The Return of the Duke - Grace Callaway Page 0,112
she said scathingly. “At Princess Adelaide’s salon.”
He didn’t flinch at her accusation. “What did you think you saw?”
“I know what I saw. On the balcony, you were…kissing her,” she said, her voice hitching.
The fact that he didn’t deny it brought her anger from simmering to a full boil.
“Do you know what I have finally realized?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “I may not be a lady or a proper duchess and I don’t give a blooming farthing. I am a tinker’s daughter, and I’m proud of it. When I married you, I tried to fix myself up. To make myself into the duchess you wanted. But it didn’t work, did it? I’m still Fancy Sheridan, a woman who can mend most things, but I can’t mend your heart. I’m tired of trying and, what is more, it isn’t my job. I deserve better than to be second best, the woman you settled for. I deserve better than a made-over marriage and my husband’s hand-me-down heart. I want my faerie tale ending, and I won’t settle for less!”
She hadn’t meant to shout. But once uncorked, her bottled-up emotions burst from her.
“I know.” By contrast, Knight’s voice was soft and low. “All of that is true. You deserve better than me, sweeting, I have always known that. But make no mistake: I am not letting you go.”
“Because of the scandal?” she asked bitterly. “No one will care. In fact, they’ll think we’re proper blue-bloods if we live separate lives. You and Imogen can carry on however you like, and I’ll do the same—”
“The hell you will. And devil take Imogen.” He took a step forward, his hands closing around her arms, his eyes smoldering into hers. “You’re mine, Fancy.”
“Let me go,” she said.
“Never. You are the best thing that has happened to me, and I am never letting you go.”
His ardent declaration, raw with emotion, startled her into silence.
“I have made so many mistakes with you,” he said tightly. “Too many to count. But the one I will not make is losing you, the woman I love, who taught me what love is.”
Her heart seemed to stop at his words.
“You don’t love me.” She forced the words through her cinched throat. “You love her…Imogen. You always have, and you always will.”
“No.” He shook his head with vehemence. “I don’t love her.”
“Don’t lie to me,” she cried. “I saw you kissing her.”
“What you saw was Imogen taking me off guard. It’s true, she sought me out that night at the soiree. She said she had something urgent she needed to talk about. I shouldn’t have gone to the balcony with her, but she seemed desperate. Like she needed my help.” Knight dragged a hand through his hair. “Once we were out there, she threw herself at me.”
Pain lanced through Fancy. “So you did kiss her.”
“Not on purpose. I didn’t realize what she meant to do.” His eyes were fierce yet imploring. “When she kissed me, I froze. Because I didn’t expect it…and because I felt nothing. I ended the kiss an instant after.”
“I don’t know why you would when you’ve saved your kisses for her for so long.”
“Because I’ve fallen in love with you,” he said hoarsely.
“Oh, really?” She crossed her arms, unwilling to open herself up to more pain. “When did that magical moment happen?”
“Probably from the moment I laid eyes on you arguing with that damned donkey.” At her look of disbelief, he amended, “I knew that I wanted you then. That I’d never felt such a strong physical attraction to a female before.”
She huffed out a breath. “Lust isn’t the same as love.”
“It wasn’t just lust I felt for you, but the lust was there. So much so that it blinded me to everything else I was feeling.” He exhaled. “I think that was why I was confused.”
“You were quite clear when you proposed. You love Imogen. You were willing to settle for me because you’d compromised me,” she said flatly. “And because we’re compatible between the sheets.”
“I’m an idiot.” Remorse thickened his voice, his gaze pleading. “Fancy, I had no idea what love was before I met you. When I met Imogen, I was fifteen. I thought I loved her, but it was the immature infatuation of a boy who saw only her beauty, the life of privilege she led, and wanted it for himself. I’ve come to realize some things. Truths I had kept buried because they were unsavory. I’ve never shared them with anyone, but