Page 5 of The Duke’s Replacement Bride (The Wild Brides #6)

D oes he come to me? Do I go to him? What’s supposed to happen?

Caroline had found it daunting to stand outside the manor itself, not knowing whether she was supposed to go in, but what she faced right now was ten times worse.

She paced back and forth in front of the door that connected her room to her husband’s, the phrase duties of a wife echoing in her mind. Had she already failed in those duties?

She knew what was supposed to happen on a wedding night, but it never occurred to her to wonder exactly how it happened. She couldn’t just knock on the door and tell him she was ready, could she? It seemed unfathomable. It was such a forward thing to do; besides, she wasn’t ready.

But if she stayed where she was, perhaps he would see it as her shirking her responsibility, neglecting the one thing he’d asked of her. She wasn’t exactly desperate to please her rake of a husband—what did it matter what he thought?—only she didn’t want to be a failure as a wife.

He should have come to her. Or, if he didn’t mean to do that, he should have instructed her to come to him. He shouldn’t have just left it to her. How was she to know what he wanted? She had never done this before, and surely he would know that. Did he think she had a plan in place?

No, there was nothing else for it—she was going to have to go to him and see if he wanted her.

She hesitated before the door for a long moment before deciding that it didn’t make sense to knock. He was surely sitting on the other side, testing her—expecting her. Knocking would make her look timid. She needed to look strong.

She drew a deep breath and opened the door—and froze.

The duke had his back to her. He stood in front of the fire, the flame causing a faint glow around his body. His shirt was off, and she found herself marveling at the smooth, angular planes of his body.

Is this the way it happens?

He turned, and his eyes widened at the sight of her. “What are you doing in here?”

“I—” This had made so much sense a moment ago. “I thought you would want…to see me.”

“You thought I would want to see you? It’s the middle of the night,” he said. “I was about to go to bed. Why did you think I needed to see you now? I told you we wouldn’t have to eat our dinner together tonight—I trust something was brought to you?”

“Yes, I ate,” she said. This was going from bad to worse. Why hadn’t she just stayed in her room? Why hadn’t she realized that if he wanted her, he would come for her? “I thought…well, you also said that I had…duties.”

“Duties?”

Did he truly not remember? “As a part of being your wife.”

“Well, yes, but…” His eyes widened suddenly. “ Oh .”

Caroline felt her cheeks grow hot. This was hideously unfair. It felt as if she had barged in here like some wanton woman, when she knew perfectly well that he had been the first to raise this subject. And he knew that too! At least, he should have known it. Why was he acting this way?

Levi sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid this is all a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding ?”

“Yes, that’s right. I assumed you knew. Lady Prudence did.”

“What are you talking about? What did my sister know?”

“That I’m not interested in that sort of marriage,” he explained. “When I spoke of the duties of a wife, I was talking about managing my household and presenting yourself to the public as my duchess. Those are the duties I’m concerned with. Not…this.”

“Prudence didn’t know that,” Caroline managed.

“I assure you, she did. We spoke of it.” Levi looked at her closely.

“Were you thinking that was the reason she ran away? Fear of the wedding night? It wasn’t.

She knew there wouldn’t be one. I would have spoken more clearly with you about that fact, but I assumed she would have done so already and that there would be no need. ”

Caroline didn’t know what to say. “So…so you don’t want…?”

“I have no intention of touching you,” he said. “Ours is a marriage of convenience, as I’m sure you did know, since there was no courtship to speak of.”

“Of course, I knew that,” she agreed. “I suppose I just…assumed that this would be a part of the convenience for you. Doesn’t every man want his wife to come to his bed?” In books, they always did.

For a moment, she questioned herself. Was it her he didn’t want? Was there something the matter with her?

But no, it couldn’t be that. It wasn’t possible. He hadn’t wanted that sort of marriage with Prudence, either. Whatever this was, it wasn’t about Caroline. It was about Levi.

“I apologize for the confusion,” he said. He didn’t sound sorry. It sounded to Caroline as if he was trying to end the conversation so that she would go away.

That was fine with her. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to retreat from this humiliating scene.

“I shouldn’t have disturbed you,” she said. “I’ll go to bed now.”

“I hope you have a pleasant evening.” He was already turning away.

This was a calamity. She had been excused from dinner tonight, but tomorrow she’d be expected to sit down at the table with him.

Caroline already knew she would be unable to think of anything but what had happened tonight, and she had little doubt that it would be at the forefront of his mind as well. How was she going to face him?

She fled back through the door into her own room and pulled it shut behind her.

A heartbeat later, she heard the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking into place.

Caroline wanted to die right then and there.

He had locked her out . It wasn’t that she wanted access to that room—she’d have jumped out her own window before opening that door again.

But the fact that he’d locked it meant that he didn’t feel confident about that.

It meant that he felt the need to keep her from barging in like that again—because he believed there was a chance she might do it.

He thinks I’m a wanton woman .

She burned with anger and humiliation. She had done nothing wrong—this was her husband, for goodness’ sake!

It wasn’t as if she went around throwing herself at men all the time.

Supposing that you were going to have a wedding night with your husband was nothing to be embarrassed about.

He was the one who ought to feel embarrassed, with all his talk of wifely duties!

He should have realized how unclear that was; what a confusing message he was sending.

Now she wished she’d asked for that room with a big window!

She was stuck in a room that adjoined the duke’s; of course,, he would assume she had chosen this room for that reason.

Which, to be fair, she had. But she would not have done so if he had been honest and forthcoming about his intentions in their marriage.

Caroline took a deep breath and did her best to calm herself.

It wasn’t a good idea to get all upset like this.

In fact, she really ought to be happy. She hadn’t been looking forward to the festivities that went along with a wedding night.

She had been anxious about what would happen.

She had dreaded it and had simply wanted to get it over with.

Now that worry was gone. It wasn’t going to happen.

Yes. That was a good thing. That was a relief.

And as for the humiliation—well, that would fade, given time. Humiliation didn’t last forever. Eventually, she would look back on this night and laugh, even though it didn’t feel like that right now. Someday, when this moment was far behind her, it would be easier.

She got to her feet and marched over to her trunks, resolved to put the matter from her mind. I’ve done nothing wrong , she reminded herself firmly. What happened was an honest mistake. Anyone would have made it!

She hadn’t been a fool. Levi was the one to blame.

Levi was the one who had been so drastically unclear about his expectations…

well, now she knew. There would be no more mistakes like that because she understood what he did—and didn’t—want from her.

She would give him more than enough space; he could be sure of that.

Was this the reason Prudence had run away?

Had she felt scorned by the man who was meant to be her husband? Had it hurt her that he wasn’t interested in a conventional marriage to her? Maybe she did want a marriage like that—one with the possibility of love and children one day.

I don’t know my sister as well as I believed I did. Maybe I don’t know her at all.

Caroline sighed and went to her window. There had to be a bedroom in this manor with a better window than this one.

It was tiny, and her view was largely obstructed by an oak tree in front of it.

If the tree hadn’t been there, she would have been able to see down to the river behind the house, but as it was, she was forced to rely on imagination.

So, this is my life now , she thought bitterly, staring out into the night. A man who hardly acknowledges me, a room with a lock on the door, preventing me from doing some scandalous thing I would never have done anyway, and ? —

And nothing. That was the worst part. There was nothing to look forward to. There was no future in this place. There was only day after day of trying to figure out what her irascible husband wanted from her and knowing, now, that she was destined to get it wrong.

Eventually, when the moon was high overhead, she became too exhausted to worry about it all any longer. She abandoned the window and made her way over to the bed, where she crawled beneath the covers, closed her eyes, and waited for sleep to find her.

But it didn’t—not for a very long time. Instead, she lay awake, wondering if Levi was doing the same.

There was only that wooden door separating them. Yes, he’d locked it, and she wouldn’t have gone through it now even if he had left it open. But even so, it was only a wooden door. She had heard him moving on the other side, walking around, finding his way to bed…

She’d never slept so close to a man. To a stranger. She had never pictured this part of marriage. Simply being so close to another person like this, knowing that they were so near to one another in the night—there was something fundamentally intimate about that, even if he had locked the door.

Caroline sighed and pulled the pillow over her head, trying her best not to think about it. Because he had been clear now, even if he hadn’t been in the beginning: that wasn’t something he wanted, and it wasn’t something that was going to happen.

And she was just going to have to be at peace with that.