Page 5 of My Cruel Duke

“Would you rather I call upon you at night then, Your Grace?”

Her boldness surprised her.

It seemed it surprised the Duke of Huxton as well as he took long, intimidating strides toward her, erasing whatever space was between them. She took one step back quickly to keep a safe distance from him. Despite her boldness, she knew she should not stand too close to him lest he burn her with the fire he harbored in his eyes.

“Brazenandshameless. That foul tongue will land you in trouble,” his voice hardened ruthlessly.

“In more trouble than you have landed my family in, Your Grace? I highly doubt it,” she spoke with light bitterness.

Rhysand raised a dark brow, peering at her with surprise and curiosity. The sheer audacity of her to walk into his home and speak to him in that manner! She bit her lower lip, forcing the dimples in her cheeks to deepen far more than they did when she spoke. He took note of this.

Penny took the duke’s silence as a sign to continue speaking.

“You ruined my family on a whim, and now my sister and I suffer daily with no male protection!” Her chest heaved, and his eyes caught the movement.

“I can assure you; I never do anything on a whim, and your father’s punishment was due after years of reasoning and proper calculations. Justice was served,” he said tersely.

“My father never did anything wrong! Did you forget that you and my brother were friends once? How could you do this?” At this, Rhysand leaned dangerously close to her to make sure she heard clearly what he was about to say.

“I do not have friends, Miss Hislop, and you will do well to remember that,” he pulled away. “Your father is guilty of those crimes and many more. Now, if that is all, I suggest you take your leave. I have more pressing matters I must attend to,” he turned away. One step forward, and he heard a thud. He whipped his head so fast he feared he broke a bone in his neck, and his lips fell into a flat line at the sight.

Penny fell to the floor on her knees. She had wanted to keep her dignity, to show him that she had a fire in her that he could not quench no matter what, but he simply did not care. He saw her father as a criminal, and it seemed nothing could change his mind from that prospect. She wondered what her father could have done to the duke that made him plan his ruin for all these years.

“Please,” her voice broke as her vision blurred. “Patrick abandoned Lydia and me. He fled with what money was left, and I have strived to make ends meet with everything I could. We are out of funds, food, and every basic necessity.”

His brows drew together in an angry frown. Throughout all his years as an acquaintance of Patrick Hislop, he had known him to be far from bright, but taking off and leaving his sisters with no protection to save himself was the height of cowardice, and it repulsed him. He watched her lips quiver, and his frown intensified.

“My sister, Lydia, is about to step into society, but I fear a hope for a plausible match is out of the way because of our situation. I would not have come here… to you, Your Grace, if we were not in dire need of help…”

The duke’s brows shot up in obvious amusement as he peered down at her.

“Pray tell, why would I go out of my way to help you or your sister?” A drop of water emerged from his hair and dropped to the floor. Penny stared at it like it was something of great importance. Then she swallowed and looked up at him, full of angry determination.

“Your Grace, I am willing to do whatever it takes for Lydia to marry well and escape this miserable life. I made a promise to her, and I must follow through with it.”

Sudden interest in the lady before him flowed throughout his body at her words.“Your Grace, I am willing to do whatever it takes.”

Such bold and unbecoming words from a lady.Unconsciously, the talk he had with his uncle the day before danced at the forefront of his mind and sparked him with an idea.

“Get up and come here.” His request surprised her, but Penny did as he ordered; she would not back down. She got up slowly, searching his face for any clues to his thoughts. His relaxed brows gave nothing away, and she feared something horrible might happen to her if she neared him. Still, she stood before him, an air of confidence about her.

“Whatever it takes, you say?” He took a step forward.

“Yes,” she replied with a step backward. They continued this dance until her heels hit a hard surface, and there was nowhere to run to. The duke did not stop at this; he closed the distance between them, pressing the hardness of his body softly against hers. Her cheeks flushed immediately, and alarms set off in her head.

“What do you think you are doing, Your Grace?” Her voice expressed her shock and anger. Did he think she was a lightskirt or on her way to becoming one all because she asked for his help? She raised her neck from his exposed chest, keeping her gaze on his face, and then she parted her lips to tell him to kill whatever thought of impropriety he envisioned, but he beat her to it.

“I have just the proposition, but can you handle it?” He was teasing her. The duke was trying to scare her away, but she had already made the promise to leave only after she had secured help from him.

“Try me, Your Grace.”

His arched brow indicated his humorous astonishment at her boldness.

“I will see to it that your sister is married to a fine gentleman before the end of the Season…” he watched her brown orbs widen. “… if you agree to marry me and give me an heir.”

A breath Penny did not know she had been holding exited through her mouth, and her brows creased. “Are you in jest, Your Grace?”

He scowled at her question. “I do not possess the time nor patience to jest, Miss Hislop.”