BETRAYAL OF DIGNITY
Part 6
An Offer of Marriage
Morning dawned on the third day following the Dukes proposal. Chloe prepared to leave the castle, for it was the day on which he expected a response. She bade her ailing father farewell, his worried gaze following her as she departed.
Duke Thisse possessed a number of castles scattered across the kingdom, as if collecting them was a pastime of his. Among them was a coastal villa that was a three-hour journey from the Verdier estate. As the carriage rattled along winding mountain roads, Chloe gently lifted the curtain to peer out at the scenery.
By the time the cerulean waves of the sea came into view on the right, the sun had reached its zenith. Chloe could see the Duke's villa perched atop a steep cliff. As the carriage began to slow, she clasped her damp hands together.
"Do you have an appointment?" the butler asked, his tone polite yet distant.
"I am Chloe Verdier, the eldest daughter of Viscount Verdier," Chloe replied. She lifted her chin slightly as her fingers gripped her cane more firmly. "Please inform His Grace that I have come with an answer to his offer of marriage."
"Please wait here for a moment."
The distant cries of seagulls could be heard from the groundfloor drawing room of the tranquil villa. All the windows had been thrown open, and the curtains fluttered lightly in the sea breeze. Chloe tried to calm her nerves. Alone in the drawing room with bright sunlight streaming in, she felt exposed, as if there was nowhere to hide. As she watched the sunlight dance upon the sea, she momentarily lost herself in a day-dream, wishing this was all an illusion.
The butler soon returned, interrupting her reverie. "His Grace has requested that you wait here a moment," he informed her.
"Would you care for some tea and refreshments while you wait?"
"No, I appreciate your kindness."
Her nervousness had left her without an appetite, and she feared that her trembling hands would betray her if she held a teacup. A seemingly interminable amount of time passed. By the time the butler returned once more to escort her, her back had begun to ache.
"Please follow me."
Contrary to Chloe's expectations, she was not led to a study or office, but to a balcony at the highest point of the castle. As she climbed the stairs with heavy steps, she was greeted by the sound of azure waves crashing against the cliffs. The view was as breathtaking as a painting, but she hardly had a moment to admire it.
"Did you find my offer of marriage so pleasing that you decided to personally inform me of its acceptance?"
The Duke was reclining on an elongated chair woven from rattan, his pose unbecoming of a nobleman receiving a visitor.
He was not wearing a shirt, and his bare chest was baked a deep red from the midday sun. Chloe was reminded of a cat that had just awoken from languidly basking in the sun.
"It was not something I could discuss in a letter," Chloe replied.
"Are you afflicted with an infectious disease?" The Duke flicked his hand as if to mock her, his gaze taking in her painstakingly chosen outfit. She was dressed in a bonnet and one of her finest gowns and had even brought along a parasol.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"If that isn't the case, why don't you step closer? Even enemy generals sit at the same table during negotiations." With a surge of something unidentifiable welling up inside her, Chloe moved closer. Though a white canopy provided shade, the Duke had chosen to sit where the sun's rays bore down on him unobstructed.
