In the Arms of an Earl (The Duke's Daughters Book 4)(14)
He had eyes only for her, ignoring Amelia completely as he came towards Harmonia and bowed low over her hand, his lips brushing the back of it. Harmonia, suppressing a shudder, tugged her hand away and waited for him to greet Amelia which, rather begrudgingly, he eventually managed.
“My dear Harmonia, you look beautiful this afternoon,” he said, as he sat down. “I do hope it is my presence that has brought such a joyful countenance.”
Harmonia felt her stomach tighten as she lifted her chin, trying to steady her resolve. “Actually, Luke, it is not.”
“I was very glad to receive your invitation,” he continued, apparently ignoring her comment entirely. “It means a great deal to me that you asked me to join you.” He glanced pointedly at Amelia who was sitting close by. “Although I do not think that we require your presence, Amelia.”
A prickle of unease ran down Harmonia’s spine. It was not Luke’s place to order either herself or her sister about and she disliked that he assumed he could do such a thing.
“Luke,” she said, firmly, hearing Amelia’s sigh of exasperation. “The reason I have asked you to come here this afternoon is so that we might discuss our ongoing acquaintance.”
“Oh?” he asked, sitting forward with a curious gleam in his eye. “I am glad to hear it. What is it you wish to say?”
Harmonia swallowed hard, keeping her gaze firmly on her cousin. “Luke, I want you to stop pursuing me.”
The smile faded from his face, the gleam in his eye disappearing almost at once.
“What do you mean?” he said, slowly. “I spoke to your father already about courting you. He appeared to be quite glad of the idea, thinking that you would be happy and settled with me. You do not want to disappoint him, do you, Harmonia?”
“I would not be disappointing him,” Harmonia replied at once, as a spark of anger lit in her soul. “Fortunately, I know my father better than you and he has made things perfectly clear. I am not to allow your court if I do not wish it and I am telling you now, plainly, that I do not wish for you to court me, Luke.”
His eyes narrowed, his posture growing tense. Harmonia could almost feel the anger coming from him, his frustration and irritation with her choice evident in every sinew of his being.
“What are you talking about, Harmonia?” he asked, as though speaking to a very small child. “You know that our marriage would be the best thing for both of us.”
“No, Luke, it would not be the best thing for me,” she said, firmly, her courage bolstered by Amelia’s presence. “I do not know your reasons for being so determined to have me as your bride, but I can assure you that I do not feel the same way. I do not have the same determination, the same expectation. There will be no future for us, not when I have the right to make my own choice.”
“We are practically engaged!” he exclaimed, his face flushing red. “You cannot turn your back on me now, you cannot cry off!”
Harmonia let out a long, slow breath, determined to keep her temper in the face of his anger and absurdity. “I am not crying off from anything, Luke. We are not engaged. We have never been engaged.”
He shot to his feet, one finger outstretched and shaking at her. “There has always been an understanding between us, which you knew full well about. You cannot simply decide that such a thing is to be at an end.”
“Sit down, Luke.”
Amelia’s words were cold and crisp, spoken loudly so that they filled the room. Harmonia looked over at her sister, grateful for her assistance, and found that she was practically glaring at Luke, her hands planted on her hips. Clearly, she was not impressed with his behavior thus far.
Luke, his jaw clenched, slowly took his seat, his eyes flashing. “This is not to be borne,” he said, slowly, his gaze returning to Harmonia. “I will not allow you to turn back from what we had arranged.”
Harmonia shook her head, realizing that, yet again, he was not taking her seriously. “Luke, I have tried to make my feelings on the matter clear for some time, and you have simply continued on your merry way, believing that you will have me as your bride. I am telling you now that this will never happen. I will never be your bride. I will never consent to be your wife. You have no hold over me. You do not own me, you do not have any claim to me. This pursuit must stop.”
Luke was shaking visibly, his anger burning into a furious fire. Why he was so desperate to marry her, Harmonia could not say, realizing that Luke had never given a reason for his intention to have her as his wife. She had always assumed it was so that they could align their families, that he might gain more respectability for himself, but now, looking at him, she was not so sure.
“I will speak to your father,” he hissed, leaning forward in his chair with such vengeance in his eyes that Harmonia felt herself quite frightened. “You are not to be allowed to do such a thing!”
Amelia got to her feet and came to stand by Harmonia, who rose at once. “Luke, you have no right to speak to our father, and I can assure you that even if you were to speak to him, he would say much the same as Harmonia and me,” Amelia said, calmly. “Our father wants what is best for his daughters, and that means that Harmonia is free to choose her own suitors. She has rejected you, and there is nothing for you to do but accept it.”
Luke got to his feet with a great, deliberate slowness, making Harmonia’s heart quicken its pace with fright. He was more intimidating now than she had ever seen him before, trying to use everything he could to get her to change her mind – even if he had to threaten her to do it.