Chapter Thirteen #3
“Well, Derek had decided he’d had enough of the social Season in London, and even though he was under pressure to marry by his thirtieth birthday—”
“How come?”
“A ridiculous and legally questionable provision in his family’s primogeniture, inserted by the first Duke of Westwood, that compels all future dukes to marry by age thirty.
While none of the previous dukes had come close to missing the deadline, Derek hadn’t wanted to question the legality of the provision with his scurrilous uncle waiting in the wings, panting for the power Derek possesses.
The last thing he wanted was to cede to Anthony, but he couldn’t bear the Season for even one more day.
He took his leave and headed home to Essex on his beloved horse, Hercules, and was nearly home when he found a woman digging on his property.
At first, he thought it was a man, but it turned out to be Catherine McCabe, who had run away from an arranged marriage with a nasty viscount.
I don’t know all the details, but upon learning of her disdain for the aristocracy, apparently Derek convinced her he was the estate manager, Jack Bancroft—”
“Jack Bancroft? That was the name you used the day we met!”
“It was,” Aubrey said with a sheepish grin. “It was the first name that popped into my head after I realized you thought I was the new butler.”
“I see that deception is a trait you and your friend have in common.”
“We have both learned from our mistakes. I assure you of that. Derek and Catherine fell madly in love, and when the viscount came looking for her, Derek spirited her away in the night to Gretna Green where they were married.”
“Did he tell her then that he was really the duke?”
Aubrey winced. “Unfortunately, he did not. He decided to give them both a week of happiness that included his formerly dreaded thirtieth birthday, before he broke the news to her.”
“He must’ve been relieved to have met the deadline.”
“Indeed. That was a huge relief to him. His parents were killed in a carriage accident when he was just a boy, so he had always endeavored to make them proud. He felt that his failure to meet the deadline would’ve devastated them, especially seeing everything go to the brother his father had despised, who it turns out, was the one who orchestrated the deaths of Derek’s parents. ”
“Oh, my lord. And that man is Simon’s father?”
“Yes, but fortunately, Simon is nothing at all like the man who fathered him. A more affable chap you’d be hard-pressed to find.”
“How did he end up married to Catherine’s sister?”
“Derek sent him to London to find out what was being said about Catherine and to determine if her fiancé, the viscount, was looking for her. While he was there, he met Madeleine, and I was there that night. He was instantly smitten by her, to the point that Justin and I couldn’t believe what we were witnessing.
Simon had been somewhat of a rake, and to see him dazzled by a woman was startling, to say the least. And that the woman he’d fallen for was also considered the belle of the Season .
. . We found it highly entertaining. There’s much more to the story but I’ll let Catherine and Madeleine tell you about it. ”
“Do you think they will like me?”
“They will adore you.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“Because I know them, and they’re delightful women. Did I tell you they were raised in a small village where their father was the local blacksmith?”
“No, you didn’t mention that.”
“Their father was a second son, and when his older brother and nephew succumbed to fever, he became the earl. Catherine and Madeleine were already in their twenties when this happened, so they weren’t raised as aristocrats.
I guess it was quite a shock to them to be suddenly thrust into society and all its many rules. ”
Maeve shuddered. “I understand somewhat of how they felt. It’s a shock to one’s system to suddenly be considered more simply because someone dies or marries.”
“Life can change so suddenly. That’s what happened to Derek and Simon and then to me when I walked into the ballroom and saw you there, looking so appealing as you wielded that massive feather duster.”
“I still say there is something wrong with your vision.”
He laughed. “There is nothing at all wrong with my vision. It was your delectable neck that sealed your fate, my love.”
“I’ve never heard of a man being attracted to a woman’s neck.”
“Until you met me, that is.”
“Yes, until I met you. It’s an odd fixation you have developed for my neck.”
“I find myself fixated on your neck and every other part of you. I have never been more thankful that my thoughts are private than I have since my family invaded our idyllic existence. For if they had any idea of the indecent thoughts I have about my wife while surrounded by sisters and nieces and nephews, I’d be drummed right out of the family. ”
Heat flooded her face, which of course he noticed with a bark of laughter. “I love that sweet flush more than anything else in this life.”
“You’re completely daft.”
“I’m daft about you.”
She wanted so badly to ask him if he still would be once his mother played her hand and tried to destroy them.
Would he still feel the same way about her as he did now when his mother forced him to choose between his wife and his family?
Because she would. Of that Maeve had no doubt whatsoever.
It would come down to a choice. And how could Maeve expect him to choose her over those he had loved all his life?
He wouldn’t choose her, and she needed to prepare herself for that inevitability and make plans for what she would do when this beautiful moment with him came to an end.
In the meantime, she would do her very best to enjoy every minute she got to spend with him and to record the memories upon her heart and soul to sustain her during the empty, lonely years she would spend without him.