Trapped with the Forbidden Duke (Forbidden Lords #5)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

T he following morning, Edwina came down for breakfast with a strange hope in her heart. Could things begin to change? Not just for her but all of them, even her aunt.

She paused upon seeing her aunt on her way to the breakfast room, but she noticed that Isabel stopped before a painting—one that had been brought in specially to decorate the house.

“Good morning, Aunt Isabel,” Edwina greeted, approaching her aunt.

“A good morning it is, dear niece! Oh, have you seen this painting? Why, do you not think the maiden in it resembles me?”

Edwina cocked her head at the young woman in the painting, pretty and slender, before turning her attention back to her aunt, who was most certainly not.

Isabel narrowed her eyes, waving her off. “Do not dare disrespect me, child,” she huffed. “I was a gloriously beautiful lady back in my day. I could spin around the dance floor of any ballroom for hours! I dare say that those were some of my far better days.”

“So you have mentioned once or twice,” Edwina said delicately. “Aunt Isabel, there is something I wish to discuss?—”

“I wonder where His Grace is on this fine morning. No doubt he is handsomely riding a grand steed of his, simply oozing authority. We are very fortunate that he has agreed to aid us. I did have some objections at first, but now I see that he has been good to us.”

“Indeed, very good,” she agreed hurriedly. “But I must speak?—”

“Apparently, word got out that we are connected to His Grace, and I am to have afternoon tea with some old friends before I depart for the countryside. Oh, do not look so panicked, dear! I am not leaving yet. Although Heaven knows that Nicholas will not even know his dear old aunt was here.” The last part was muttered with a sniff. “How my heart aches with his absence.”

“I wished to speak with you about my brother, as a matter of fact,” Edwina continued. “Nicholas is rather sick, Aunt Isabel. That is why he has been resting a lot, and?—”

“Sick?” Isabel cried, drawing back. “ Sick ? What sort of ailment? Is he contagious? Heavens, we must send for a physician. We must shut the house down.” Her face turned white with horror. “I dare not ask if His Grace knows and has been infected?—”

“It is not that sort of illness,” Edwina rushed to say. “It is a more… personal ailment, and His Grace indeed knows. He has even suggested a countryside retreat for Nicholas. He wishes to help him.”

Isabel blinked several times before her face broke into a wide smile. “He is so very good to us, is he not? But why did you not tell me sooner about your brother’s illness?”

“I did not think it was as bad as it turned out to be. The physician has examined him, and His Grace has concluded that we must arrange for him to be treated.”

Her aunt furrowed her brow. “It is rather concerning that I did not pick up on this.”

“I have more news,” Edwina continued, clasping her hands nervously. “The Duke and I are engaged.”

Her aunt’s face paled, and she clutched the wall behind her.

“Heavens, am I so heavy a sleeper that I have missed all of this?” Her eyes glazed over as she frowned. “I… When? How? Why ? I had assumed he…” She frowned harder. “When I advised him to find a woman to share his life with, I did not quite mean within the house.”

Edwina cleared her throat as she helped her aunt straighten up so they could continue to the breakfast room, but Isabel stopped short.

“Does your brother know?” she cried out. “I shan’t be the one to tell him! Edwina, you must tell him yourself! And do so when I am far, far away from him. I have seen men fight over their sisters’ honor before. And it was most awful. I do not wish to see such a sight.”

She pressed a hand to her heart and fanned herself with her other hand.

“You are to become a duchess?” she asked.

Edwina nodded, her nerves rising. “I am, indeed.”

“Is it… in exchange for his help?” Isabel whispered. “He spins our world around but snatches my niece away?”

“Aunt Isabel, please do not fret,” Edwina said gently. “The Duke is not snatching me away from you, and we will likely live close to one another. I am sure we shall visit, and you and I shall eat chocolate until we are full, and drink lemonade in your beautiful garden.”

“I shall find the Duke himself and interrogate him,” Isabel concluded. “Do not worry, dear, I shall find out his true intentions. If you are to go to Stormhold, then I will ensure it is not without good, honorable cause.”

But when they entered the breakfast room, neither the Duke nor Nicholas were there, and Edwina recalled that Lucien had promised to obtain the special license.

Heavens, this is real . This will truly happen.

Later that day, Lucien arrived at Montgomery Manor, his thoughts a jumble that he could not pin down properly. He had only managed to get through his decision to marry Edwina by keeping himself busy.

But he was doing what he could, and he knew this would save the family.

As soon as he walked into the drawing room, eager to pour himself a drink and relax for a moment before he continued to arrange the wedding, he was stopped by Lady Isabel. Her assessing glare told him that she had been informed of the new development.

“Your Grace,” she purred. “I trust you’ve had a productive morning.”

Lucien’s eyes flicked to Edwina, who hovered behind her aunt. “Aunt Isabel, why not let His Grace enter the room first?”

“Ah. Yes, yes, I shall.” Lady Isabel plastered a wide smile on her face. If it grew any wider, she would grow sharp canines—Lucien was sure of it. He had the terrible sense of entering a snake’s pit. “Do step in, Your Grace. Come, answer my many, many questions.”

Lucien gave a short laugh. “Indeed, Lady Isabel. I imagine you have many.”

Lady Isabel gave a short humph before she stopped short.

“Wait!” she cried. No sooner had she invited him in than she began to make a fuss. “You must leave! You are now engaged to Edwina. It is not right to be in the house, and I cannot stand back?—”

“Aunt Isabel, you must let him in,” Edwina protested and pulled the older woman aside.

Lucien only strode to one of the armchairs, forcing the women to follow suit.

Lady Isabel was already prattling on, an insane amount of questions that Lucien was already irritated by.

“Did I sleep through your courtship? Where will the ceremony take place? I do hope you have a plan to tell Nicholas, Your Grace, for it will not be a pretty endeavor.”

Lucien looked at her with as much patience as he could manage. “Lady Isabel, there was no courtship, nor will there be. Edwina and I are to marry this week.”

Lady Isabel’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. “This week ? Heavens, there is no time! What of the arrangements, and what of?—”

“I find the whole planning process rather tedious, as you once told me,” Edwina quickly cut in. “We are rather similar in such ways, Aunt Isabel. Plus, our focus is on ensuring that Nicholas’s health is restored as fast as possible, so it is best that the wedding takes place sooner rather than later.”

“Indeed.” Lady Isabel nodded slowly, clearly thinking.

Lucien watched as another thought occurred to her, and she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Her eyebrows rose so high to her hairline that he thought she would lose them.

“Oh, Heavens ! How outrageous! Have you been… improper? ” she whispered to Edwina, fanning herself.

“No!” Edwina blurted loudly. “No, Aunt Isabel. It is purely to focus on Nicholas’s recuperation that we need to speed things up.”

“Your purity is still intact?”

Lucien was rather amused by the way Edwina’s face turned pink.

“ Yes , Aunt Isabel. Now, may we move on, as I think we have covered such a thing eloquently enough.”

Lucien quickly asked, “How is Nicholas faring?”

“He has not woken up yet,” Edwina told him, wincing.

“And let us hope that he does not for some time,” Lady Isabel muttered. “For I imagine he will wish he was in a deep slumber when he hears of your engagement.”

Edwina frowned at her aunt. “I am sure all will be fine.”

“I shall go to him,” Lucien said, standing up and leaving the room swiftly.

He heard Lady Isabel exclaim that she must take her leave, for she feared Nicholas would explode. But what stopped him was Edwina, who had stepped in front of him on the staircase.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“It is better to tell your brother as soon as possible, no?” Lucien argued. “I want to get it out of the way ahead of the ceremony.”

“I disagree,” Edwina insisted. “This news will only distress him, which could make him worse. I do not want to disrupt his rest.”

“Did you wish to tell him the day of our wedding, then?” he retorted. “Yes, he shall be upset, but he will survive.”

“He is my brother!” Edwina protested, but Lucien only turned on his heel and continued towards Nicholas’s room. “I must insist on having the final say.”

“Edwina, you must let me tell him now. If we do not, we only risk your aunt saying something around him, or to a friend, and then the entire ton will know before Nicholas does. He already thinks we betrayed him, and that situation will only make it worse. I do not wish to do that to him.”

“Not now,” Edwina pleaded. “Please, Lucien.”

Beg some more , every bone in his body seemed to say.

He paused at her desperate tone and shook his head. “He must hear it from me, and I will not let it linger on my conscience.”

“And if he stops us from getting married?”

“I will remind you, and then further remind him, that I am a duke. He has little power over what I can and cannot do. Whether he likes it or not, this wedding shall happen.”

He continued up the stairs and down the hallway, aware of Edwina following him.

“You fear his reaction, and that is perfectly understandable, but I must respect him by sharing the news as soon as possible. He cannot be protected all his life, Edwina. He is a grown man who must deal with the consequences of his actions.”

“Our marriage is a consequence?” Edwina asked, insulted.

“It is a convenience to handle the consequences,” he corrected. “Let us not pretend that it is anything else. Let us ensure that Nicholas knows such a thing.”

At that, Edwina paused, and Lucien took the chance to proceed further towards Nicholas’s room until he was at the door.

Edwina made one last attempt at stopping him, but he slipped into the dark room and shut the door.