Falling for a Duke (Timeless Regency Collection Book 8) Read online

  Could he really mean it? She searched his eyes for some ulterior motive but couldn’t find a hint of deception. He truly seemed as though he wanted to spend more time with her. “I’m not all that fascinating,” she offered, giving him a chance to change his mind.

  “You are to me.”

  She snorted.

  He pointed. “You see? What other woman of my acquaintance would dare react so honestly? Everyone is so prim and proper. Their reactions are weighed, calculated, reevaluated, and then filtered out so they present themselves in the most flattering light. You, Madeline, are an enigma. You do none of those things. I wager you are who you are at all times, whether you’re at home, alone in your room, or in the garden with a duke.” He delivered the last with a wry smile.

  He was right about that, but he didn’t realize one very important thing. “That is only because I lack the skills for subterfuge. If I were capable of such things, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them.”

  “And there,” he said with a bit too much satisfaction, as if she’d only further proved his point. “You tell the truth. That skill is scarce in society.”

  She rolled her eyes at that.

  “You can’t deny it.”

  “Perhaps not, but regardless of your reasons, I worry that you’ll come to regret spending more time with me. Others might frown upon your choice of companions.”

  “I think you’re forgetting that I’m a duke.”

  “As if anyone could forget such a thing—except maybe you,” she said dryly.

  He raised her hand slowly to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “And you never hesitate to correct or put me in my place. I must insist that we spend more time together. It will do me good.”

  She laughed, unrestrained, as some of the stress of the past few days lifted from her shoulders. He genuinely wanted to spend time with her. He would not have pushed so hard unless he did. Warmth pooled in her belly as she finally nodded her acceptance.

  Ethan knew he and Madeline had lingered far too long in the garden, but he was loath to leave at all. Someone would eventually check on them, however, and he didn’t want Madeline compromised in any way.

  After he led her out and found her mother blessedly silent about their time alone, they wandered from garden to garden, chatting about the various displays and allowing Madeline’s mother to intrude more into their conversation. All the while, he studied Madeline.

  She fascinated him, and the more time he spent with her—watching the way the light played against her skin, the way her large, cinnamon-colored eyes lit with excitement, and the way her lips curved just the right amount to let him know she found him amusing, even if she didn’t want to—the more time he wanted.

  She was unlike any other woman of his acquaintance. He hadn’t misled her about that, but he might have been vague on his reasons for wanting more time with her.

  He had told her he enjoyed her company, which was completely true, but he also wanted to know her, down to the core of her soul. He wanted to know her passions, her secrets, her fears. He wanted to know what made her smile and what made her love her family to such a degree she was willing to risk everything for them.

  Deep down, he was coming to realize that he wanted to be one of those people in her life she risked everything for. He didn’t know how or why she had gotten through his armor, but she had.

  She wasn’t about to get away from him before he learned all those things, and if he could help her in any way, he would. The thought of her being so desperate she felt she had to fulfill a task that could ruin her left his blood cold. He would make sure she was never that vulnerable again. Lady Louisa—just thinking of her name left an acrid taste in his mouth—would not use Madeline again for her little games.

  Madeline’s mother moved into the next garden and snagged his attention again. “This arrangement is said to have the most flowers of all the exhibits. No doubt the cost was tremendous.”

  He agreed lightly and obligingly stepped into the rows of orderly blossoms. Madeline’s mother cooed over the display, but Madeline didn’t seem nearly as impressed. He stepped closer and asked softly, “You don’t fancy this?”

  “It’s all right.”

  “But you won’t ask your future husband to recreate it?”

  She bit her lip, trying not to laugh, and he loved that he knew that about her.

  She finally shook her head. “No. I would hate to have to look out the window at this each day.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it reminds me of everything I should be.” She waved to the different rows, the mixture of flowers impressive, with different varieties meshed together by color to mimic a rainbow. “I’m supposed to fit a mold like this, to behave a certain way. Although they are each different, they conform to fit together. I don’t want to do that.”

  “You shouldn’t have to.”

  “But we all do, don’t we? Even you, as a duke, must behave a certain way. If you want to be liked, anyway.”

  “I’m not so certain I’m liked now, especially not by the mothers with eligible daughters.”

  “Oh no. They love you.”

  “They love my title, but they hate that I don’t court their daughters,” he said, and even he could hear the edge to his words.

  She lowered her eyebrows in concern and turned away from the fragrant garden. “Does that bother you?”

  “I’m used to it.” He shrugged. “Does that surprise you?”

  “A little. I thought having a title made people happy.”

  “I can guarantee it doesn’t. It only brings new sets of problems.”

  She seemed to consider that. “I would think—”

  “Miss Maybury, there you are!” a syrupy-sweet voice exclaimed a moment before the owner of said voice laced her arm through Madeline’s.

  Madeline jerked in surprise but quickly recovered. She smiled at Lady Louisa, who had a calculating look Ethan didn’t trust.

  “It’s wonderful to see you, Lady Louisa,” Madeline said, and although her words were polite, the look in her eyes told anyone who bothered to pay attention it was anything but wonderful.

  Ethan bowed to Lady Louisa and her entourage, who lingered a few steps behind her, in greeting. That was something he’d noticed early on: she never stood among her so-called friends, always in front.

  Ethan looked away when Lady Louisa tossed her head, forcing her chest out a few more inches. The calculated move did not interest him in the slightest.

  Lady Louisa patted Madeline’s hand like she would a child. “We’ve been looking all over for you. We thought it would be so much more enjoyable to view the gardens in a large group. I hope you both don’t mind if we join you.”

  It was the height of rudeness to invite herself, but there was no way to refuse without causing a scene, and Lady Louisa knew that. Besides, most people would forgive her almost anything.

  “Of course,” Ethan murmured after Madeline quickly accepted.

  Madeline glanced at him, mouthing I’m sorry while Lady Louisa spoke to the others, and he offered her a tight smile. None of this was her fault, even if she might think so. Lady Louisa had been trying to garner a proposal from him for some time. And although he had made his disinterest abundantly clear, she had stubbornly refused to take no for an answer.

  En masse, they walked through the rainbow garden. Suddenly, Lady Louisa gasped. “Oh dear, I forgot. There is something I must speak with Miss Maybury about immediately.” She gave Ethan a sugary, apologetic smile. “I hope you don’t mind going on without us, Your Grace? Mrs. Maybury? We’ll only be a moment.”

  His teeth clenched as Madeline’s eyes widened. He didn’t want to leave her alone to face Lady Louisa, but there was nothing he could do. He had no reason to refuse. “I’ll be sure to walk slowly.”

  As Ethan entered the next garden, Madeline wrenched her arm away from Lady Louisa. She didn’t need to remove her gloves to know nail marks now scored her flesh. Please let the skin be intact. She couldn’t a
fford to replace bloodied gloves.

  When Ethan rounded a hedge, completely obscuring him from view, Lady Louisa lost all semblance of the sweet-tempered woman she had displayed only a moment before.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Lady Louisa hissed.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Lady Louisa’s hands clenched into fists on her hips. “I’m going to warn you only once, Miss Maybury. Stay away from the Duke of Hargrave.”

  Madeline’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious! You are the one who told me he had to escort me. I wouldn’t even be here today if you had accepted my last task.”

  Louisa’s cornflower-blue eyes narrowed, and the ladies who had, until then, stood only a few feet away retreated farther into the garden.

  “I only gave you that second task because never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the duke would want to kiss you or accompany you here. I don’t know how you blackmailed him into performing such a duty, but I’m ordering you to cease this instant.”

  Bitterness unfurled inside Madeline. “You are ordering me? Is that how you treat everyone else or just me? If you didn’t want me to succeed and join your group of friends, why even invite me to participate in the first place?”

  Lady Louisa’s shrill laugh filled the air, and Madeline noticed more than one of the other girls shrink away. She realized that each of them knew the sound well and that they lived in fear of it. How many of their lives rested on the whims of this awful woman? How many had sacrificed themselves so they could be at her side?

  One would think that Lady Louisa would be grateful to have so many who wanted to follow her, but she wasn’t. She used them at her whim, for her own pleasure, to mock or discard as she pleased. She cared not one bit about them as human beings.

  Even Madeline had fallen right into her snare. “I don’t want any part of this,” she said quietly. “I appreciate the opportunity to join your circle, but I respectfully withdraw and forfeit a spot in your group.”

  Louisa’s face contorted, then she whispered harshly, “You can’t refuse. I own you.”

  “No one owns me. The only person who will have some rights over me will be my future husband, and only then what I allow.”

  “Oh, but I do own you, darling Madeline.” A cold sweat misted Madeline’s skin as Louisa continued, “The moment you accepted the task I gave you, you were mine, and you’ll stay that way until I’ve said otherwise or you will regret it. Once I’m finished with you, you’ll never have to worry about anyone marrying you. You’ll be out of society so fast, no one will ever take another look at you again.”

  Madeline swallowed hard. Lady Louisa was right. She did have the power to ruin her. If Madeline didn’t do what she wanted, it would not matter how much time Ethan spent with her, no man of good standing would ever look at her, and then, all would be lost.

  After a few moments, Lady Louisa straightened her shoulders and smiled coldly. “That’s what I thought. You just needed a reminder of who was in charge. Now, I expect you to do exactly what I say, when I say it. If you ever dare question me again, you’ll regret it.”

  Madeline nodded, but her mind whirled for ideas on how to get out of this mess. She recognized that this was what she had wanted all along: for Lady Louisa to take her under her wing. Madeline just hadn’t realized how oppressive it would be.

  The thought of staying away from Ethan should have been easy. She would never have gotten to know him in normal circumstances anyway. She should never have known his wry sense of humor, that he loathed being wanted for his title, or that he danced like every temptation she had ever succumbed to. But she did. She knew all that about him and felt hollow and empty at the thought of not seeing him again.

  How was any of this fair? Why did it seem like her goal of marrying well, the one thing she had striven for her whole life, no longer mattered? It had to matter. There was no way around it. It had to matter if she was going to help her family. It had to matter if she wanted a secure future. While it felt like ripping a hole in her heart, she had to back away from Ethan. He wasn’t her future. It was either separate now, or later, when it would hurt more.

  Lady Louisa sighed in satisfaction as she looked out over the garden, then scanned over the other ladies. “This is the most glorious garden, don’t you agree? Everything all lined up as it should be.”

  Madeline didn’t think Lady Louisa actually wanted an answer, but she nodded anyway.

  “Now that we are finished with all that unpleasantness, we’re going to rejoin the duke, but you’ll need to fade in behind me. I’ll stand at his side from now on.”

  And suddenly, everything made sense. Lady Louisa wanted Ethan for herself. No wonder Lady Louisa resented her. Madeline had done something Lady Louisa’s title and looks had never accomplished: she’d snagged the duke’s attention.

  Ethan waited ten minutes before leaving Mrs. Maybury on a bench so he could return to where he had left Madeline and Lady Louisa. From the looks of it, he’d waited too long. He didn’t like the way Madeline’s eyes were cast down to the ground or the high color that flagged her cheeks.

  “Your Grace,” Lady Louisa said in her thickly sweet voice. “Was there something you needed?”

  “I didn’t want to risk losing Miss Maybury . . . or yourself,” he added grudgingly, his politeness so ingrained that he could hardly stop it.

  “How thoughtful,” she said, but he heard the edge in her tone that told him she knew he was only being polite.

  “Mrs. Maybury is waiting for us to rejoin her in the next garden,” he explained, then held his arm out for Madeline, but Lady Louisa stepped forward and accepted his offer in her place. Short of physically shaking her off, there was nothing he could do about it.

  Madeline didn’t meet his eyes, and it was then he knew something had gone terribly wrong. Loathing for the parasite attached to his arm rushed through him. It was women like Lady Louisa that left little to be desired in the events hosted by the ton. And while some women were like her, no one compared with her level of narcissism and vindictiveness. Lady Louisa might be the “queen” in society, but she had absolutely no sway over him.

  “Miss Maybury?” He waited until Madeline’s dispirited gaze met his before offering her his other arm.

  Her eyes flashed with panic. She quickly hid it, but it was enough to light fresh rage within Ethan. Madeline shouldn’t be afraid of anything, and by the end of the day, he would make that abundantly clear.

  She didn’t glance at Lady Louisa before taking his offered left arm, and he quickly pulled her to his side. He wanted to whisper that it would be all right, that he would handle it, but he couldn’t speak privately with Lady Louisa so close. So instead of using words, he hoped the strength of his body would give her the comfort she needed.

  As the trio walked toward the next garden, Lady Louisa chatted about herself and her many accomplishments. Ethan wanted to tie a gag around her mouth, but he didn’t think even that would stop her from talking about herself.

  Madeline’s mother took in the scene as they approached, and her mouth firmed into a tight line. She approached the group, inserting her own comments about Madeline and their family. Madeline remained quiet, but Ethan’s admiration toward Mrs. Maybury grew by the second as she stood up to the belle of the ton.

  When he was sure Lady Louisa was sufficiently distracted, he leaned toward Madeline. “Is everything all right?”

  She nodded, but he knew it wasn’t the truth.

  “Come now, after being so forthright about everything else, surely you can tell me.”

  Madeline’s gaze darted past him, making sure Lady Louisa wasn’t paying attention. “You probably shouldn’t talk to me. She isn’t happy.”

  He didn’t need to ask who “she” was, and he certainly didn’t care. For the first time in his life, he was concerned over another person’s happiness more than his own, and he would make sure Madeline had everything she needed and wanted.

  “Miss
Maybury,” Lady Louisa cut off Mrs. Maybury, noticing the quiet conversation between them. Ethan felt Madeline shrink next to him.

  “Yes, Lady Louisa?” she answered obediently.

  Lady Louisa took a step forward and turned to level a cool gaze at Madeline, but she refused to let go of his arm. “I forgot to mention I will need you at the Fosters’ soiree on Thursday.”

  By the way she studied Madeline, Ethan knew there wasn’t anything good waiting for Madeline there. Just before Madeline was about to agree, he interrupted, cutting off her reply.

  “Unfortunately, Miss Maybury has already accepted an invitation to a small dinner party my mother is hosting that night. She would be terribly disappointed if Madeline canceled at this point.”

  Madeline froze, and he hoped she wouldn’t contradict him.

  “Why, yes!” Madeline’s mother joined the conversation. “It had completely slipped my mind. I do appreciate you reminding us of the event, Your Grace. We are greatly looking forward to dining with her ladyship.”

  “Well,” Lady Louisa said tightly, “how fortunate for you. I’m sure the evening will be most agreeable.”

  Ethan could almost feel the icicles in her voice. She hadn’t received an invitation, and that slight was intolerable for her. He would have to mention to his mother to leave Lady Louisa off the guest list when she sent out rush invitations to a gathering that hadn’t existed before this moment.

  Madeline still couldn’t decide which would have been worse: going to the Fosters’ soiree where Lady Louisa would torment her in whatever way she saw fit or attending an intimate dinner party with Ethan’s mother.

  Madeline had been introduced to the dowager duchess early in her debut, but there had never been another reason for the dowager duchess to speak to her again. Frankly, it would have continued on that way indefinitely if Madeline hadn’t accepted her task.

  Heavens, what must the lady think of her? She wasn’t certain how Ethan had talked his mother into hosting, but no matter which way Madeline thought on it, it was awkward. He would have needed to mention her specifically or else she never would have received an invitation.