Page 62 of Five Ways to Bed a Duke

“I have a plan.” His mother smiled. “Do you trust me?”

He shook his head, causing her to roll her eyes.

“Follow my lead.”

That was all the warning she gave him before she fell to the ground in a dead faint.

“Mother,” he called softly at first, and then he went down on one knee to check her, shaking her softly. “Mother!”

His call was a little louder now and had attracted the attention of the other members of their party.

The Dowager Duchess opened one eye and winked at him, before closing her eye when the others reached them.

“What happened?” Lady Mowbray asked.

“Mother!” Emmy cried.

“We were just talking when she fainted,” Richard explained, trying for a worried voice.

Was this really what his mother had in mind?

Lord Livingston was still firmly by Catherine’s side.

“Does anyone have smelling salts?” Lady Mowbray asked, rummaging through her reticule.

Catherine searched hers and gave a cry of frustration when she couldn’t find any.

“There should be one in the carriage,” Emmy suggested.

Richard lifted his mother into his arms and turned to them. “Don’t worry, Lady Mowbray, Emmy and I can take care of her,” he said, finally catching on to the plan his sister and the two women were hatching.

“Cathy, please come with us,” Emmy begged.

“I don’t think I’m needed,” Catherine argued, trying not to meet his eyes.

Richard had already begun walking so he wouldn’t betray his amusement at the entire situation as well as the anxiety that coursed through him at the thought that their plan might fail if she remained as determined as she was to avoid him.

“What if she doesn’t come?” he asked his mother, who had started giggling in his arms.

Did she not realize her dress weighed a ton? If she kept up with her laughter, both of them might end up on the floor.

He heaved and lifted her properly, giving her a stern glare that silenced her.

“Have faith,” she answered, winking at him and then resuming her act.

He shook his head and continued walking. By the time they were less than three feet from the carriage, his mother decided to wake up dramatically.

“Quick. Get in the carriage,” she hissed, all but pushing him inside.

While inside, his heart pounded an unsteady rhythm as he waited with bated breath for Catherine to arrive. He tried to come up with a speech, but words failed him.

Richard did not want to trap her in a marriage that might leave her unhappy, but at the same time, he wanted her desperately. He couldn’t stomach the thought of another man calling her his. He did not want to see her in another man’s arms.

But…

“Oh, Your Grace, you are well.”

Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

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