Page 27

Chapter Twenty-Two

“ T hank you, Magnus.” Selina took the cup of tea, cradling it gently as she sat on the settee in the drawing room.

He nodded, giving a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

That was hardly a surprise, however. Magnus had always been a rather stoic and obsessively even-keeled man.

In fact, she could not remember a time when she saw the Duke of Aldworth more animated than he was when Ethel was around, provoking him.

And she had still not returned.

“You are quite welcome, Selina.”

She grinned back, bringing the teacup to her mouth and sipping gently.

They’d returned to calling each other by their given names, the next level of courting beginning with this intimate teatime.

Bridget still remained as chaperone, taking up the seat by the fire, but it was only the three of them now.

Hugh was nowhere in sight.

As she enjoyed the drink, sweetened just to her liking, Selina found herself staring at the empty corner of the room where Hugh would have been standing had he been there.

So much about this afternoon’s meeting was quieter than any of the others.

She found herself unwilling to fill the silence with idle small talk, even as she knew she should.

Magnus took his seat in the chair across from the settee after pouring himself some of the tea.

He was not acting out of the ordinary of course.

He remained as he always did, polite if reserved and detached.

Still, that was like him. This was merely a business arrangement to the Duke, and while Easton might have sought to be warm and sociable to ease Selina’s worries in those first days of their arrangement, Magnus remained cold and calculating.

Silence descended upon the room, and Selina could even hear her mother stifle a yawn.

It was too warm and quiet in the space to encourage her mother to remain conscious.

With a sigh, Selina sipped at her tea once more, her eyes flicking to the closed door of the drawing room.

Would Hugh enter at all today, or was he finished dogging her every interaction with Magnus?

“You have eyed that door several times, Selina.” She flicked her eyes up to Magnus, nearly choking on her mouthful of tea as his words startled her. “I dare say that you have stared at it and the corner of the room as if you are expecting to suddenly see them occupied.”

Embarrassment heated her cheeks, and Selina forced herself to remain steady as she set down her teacup on the small table in front of the settee.

“Apologies, Magnus. I will admit that I am a touch distracted. I assure you that it has nothing to do with you. You have been a lovely companion for tea.”

He narrowed his eyes at her before glancing over at Bridget, who had indeed fallen asleep in her chair with her teacup drained and perched precariously on her lap.

Standing, Magnus retrieved the cup and set it atop the fireplace mantle.

When her mother did not stir, he proceeded back to the settee and sat down next to Selina.

Keeping his voice low and even, Magnus said, “I have also noticed that the Duke has not been in attendance today. I can only assume that you have been looking for him to come through that door and take up his place, brooding in the corner, yes?”

Selina was mortified. She had thought that she had maintained a level of secrecy regarding her feelings, but apparently, Magnus had noticed that the two of them stared at each other, bickering quietly, more often than not.

“I am so terribly sorry, Magnus. I did not seek to offend you at all. The Duke and I…there is tension there. However, I can assure you that I am not involved with him. I would never ?—”

“Selina,” Magnus interrupted her tirade of self-flagellation, “I am not upset. If I am being quite frank, I do not care. It isn’t uncommon for there to be interest outside a match such as ours, and you were discreet, trust me.”

If Magnus had intended to soothe her, it’d backfired.

Selina felt all the more embarrassed and guilty.

He insisted that she’d been discreet, but still, he’d noticed.

Surely, Magnus had not noticed everything—it was much more likely that he’d be upset—but it did not change the fact that he’d picked up on her tumultuous feelings toward Hugh.

“Let me ask you this, and I request an earnest answer for an earnest question.”

Selina swallowed hard but nodded. “Very well.”

Magnus met her eyes without blinking, expressionless and unflinching. “Do you wish to marry the Duke?”

“That would never happen.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them or school her tone.

Magnus smirked, shaking his head. “That might be the case, but it does not answer my question. Do you want to marry him?”

“I…” Selina’s throat felt tight, fire burning at the corners of her eyes as if the oxygen was being depleted. “No. I… will not marry the Duke.”

The words were like daggers in her mind and ribcage, and still, Selina had not fully answered Magnus.

She hoped that he would not press further.

She had stated that she would not marry him, and that was as sure a reality as the sound of her mother’s snoring only a few feet behind her.

Asking her to vocalize that she didn’t want to was too much for her.

Magnus sighed, bobbing his head in several nods, but he scooted further away on the settee and then turned to her with an unbothered expression.

While she expected to see falsehood behind it, Selina couldn’t.

Magnus truly seemed unaffected by her confession.

He didn’t care, and that was something of note.

“Selina, I should not care if you saw him once our arrangement was complete. I have little emotional stock in this marriage, and I know you feel the same. This is a means to an end between us and should it alleviate some of your discomfort. I wish for you to know that if you were to have a lover during our marriage, that would be fine. As long as it remained discreet of course.”

She was at a loss for words, her mouth dropping open slightly.

While it wasn’t unheard of, it did surprise her that Magnus was so openly discussing the potential for affairs in their relationship with her.

It was clear he harbored no romantic feelings toward her, and that, similar to how Selina felt, this entire courting process had been done only to maintain appearances.

“Honestly, I may indeed do the same. There is no reason why we both cannot be happy and engaged in this arrangement for the sake of Kitty and your family.”

“I… You truly do not mind the notion of me having a lover during our marriage?”

Magnus smiled— genuinely . “Not in the slightest.”

Selina’s mind and heart danced around each other in a swirling mess of emotions and thoughts.

She’d not considered this possibility before.

While a part of her wanted to be slightly upset that Magnus did not see anything of interest in her, Selina had to admit that she was much more glad about what he’d said.

Regardless of whether she did, in fact, take up a lover or if that lover was Hugh, Magnus would steer away from her, not expecting her to fulfill her wifely duties.

That had been a dream of hers since the beginning, and it eased her soul to know that he would not be looking to claim her virtue once they wed.

The room fell into silence once more, and Selina felt oddly relieved. This conversation had done nothing to resolve the tension with Hugh. Still, it did provide a layer of comfort for Selina’s other most significant concern.

Now, of course, there is just one problem in my life. And as is so often the case lately, it remains the Duke.