Eva Shepherd - Beguiling The Duke

She sighed, as if to say that if a lake was all he had to offer, then a lake it would have to be.

He led her to the gently curving serpentine lake that wound its way around the house. As they strolled slowly along its edge Rosie admired the centrepiece sculpture of Neptune, and the array of carved sea creatures that appeared to be frolicking in the waters. When the fountain sent water cascading high into the air, Rosie was tempted to clap her hands with delight at its playfulness.

‘Is the lake more to your taste, Miss van Haven?

She forced her face to remain impassive. ‘Lakes are all right, I suppose. But it’s a shame it’s got all those sculptures in it. Art is so distracting, don’t you think?’

‘You don’t like art either?’

She shook her head vigorously and scowled. ‘No—art is so wasteful , don’t you think? All those galleries, and museums...theatres and whatnot. I’m sure they could all be put to much better use. Don’t you agree?’

‘Miss van Haven, you’re...’ He paused and looked around, as if struggling to find the right words.

Rosie smiled and waited for an appropriately disparaging comment that would seal her fate as a completely unacceptable future bride.

‘You’re quite unusual—aren’t you, Miss van Haven?’

Quite unusual. It wasn’t nearly as insulting as she would have liked, but it would have to do.

‘Unusual? Me? No, I don’t think so. I think it’s the rest of the world that’s unusual. All those people who like culture...plays, books, art, sculptures... They’re the unusual ones.’ She shuddered, as if the mere thought of art was abhorrent to her.

‘In that case I suspect there will be little point showing you the family’s collection of Old Masters.’

Rosie abruptly stopped walking and screwed up her face as if in pain. No. She had gone too far. Nothing would please her more than to see the FitzRoy art collection. One of the few things she knew about the family was that they had been collecting art for generations and had one of the finest collections outside the national art galleries. And now she had deprived herself of the opportunity to view some of the world’s finest masterpieces.

She bit lightly on her tongue, to stop herself from crying out that she would give just about anything to see the collection. Anything, that was, except betray her promise to Arabella to make sure the Duke had no interest in marrying her.

‘Yes, I suspect you’re right—it would be a complete waste of time to show me any pictures,’ she said through clenched teeth.

‘Perhaps, then, we should sit awhile?’

He led her to a seat on the stone bridge that curved over the lake. While they looked out at the water and the woodland backdrop Rosie tried to think of a scheme that would convince Lord Ashton that, despite her claim to detest art, it would still be a good idea for him to show her the collection.

‘Miss van Haven, there is something I must tell you. I hope you won’t be offended, but it is essential that I tell you the truth.’

‘I’m sure nothing you say will offend me, Your Grace.’ After all, Rosie was the one who was trying her hardest to be offensive.

‘You were invited here for the weekend under false pretences and I must let you know the true situation.’

She tilted her head. This was intriguing. ‘False pretences?

‘It was my mother’s idea to invite you. I believe she has given you and your father the impression that I am interested in meeting you with the intention of looking towards a possible marriage. That is not the case. You’re a very pretty young lady, Miss van Haven, and I’m sure you will one day make some man very happy, but I’m afraid that man won’t be me.’

Had she heard him correctly? ‘You don’t want to marry me?’

‘I’m sorry, Miss van Haven. As I said, I mean no offence. I don’t wish to marry anyone. I don’t know if you are aware that your father and my mother have put this scheme together without my approval, or even my knowledge. So, my apologies for the gross deception, but I don’t want to marry you.’

Rosie clapped her hands and laughed with delight. ‘That’s wonderful news!’

With his eyebrows knitted together, he once again looked at her as if she were a curiosity. ‘Wonderful? Am I to assume that you don’t wish to marry either?’

She shook her head vigorously, still smiling and clapping. ‘No, I most definitely do not. Why else do you think I put on that performance when I first arrived? Why else do you think I said that trees are horrid? Who thinks trees are horrid? No one! I was trying to make you dislike me so you wouldn’t want to marry me.’

She had expected him to laugh as well, but he continued to frown. It seemed an inability to smile was another thing he had in common with those statues of Greek athletes.

‘None of what you said was true?’

‘Of course not.’ She shook her head at his obvious statement.

‘ Why did you feel the need to put on such an act?’

‘So you wouldn’t want to marry me, of course.’ Rosie was beginning to wonder if the handsome Duke was perhaps a bit dim-witted.

‘You’ve been lying and pretending since the moment you arrived?’

Her smile faltered. ‘Um... Well, yes, I guess I have. But I had to.’

The furrow in his brow deepened. ‘Would it not have been easier to have told the truth—that you didn’t wish to marry?’

‘Well, perhaps, but it might have got complicated if you had been determined to marry me .’

‘And play-acting isn’t complicated? Lying isn’t complicated?’

Rosie shrugged, unsure how to answer.

He looked out at the lake and sighed deeply. ‘I’ve always found that lies inevitably cause complications, and often have far-reaching consequences for too many people. Telling lies might benefit the liar, but it almost always causes a great deal of problems for everyone else.’

Rosie wondered at his reaction, which seemed to be about something more than just her deceptive behaviour. His face looked so solemn, even melancholy, almost as if he was recalling some past hurt, some previous act of deception that had wounded him.

Her immediate impulse was to put her hand on his arm—to comfort him the way she often longed for someone to comfort her. She knew what it was like to have suffered in the past, to feel the need to hide your internal wounds from the world. But she did not know this man—would never really know him. So instead she did what she always did. She kept smiling.

He turned his attention back to her. ‘Is anything you’ve said today been the truth?’

‘Um...well, I’m definitely American.’ She gave an embarrassed laugh.

‘Anything else?’

Rosie looked out at the lake, bit the edge of her lip and struggled to find anything to say.

‘In that case, shall we try and sort the truth from the lies?’

Rosie shook her head, then nodded, unsure whether telling the truth was a good idea or not.

‘Let’s start with trees. What do you think of trees?’

She laughed lightly with relief; that was something about which she was happy to tell the truth. ‘I love trees. And I love the gardens designed by Capability Brown. I’ve seen many sketches of his work and I was hoping I’d get a chance to see some of his gardens while I was in England. I love the way he combines a natural look with little whimsical features—like the fountains and sculptures. It’s quite stunning.’

The furrow in his forehead disappeared and he looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. ‘And I take it you don’t object to birds either?’

She laughed again. ‘Who wouldn’t love birds? Of course I love birds— and all other animals.’