Page 60 of A Duchess Untouched

Images of his brother’s lifeless body flashed through his mind. At that moment, he realized he would not be able to bear Selina’s loss. She had become his entire world, and he had to let her know. He had to let her know everything.

Soon, he reached her bedchamber doors. He braced his hands on his thighs and caught his breath. If she was well, he did not want her to see him like this or be alarmed. The doors were unlatched and slightly ajar, and he could hear voices inside. To his surprise, several people were talking quite… animatedly.

“I was certain that a woman like you could never fail, Selina,” Lady Marlow declared in a triumphant voice. “You have done it, my dear! I told you that you would be with child in less than a month if you followed my instructions!”

Matthew felt his breath catch in his throat. He could barely breathe, yet he was quietly ecstatic.

With child… Selina is with child?

A wild frenzy of joy flooded his veins and his soul. A child. His child. He was going to be a father. Finally, the passionate weeks they had shared had borne fruit. He could not help but smile at the thought of the child born of such passion. Their own happy little family…

But before he could push the door wide open to shower his wife with kisses, he heard her sister’s teasing.

“I must admit I never thought Grandmama’s seduction methods would actually work, Selina! But here we are!”

“What could you not imagine, Cathy? If I recall correctly, it was my methods that saved your marriage! But Selina took things to a whole new level. Not only did she let me lure the Duke back to London, but she made sure to follow my seduction methods so that she would secure her position once and for all.”

Seduction methods?

Matthew had suspected that Selina was trying to catch his attention, and she had shared her concerns about the annulment, but her family’s words still made him halt his advance.

“Do you not want something more from your marriage now, Selina?” Madeline asked. “You and your husband have been almost inseparable for most of these past weeks. Everything began as duty and a means of securing your position, but surely there must be affection between the two of you.”

Matthew held his breath. He was both afraid and eager to hear Selina’s answer. He had just realized how desperately he wanted to know what was on her mind, since she had said nothing at all.

“No, there was never anything more to my marriage, Maddy,” Selina said flatly. Matthew was startled by the coldness in her voice. Where was the warmth and passion he had heard from her all those times? “Now, at least, I have gotten what I wished for. As Grandmama said, I have secured my position as a duchess.”

It would have been better if she had just slapped him. It would have hurt less.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Portia asked.

“I wish to come and stay with you and Grandmama,” Selina added. “I want a motherly figure by my side now that I am with child.”

“See? I had been right from the start. Perhaps we should have forced him to come to London sooner. Then it would have spared you the humiliation of waiting for him for four whole years,” Lady Marlow said.

“Not to mention all the things you had to go through to make him notice you.” Portia shuddered. “I would never do half of what you did for a man.”

“I sincerely wish you never have to, dear sister,” Selina said.

Outside, Matthew felt as though his heart were being ripped from his chest.

How could it be?

It has all been a trick from the start.

The fake funeral. She must have been part of it all along. He had only suspected that she had wanted to get his attention when she had played the damsel in distress and pretended not to know how to handle a pistol. He should have known then that she was a little too good at pretending.

Matthew knew she was trying to win him over, but not to toss him aside the moment she felt her position was secure, as if she could not bear to see his face again.

He wondered if Selina ever had feelings for him, or whether it had all been part of the act. He had to have his answers. Matthew took a step toward the room, ready to send everyone away and demand an explanation for her manipulation, but Oliver stopped him in his tracks.

“Matthew! Thank the Lord you are here.” Oliver managed to get the words out before he broke into a coughing fit.

“Take it easy, Oliver. What is the matter?” Matthew patted his brother on the back.

“It is Mary Wills. Harrison just told me she has finally agreed to talk.”

Chapter 29