To Deceive A Duke

Chapter 23

Clarissa can't help her reaction. She lets out a peel of genuine laughter that draws the attention of the nearest dancers, but she is too focused on the preposterous nature of his suggestion to care. Dancing is the last thing on her mind as she chuckles to herself, however, Daniel's tight grip ensures that she keeps moving around the dance floor. He watches her shoulders shake, a frosty look on his face. Her giggling dies down and she sobers up when his serious expression doesn't change and she realises he is being sincere. 

"Marry you? Are you insane? I will do nothing of the sort." Amusement is still written across her face. Daniel scowls at her less than encouraging response. 

"Many may call me insane, but with this, I am far from it. By uniting our families we will create an unstoppable force that will smite out Baines and Lestrade." He states confidently, his eyes flashing with dark delight. 

"Why would people call you insane?" Clarissa asks, momentarily distracted. She regrets her question as soon as it leaves her mouth, the duke's mouth sets into a hard line and he narrows his eyes on her. 

"Never you mind," He says, his tone leaving no room for argument. She feels a stab of disappointment at his lack of answer but she doesn't let it bother her as the subject of marriage is just as extreme in her opinion. 

"Even if I did want this partnership, the law dictates that a wife must obey her husband. All my property and money would legally be yours, I could never let that happen. You'd turn me into your doll, your puppet, while you'd rule over everything and everyone," She points out. 

"The law also states that females cannot inherit, and yet....." He smirks at her, "You have. We are rich and powerful enough to evade the law on this issue. I promise you'd keep your land and money." 

"You're lying," She accuses immediately. 

He growls in response and leans his face closer to hers but he refuses to let herself be intimated by his proximity and glares back. 

"I never lie," He vows before spinning her out to the left. Her gaze never leaves his face as she moves and then turns back into his arms. Daniel can tell that he is not convincing her even remotely, as her violet eyes study his face for signs of deception but they don't find any. Back in their waltz hold, she looks at their feet, her mind racing with doubt and confusion. 

He sighs, "Clarissa, think, be smart. This life we have chosen doesn't factor in marriage or family life. As the heads of our families, we don't get that perfect happily ever after. We get blood and money." His voice is bitter as he speaks the reality of their lives. 

She tries to find an argument even though his words hit where she doesn't want them, "What about your parents? Your father? Your mother? They were a love match, correct?" 

At the mention of his father, Cavendish's body tenses and his face goes chillingly cold. He closes off and pulls as far away from her as the dance allows. He can't look at her, he focuses on a point above her head before he replies. 

"My mother loved my father, but she hated his life, she hated what it did to him, what it did to us. To an outsider like her, our life is cruel and painful. But you and me?  We both need that pain, we understand the commitment it takes and we give our lives to it."

Clarissa itches to ask him more about his father. The family tapestry she took showed her that the late Duke of Richmond died 10 years ago but she knows little else about him. Daniel's cool attitude dissuades her from probing further into the matter. 

"It won't take a lifetime to defeat Lestrade and Baines, so this wouldn't be a life long marriage would it?" Her mouth twitches at her words. She can't believe she's even considering this. Peter would fear that she is going mad if he knew.