Free The Third Duke's the Charm by Emma Wildes Page B

eventually, but not at all able to promise her he would. “I have an inheritance from my grandmother. It is hardly a grand fortune, but it will see us through. We won’t starve, nor sleep in the woods.” He was joking, or he certainly hoped he was. The fear of being disinherited existed, but then again, she was worth it.
    Call him a sentimental idiot with stars in his eyes, their love was worth it.
    His wife turned, her eyes shimmering. “That is fine and good, Charles, but that is not what I meant. I don’t wish for your family to be ashamed of me.”
    He jerked enough that he spilled hot tea on his hand and had to stifle a very colorful curse he was not allowed to voice in front of a lady. “Lou,” he said in exasperation, grabbing a napkin from the tray and swabbing at his stinging hand. “That is ridiculous.”
    “I knew we couldn’t stay here forever.” She looked very young and forlorn, sinking down in the chair again, her dressing gown pooled around her slender form, slight shadows under her eyes. “There is going to be a reckoning and I have chosen to ignore it, and while I have no regrets, I am also not blind to reality. The world will think you married beneath you. Vivian Lacrosse’s father is a baronet.”
    “I know that. I’ve been acquainted with Sir Edwin all my life.” He took a steadying sip from his cup and swallowed, weighing his words. “You are intelligent woman and you know in your heart it doesn’t matter who is what, and certainly titles and all the fanfare that go with them promote a lot of attention but the measure of a man is how he deals with his life. This is how I chose to deal with mine. I would rather follow my heart than the dictates of my family, and Viv would be the first one to applaud me. She was, actually, when I told her I was going to move heaven and earth to make you my wife. No wonder, since it was her suggestion.”
    It was so true. He’d been persuaded into his decision to ask Louisa to marry him, but then again, it had been done out of friendship, and he knew it.
    “Maybe she could be the one to face your father then.” Louisa gave an endearing hiccup. “He terrifies me.”
    “She was going to have to face him often, so perhaps that is why she foisted me off on you,” he said teasingly.
    A mistake. His wife burst into tears.
    Instantly he was putting his cup into the saucer, his feet on the floor, going to kneel before her, his arms around her trembling shoulders. “Lou . . . don’t. It will be fine. All of it will be fine. I vow it to you.”
    ***
    He had no idea.
    Charles was a product of his privileged life. She had known that from the very beginning, and it was far too late for her to panic now; logically she knew it. But it was more than just the formidable duke, but also her own stern father she would soon have to face, and it would not surprise her in the least if her family cut her out of their lives forever.
    She’d married the Duke of Sanford’s rakish son, she had lain with him, and even as she slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her face against the strength of his muscled shoulder, she hoped his love for her hadn’t ruined his formerly carefree life. As his wife, she wanted to bring him joy, not the ridicule of his class or the disdain of his exalted family.
    It was too late to change it, and she wouldn’t, even if given back the opportunity. She swallowed back the tears, doing her best to compose herself, pulling back a little. “My apologies. I have no idea what just happened. I really rarely cry.”
    Her husband, impossibly handsome with his tousled dark hair, wiped the dampness from her cheek with his long, elegant fingers, concern in his eyes. “We don’t have to depart today if you wish to wait.”
    “No. You are right, we need to return, and besides, eventually we will have to face everyone. Perhaps it won’t be as difficult as I imagine.”
    “Very few things in life worth having come easily.” His mouth curved in