Page 30 of Once Upon a Devilish Duke

“Just leave the book over there,” he said, indicating the small table by the window.

It was then that she realized she had been clutching it to her chest. “I wanted to thank you for letting me borrow it.”

He was busy scribbling something, but said, “You are welcome.”

“Do you have any others?”

He looked up again and put his quill down, his deep-blue eyes narrowing. “Is that really why you are up here?”

“Yes, of course.”

A single brow rose. “Rose.”

“Your Grace.” She raised a brow back at him.

“Did Marianne send you to scold me?”

“Do you think you need scolding?”

He laughed at that. “She would say I do.”

She took two steps closer to his desk. “I take it you disagree.”

He shrugged. “I know my sister.”

Her fingers reached out and ran along the edge of his desk, along the intricate inlaid detail in gold. “I know her too.”

“Not like I do,” he said, his eyes on her hands, on her fingers as she continued their discovery of the intricate carvings on the edge of his large desk. When his eyes lifted to hers, he said, “You see, Rose, my sister is one of those women who goes around helping others like some fallen angel trying to win back her wings. The thing is, she never lost them in the first place.”

“She is kind-hearted, yes, but what you did took advantage of that.”

“I did no such thing, and yet…she seems unwilling to forgive poor Dunstan.”

“As I understand it, poor Dunstan does not deserve forgiveness.”

“Then you understand wrong. I’m not sure what she told you, but there are things that even she cannot reveal to you. Therefore, I cannot explain the full picture, and neither can she. Be assured, my sister cannot be forced into anything she does not want to do. She may seem…timid, but she is not. She knows her own mind and so, really, I am only stating the obvious,” he said.

Rose was confused. All this skirting around the subject made her dizzy. “So, you will not force her to marry Dunstan?”

There was a momentary look of horror on his usually stoic face. “Of course not! What kind of man do you think I am?”

That got under his skin, surprisingly. “I think you are a man who does what he wants, when he wants, and in the manner he wants.”

He sat back in his chair and tapped his chin. “That is a lot of wants.”

“Am I wrong?” She realized she was gripping the edge of his desk and let go.

“Indubitably,” he said as he stood and came around from behind his desk.

She stopped herself from taking a step back.

“I have not been in control of my own wants since my father died. My wants are tied to my title, to my country, and to a king. If you know of some way I can shed myself of these, then, possibly, I will be able to do what I want. What I truly want.”

He was right in front of her now, and she could feel her heart beating madly within her. The fact that he used his privilege to justify his meddling in his sister’s life made her want to laugh. The look in his eyes stopped her from doing so. A combination of his proximity and his powerful persona standing right in front of her made her falter for a moment, but then she thought, in for a penny, in for a pound, and lifted her chin, looking him straight in the eye.

“Let me understand this,” she said. “Your meddling in your sister’s love life is somehow tied to your title and a position with the king?”

“I simply pointed out what she already knew in her heart, Lady Rose. I do not see how you think it is meddling. My sister’s happiness is paramount.”