saw an opportunity to ask for money in exchange for sparing me from disgrace.”

He shook his head. “I am not in need of money, Miss Arabella. And if I was—forgive me for saying so, but the Baron of Highgate is not the person I would turn to for assistance. I mean your family no disrespect, but you are not known for your wealth.”

“Indeed,” she said dryly. “But then you must see what a bad idea this is. You have nothing to gain from it.”

“I suppose you had better leave it to me to determine what I have to gain,” he suggested.

“I’m not a good match for you,” she insisted. “And you must know that you have the freedom to walk away from—from what happened last night. There would be no shame on you. No harm to your reputation.”

“I’m not here to protect my reputation. I’m here to protect yours.”

She stopped where she stood and faced him directly. “And why should you care about my reputation?” she demanded. “What am I to you?”

“I would have thought you would be thanking me right now,” he observed. “You seem angry.”

She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“If we are to do this,” she replied, “I want to know that my family will be provided for. I don’t know what arrangement you made with my father, but my disgrace is not such a threat to me that I’m willing to accept just any offer that should come my way. ”

He shook his head, smiling. “I will pay your father’s debt,” he said. “Will that suit?”

It was a better offer than she could have hoped for as a matter of fact, and between that and the fact that her sisters’ futures would be saved, she was hard pressed to want to say no to this anymore. But she couldn’t give in so easily. “I—I want control of the garden at your estate.”

His eyebrows shot up. “The garden ?”

“I want to grow hydrangeas,” she explained foolishly, aware of how silly it all sounded.

“Very well,” he agreed. “You may grow whatever you wish; I don’t mind.”

“All right.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to negotiate?”

“I…” She hesitated. There was, but she didn’t know whether it was something she had the right to ask for.

Then again, why shouldn’t she? And asking him this would tell her, once and for all, what kind of man she was marrying. She would know what kind of future she was going to have. “I don’t want you to touch me.”

“Oh no?”

She had expected more of a reaction than that. Did he understand what she was saying? “I want—I want my own quarters in your home. I don’t want to go to your bed.”

“All right, all right.” He held up his hands. He was still smiling. “You’ve made your point.”

“Do you—can you agree to that?”

“You’re in luck,” he told her. “I have no interest in an heir. So ours will be a marriage in name only.”

She wasn’t sure why he would agree to such a thing—but he was agreeing, and that was what mattered.

He tossed her a smirk then jogged down the steps to his carriage.

She watched him go. How infuriating he is!

One thing was for certain—while it might be the best thing for her family, Arabella was getting herself into a very dangerous situation indeed by agreeing to this marriage.