Page 94 of How Not to Marry a Duke

Adeline held up a hand at the onslaught of questions. “One at a time, Mary.” She joined her and they sat together on the settee. Lady Heywood’s parlor was richly decorated with gilded mirrors on the walls and ornate sculptures on a marble mantel. She focused on a sculpture of a shepherdess, her mind twisting and turning about what to tell her sister.

Adeline met Mary’s eyes. “It’s true that I am returning to Chilham. I left the cottage in the hands of a local farmer. I was not to be away for long, and I should return to oversee the necessary repairs.”

Mary gave a no-nonsense look. “How can you bear to be apart from the duke?”

Adeline cleared her throat. “Regarding Warwick, there is something you should know.”

Adeline swallowed her misgivings. She never planned on telling Mary the full truth. Even now, with two weeks remaining of the Season, she knew she couldn’t confess all. The last thing she desired was for Mary to feel guilty. If she knew everything, Mary would be agitated, maybe even confront Edwin.

Adeline couldn’t take that risk.

Adeline disliked Edwin, but he was Mary’s full-blooded sibling. Mary lived beneath his roof and was dependent upon him for all her financial needs. Adeline wouldn’t put that at risk.

She loved Mary and needed Edwin to care for her.

But she had to tell Mary something of her relationship with the Duke of Warwick. Her trip to the country, away from the man who was courting her, required an explanation. How much to confess?

Mary’s face lit in anticipation. “Warwick proposed!”

“No.”

“I know. He wants to act properly and seeks to ask Edwin for your hand beforehand.”

“No, not that either.”

“Then what?” Mary asked.

“Our courtship isn’t an ordinary one.”

“I never thought it was. Neither of you are ordinary. That’s what makes it perfect.”

“You don’t understand. When I met Warwick, his intention was to put off marriage and focus fully on his inventions. His godmother, Lady Heywood, was pressuring him to marry and produce the expected heir to the dukedom.”

Mary pressed a hand to her heart. “How terribly romantic! He met you and everything changed.”

“It wasn’t like that, either.”

Mary didn’t seem to notice the hesitancy in Adeline’s voice. “I can only hope I meet a man who falls madly in love with me even after learning of my ambitions to work as an author.”

Madly in love? She wanted to scream that wasn’t true but bit her tongue. The word “love” associated with Warwick was a fantasy.

Then why did a restless tension coil inside her at the thought? Did she truly desire a future with the duke? If so, could he ever love her in return? Or would it be a marriage of convenience, a way for him to have the heir he needed?

For as long as she could recall, she’d sought a love match like her parents had known. Growing up, she’d always expected she could find the same, but as she grew older, she realized it was not as easy as in romantic childhood stories of knights and fair maidens.

“Our relationship was not as you believe. Warwick needed a reason to put off marriage for a time, and I agreed to aid him.”

Mary stiffened. “What do you mean? I saw you with the duke. The air between you nearly sizzled at Lady Trehorn’s party.”

“You are mistaken. The only thing that sizzled at Lady Trehorn’s gathering was the hot food on the banquet table. Warwick thinks of me only as a friend.”

“A friend?” Mary’s eyes bore into hers. “Don’t be ridiculous. A man does not go out of his way to help a friend’s sister find a publisher. A man does not stand up to a woman’s half brother if he does not care deeply for her. A man doesn’t look at a woman the way the duke looks at you if he thinks of you as only a friend. Warwick adores you!”

The vehemence in Mary’s voice and the intensity of her gaze struck Adeline. Even more shocking, she wanted it to be true. She wanted Warwick to adore and love her.

She couldn’t help but wonder: could their counterfeit courtship turn into a true betrothal?

…