Page 53 of The Duke’s Unwilling Bride

“Now then, Jeremy,” a syrupy sweet voice sounds out from off to the side. “Is that any way to speak to our guests?” A woman makes her way around his bulk and stares at me from the doorframe. “Oh my. It seems someone has not yet reached pubescence. That or,” she pauses to sniff the air, “we have a woman trying to masquerade as a man. Why someone would do that, I haven’t a clue.” With a smirk, she glances down at the hat near her feet. “Even with that stylish bit of silk on your head, you couldn’t pass as a man old enough to even know what to do with that odd growth between their legs.”

My fingers shake as I gather my nerves. “Step aside. I wish to enter.”

“My my, it seems as if a mouse has found its way to my doorstep. Best to sweep it away and be done with.”

Rising up to my full height, I toss my head back, putting on a bravado I do not feel. “I am no mouse, Madame.”

More women gather around her, all of them dressed in garish clothing. The colors are riotous, setting my head to aching. As they come to look at me, they titter behind their fans.

“Well, isn’t this adorable,” the woman says to others gathering around. “The mouse can squeak.”

“My husband is in there. Let me through so I may join him.”

“Poor little mouse.” The woman at the door gives me a sad look, her lips turning down into a soft pout. “The only way you’re gaining entrance is to work. And since you are not one of my girls, the answer is still no.”

Desperation claws at my insides. I’ve come too far to be thwarted now. Besides, what else would I do besides ride back home, my proverbial tail tucked between my legs? It’s high time I have some answers, and based on what I’m seeing, I need them now more than ever.

I know I’m not giving Foxford what he needs physically, but the idea of him going behind my back to visit this place, which is obviously a house of ill repute, sets my stomach to turning. I won’t stand for it, but in order to confront him, I need evidence. All that’s standing between the facts and me is my apparent pride.

Pride be damned. Lowering my head, I pluck at the buttons on the overcoat. “What if I say yes? What if I,” pausing, I gesture to the women looking at me from behind their fans, “do whatever it is the other women do here?”

She studies me for a moment before leaning forward. Her nose tips into the air as she scents me. Again, that prickling unease, that itch just beneath the skin, comes back, and I long to claw at my body to make it stop. I watch, helpless, as her eyes dilate just a touch, as if my scent calls to her.

This isn’t what I wanted at all. I never wanted to be at the mercy of someone else’s attention. I could have been safe at home, but no, I chose to be foolhardy, allowing my heart to take over my brain. Why? Why didn’t I just give in and give Foxford what he wanted?

Turning, she speaks to the doorman, her voice too low for me to hear. With a nod, he leaves, but I still have no clue what’s transpiring. “Perhaps I should just leave. I-”

“Oh no, my dear little mouse. There’s no need for all of that. If you are willing to work as one of my girls, then we will be having a much different conversation. Come, and I shall prepare you.”

CHAPTER 26

Joseph

A prickle of unease tickles the back of my neck as I down the rest of my port in one gulp. Like always, I chose to sit in the drinking room, refusing to allow myself to become tempted by the women that work here. Teresa might not be holding up her end of the wifely duties, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still hold out hope.

I just have to wait until her heat. And based on what I smelled tonight when I went into her room, I didn’t have that much longer to wait. At first, I told myself I would only give a claiming bite to a love match, but after the squabbles between us, I now know that it’s imperative to mark her as soon as I can.

It will be one more layer that will bind her to me, bending her to my whims far easier than physical strength alone. But more than that, it will let me see inside that conniving mind of hers so I may ascertain what’s truth and what’s fiction. All in all, I want to trust her, to believe her, but as of the moment, I haven’t enough evidence to be sure she’s not just a money-grubbing omega who’s just after my fortune.

Seeing her in the drawing room, playing with the skill she did, brought home just how easy it was for her to lie. Or, as she describes it, tell me words and have me jump to the wrong conclusions. Only, with the bond firmly in place, I will have an inside way to always know what’s going on.

Determined, I slam my cup against the table and stand to leave. From the corner of my eye, I watch as Madame Douler makes her way through the tables, nodding and waving at patrons. No doubt she’s coming back to see if I want to indulge in her girls.

It doesn’t matter how many times I say no, she persists, touting how ill-advised it is for an Alpha to go without their needs being met. She will never understand. And how can I expect her to when I don’t understand either?

By all rights, I should be balls deep in one of the experienced whores. But I just can’t bring myself to defile my marriage like that. It’s yet one more reason to claim my unwilling bride and force her to be my wife in every way I demand. Besides, her body at least cannot tell a lie, and I know for certain she desires me. She’s just being too bloody stubborn.

“Listen,” I start, as she glides next to me. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but-”

“You must hear me out, Foxford.” Glancing to and fro, she flutters her fan at the swell of her bosom. “I have something special for you. Something not even you can resist.”

“I can assure you that my powers of stubbornness far outweigh yours. And as a fellow Alpha, you cannot use your persuasion over me.”

Pouting, she flutters her fan again. “And since when have I ever had to use my Alpha persuasion?”

“Not that I’ve seen, but I know you possess it. Now please, allow me to pass so I may go home.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to see?” Sighing, she closes her fan and examines her nails. “I suppose I’ll just have to find Perry and have him assist me then.”