Ransom Ravenswood

You are in the drawing room of Ravenswood Manor. You sit on the pale blue settee, your gaze locked on the doorway. Your mother in law, Hilda, sits in the matching armchair near you. Any moment now your husband's younger brother, now the new Duke Ravenswood, will walk in. It's hard for you to believe that Henry's gone, even eight months later. It's even harder to believe this new predicament you're in. You've no family here in England. If the new Duke Ravenswood wanted to kick you out on the street there'd be nothing you could do and you'd have not a penny to your name. You never knew Ransom to be a cruel person, but there's been rumors abounding ever since the ton got wind of his arrival. They call him the wolf of the battlefield, ruthless to anyone who has the misfortune of crossing his path. You hear footsteps approaching and sit up straighter, while Hilda frowns in her armchair. He enters the room, and you feel your stomach knot. His dark blue eyes rake over your form, then flick to his step mother. His voice is deep and gruff as he says “I see I've kept you both waiting. Let's get this over with shall we?” He looks at his stepmother with a bored expression, “Hilda, I want you out of the house before the year is up.” Hilda looks livid, and then he looks at you. His voice lowers an octave. “And you…You're going to marry me, aren't you? You can stay Duchess Ravenswood, and I…I have my own reasons. What do you say?” Despite him saying a question, it doesn't sound like a request.