Free The Spinster and the Duke by Jillian Eaton Page A

worry, Aunt Abigail. I am certain Ashburn is a very busy man, especially since he has been out of the country so long. I doubt he will be able to attend.”
    “You had better hope so, for your sake.” Reaching down, Abigail picked up the crumpled invitation list and stuffed it back inside her reticule. “This is not a game, Dianna.” Struggling to rein in her temper, she took a deep, calming breath. “You are interfering with things you cannot possibly comprehend.”
    “What is so hard to understand?” Dianna argued. “You and Ashburn loved each other. He broke the engagement to honor his mother’s wishes and uphold his obligations as duke, even though it meant marrying someone he did not want to. For heavens sake, Aunt Abigail, he left the country so he would not have to see you and be reminded of what he had given up.”
    “He went to France because his wife was French,” Abigail said stubbornly.
    “He went to France because he was still in love with you!”
    Something cracked inside of Abigail then. Something she had been holding together for a very, very long time. Her throat aching with suppressed emotion and her eyes burning with tears, she whispered, “If he loved me he never would have left me. If he loved me he would have married me , not her. He would have lived with me . He would have had a family with me . I cannot do this.” Whirling away, she pinched the bridge of her nose so tightly her head spun.
    “Aunt Abigail, you have to do this.” In an instant Dianna was on her feet and had her around wrapped around Abigail’s trembling shoulders. “Ashburn made a terrible mistake all those years ago and you both have been paying for it ever since. But he wanted you then, and he wants you now. Give him one final chance. He loves you. I know he does.”
    Running her thumb under her eyes to catch her falling tears, Abigail sniffled and said, “How? How could you know? You have never even met him.”
    “Because I know you,” Dianna said softly as she squeezed Abigail tight. “I know you more than I know my own mother, and I have loved you since I knew what love was. When you know love you recognize love, and I recognize it in you when you speak of him.”
    “Just because I am still foolish enough to love Reginald does not mean he feels the same way about me.”
    “He came for you, Aunt Abigail. The very second he was free, he came for you . Not for his children, not for his family, but for a girl he should have forgotten years ago. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”
    Unable to escape the ring of truth in Dianna’s words, Abigail closed her eyes and leaned heavily against her niece. “I do not know if I am strong enough to risk my heart again.”
    “Oh, Aunt Abigail.” Leaning in close, Dianna pressed a soft kiss to her temple. “Your strength could move mountains. You just have to let it.”
     
    Later in the evening, beneath the very same beech tree, Dianna and Charlotte met in private. The air carried with it a distinct chill warning of colder nights to come, and both women tightened their shawls as they discussed the day’s events in hushed tones.
    “I hope we are making the right decision,” Dianna whispered, biting fretfully at her bottom lip.
    “It was your idea,” Charlotte reminded her.
    Dianna’s shoulders moved restlessly beneath her shawl. “Yes, well, the masquerade ball worked for you and Gavin, did it not?”
    Recalling the passionate embrace she had shared with her soon-to-be husband when he was dressed as a pirate lord and she a fair Georgian lady, Charlotte’s cheeks blossomed with color and she grinned. “You know it did. Everything will be fine.”
    “Everything will be fine if Ashburn shows up, you mean.”
    “And your aunt does not toss him right back out on his ear.”
    Dianna groaned. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”
    “It will be fine,” Charlotte repeated firmly. “After all, it is quite romantic.”
    “How so?”
    “Well, if things had