Page 85 of A Game with the Rakish Duke
The Dowager Duchess nodded. “How very gracious of you, my dear, especially after what that terrible cad did to you.” She hesitated, looking at her closely. “I hope you are quite recovered now?”
Catherine’s gaze slid to her husband, who was sitting beside her. He reached out and took her hand, holding it to his lips before lowering it again. The glow surrounding Catherine intensified.
Thomas had barely left her side in the week following the awful events at that party. He told her he was taking her back to the country to get away from the scandal that had sprung up around them. He had whisked her away to Newden Estate, where they had been taking long walks in the garden, watching the leaves on the trees slowly turn to russet and gold as the seasons changed. Just the two of them.
Catherine felt healed, intensely loved and cared for, her spirit nurtured. She no longer doubted the strength of their feelings for each other. Nor their commitment to their marriage.
She was, quite simply, the luckiest woman in this world.
“I am,” she replied, turning back to the Dowager Duchess, her heart swelling. “Thanks to your grandson.”
Thomas squeezed her hand.
“Ah,” the Dowager Duchess murmured, looking pleased. “I can see that things have progressed even further between the two of you.” She leaned forward, her smile vanishing, and she fixed them both with a fierce gaze. “And now, for the love of God,whenam I getting a great-grandchild?”
Epilogue
“Grandmother.” Thomas’s voice held a note of impatience, but he was smiling. “Must you? Really?”
The Dowager Duchess smiled imperiously. “Yes. I really must.”
To Catherine’s surprise, Thomas stood up, drawing her up with him. The Dowager Duchess stared at them, blinking rapidly. The dogs lying at her feet blinked at them owlishly, too.
“What are you doing?” Catherine hissed.
Thomas turned to her, grinning. He didn’t reply. He turned back to his grandmother.
“Grandmother, you know I love you dearly,” he began, his grin widening. “Youarestaying the night, are you not?”
The Dowager Duchess nodded slowly. “As long as my chambers have been prepared, then yes, I do believe I will. It is such an arduous journey from London and back in a day at my age.” She frowned. “Why?”
“Just checking that we shall see you again at dinner,” he replied, squeezing Catherine’s hand. “You see, we have a previous engagement now.”
Catherine frowned, puzzled. What was he talking about? She wasn’t aware of any previous engagement.
“Oh, really?” The Dowager Duchess leaned on her walking stick, gazing at him. “And what, pray tell, could be more important than entertaining your old, decrepit granny?”
“Well, if youreallywant a great-grandchild that badly, Grandmother,” he said, arching his eyebrows, “then my wife and I must get started on the task immediately. You will just have to excuse us.”
Catherine burst out laughing, turning to slap him lightly on the arm. Her cheeks turned pink. How was the old lady going to respond to such an outrageous statement?
The Dowager Duchess gazed at him intently, her eyes twinkling. “Well, what are you waiting for, then?”
“I cannot believe you said that to her.” Catherine laughed as her husband led her out of the house and through the grounds of the estate. “You are so audacious!”
Thomas chuckled. “I thought I might give her a taste of her own medicine.” He shrugged. “She took it with good grace.”
“She did,” Catherine agreed, still giggling. “Whereareyou taking me? When you said that we needed to get started on a great-grandchild for her, I assumed you were going to take me to the chambers, husband.”
“I am taking you somewhere special,” he replied, smiling at her. “I hope that you like it.”
They fell silent as they kept walking past the maze and the gazebo, heading towards the woodlands.
Catherine gasped, taking in the beauty of it. The leaves on the trees had all turned to russet and gold and brown, a symphony of such vivid color that it took her breath away.
“Summer is leaving,” she breathed, gazing around. “You can see it… and feel it in the air.”
Thomas grinned. “It has not left quite yet,” he said, glancing at her quickly. “It is quite a warm day. Do you not agree?”
