Page 40 of The Duke's Indecent Match

Not for this Season, at least.

And if he did not marry this Season…

Bloody hell.

“If it helps, the answer to your question was yes,” Matthew said, thrusting his hand into his pocket.

“What question?”Christian asked when Nathanial did not respond.

“After I flipped the coin to see if I should pursue Miss Little, I flipped it for Nathanial as well.I did not tell him what it said at the time, because I do not know if it works for someone other than me.”Matthew shrugged.“But it came up heads, which means yes.”

However, Nathanial had not wanted the coin the make his choice for him.He had not wanted anyone to make the choice other than himself.And while he’d been trying to talk himself into offering for Miss Little regardless of the fact that she did not meet every single parameter he’d listed for himself…

Closing his eyes, he let his head thud back against the wardrobe as his friends began to argue about whether the coin’s flip had any meaning for anyone other than Matthew.Not that it mattered to him.There was only one path forward.

It felt like his chest was going to crack open, the invisible bands that had wrapped around it so tight.He was well and truly trapped.All of his choices were gone.

He had to marry Miss Little or face the fact he had failed his family, which was no real choice at all.Marrying Miss Little would save her reputation and his finances.

But she was not the lady he’d thought she was.Not at all.

Kalina

Leaving the bedroom was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life.Kalina knew she looked her best.Margaret had brushed her hair until it gleamed, braided the silky strands before winding the plaits into a complicated knot and securing it with pins decorated with tiny pink diamonds.One pink diamond hung from a delicate chain, not nearly as large as those she wore with her evening gowns, but enough to remind everyone exactly what the Duke of Hereford would be getting when he married her.

Her dress was bright rose pink, trimmed with dark green, making her look as though she was a flower come to life.The colors made her dark skin glow and her eyes shine brighter than usual.

She was as polished as the diamonds she wore.

But inside, she felt like she was dying.

Her father had gone to meet with the Duke of Hereford in the library

“Chin up,” her mother murmured as they stepped into the dining room together, and there was an immediate hush from the others gathered there.

They’d heard.

They’d all heard.

Most of the ladies goggled at her, regardless of age… but Tiffany avoided her gaze by studiously staring at the plate in front of her.Delilah looked at Kalina, then looked away, applying her attention to her plate as well.Those were the two in the room she had cared about the most.Gregory was not there, and neither were any of the other dukes.

Lady Astrid had also not arrived yet.

Lifting her chin, as her mother had told her to, Kalina glided over to the buffet where breakfast had been laid out.She had never felt less like eating, yet there was no choice.Everything she understood about how English society operated, the more she behaved as if everything was normal, the more likely they were to treat her normally.

At least, Society at large would.

Her friends…

Kalina took in a deep breath to keep the ache in her chest from spreading further.

It was not as though they had been her friends for very long.She had spent far more time without any friends than she had spent with.A reversion would be back to her normal.

Maybe she was just not meant to have friends.No matter how badly she wanted them.

If it came to a choice between her father and her friends, she would choose her father, of course.He had been her support for her entire life.She’d known Tiffany, Delilah, and Lady Astrid for less than a year.

Defiantly, Kalina took her plate and walked to the opposite end of the table from where Tiffany and Delilah were seated, choosing a chair next to Mei, the matchmaker’s granddaughter.Lady Hu was on Mei’s other side, and Lord Emeryn and his wife were across from them.