Page 66 of A Bride for the Forbidden Duke
“I could not be happier,” Lady Sheridan exclaimed. “to see my daughter so aglow with pregnancy. May your future be filled with crying babies that grow into beautiful children!”
Everybody raised another toast for the couple. Joy radiated from Lady Sheridan’s face, her smile wide, and laughter freely falling. Her eyes crinkled with joy.
“Although, it makes me wonder when we shall be hearing the news of another duchess expecting!” she suggested loudly, her eyes cutting to the Duke.
Veronica tensed, feeling the Duke do the same next to her.
“Come on, Henry. Surely you wish to have some news for us soon?” Lady Sheridan added.
“Indeed, Henry!” Lord Lindbury called. “Perhaps it shall be you and the lovely Duchess making the next announcement at a dinner party hosted in Westley Manor. It would be a shame to redecorate such a house and not host a banquet to celebrate.”
“This is exactly what I protested,” Judith said.
“Do not be ridiculous, Zachary,” Henry said flatly. “There shall be no dinner party.” He looked at Lady Sheridan. “And as I have expressed before, I have no plans to have an heir.”
“What I am sure His Grace means is that we have not thought long and hard about it yet,” Veronica said, laughing nervously as all eyes turned to them.
It was quite a bold statement, especially given that she did not know this plan of his.
Had she… had she married a man who truly did not wish for children? Growing up with her brother had been a delight. Seeing Judith be a mother made Veronica wish to be one, too.
“I have thought plenty about it,” the Duke said, sparing her a brief glance before he stood up. “It shall not be discussed again. Lord Lindbury, you have hosted us well. Thank you. Now, it is time for my wife and I to make our leave.”
“Henry please,” Lady Sheridan called, her wine sloshing in her glass, “do not go just yet.”
Lady Lindbury burst out laughing beside her. “Do hush, Lucinda. Perhaps the couple wishes to make a start.”
Veronica’s face flooded with an embarrassed heat. Clearly, the two women were very comfortable among their friendsand family and had drunk quite a bit. The jolliness of their inebriation danced through the room but had caused them some trouble.
Beside her, the Duke stiffened. He turned to her, lowering his voice. “I told you my condition is to leave when I decide. That is now, Duchess.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” she agreed quietly.
He bid another brief farewell to everyone, and Veronica hastily did the same, embracing her mother before she left Lindbury House, catching up to her husband at the carriage.
Chapter Nineteen
The ride home was tense and quiet, filled with thoughts Veronica did not voice.
Opposite her, the Duke did not regard her once, but instead, he kept his attention focused on the rolling landscape outside, cloaked in darkness. She went to comment on how fortunate they were to live rather near to Lindbury House a few times, but instead, she kept her mouth closed.
She did not wish to upset him.
Something boiled beneath the surface of his stoic exterior, and Veronica was not sure she wanted to risk it blowing up in her face.
But her thoughts tossed and turned, causing her turmoil of her own. She anguished over her questions. Did he truly not want her the way he had that night in the hallway? Had shesomehow been disagreeable to him, and that was why he had not approached her since?
The thoughts wound worries in her stomach, and she forced herself not to fidget as they finally pulled up outside Westley Manor. The Duke hesitated, as if he would not help her out of the carriage this time, but at the last moment, right as a footman stepped up, Henry offered her his hand.
For a moment, his eyes locked onto hers, and Veronica was pinned by the dark, rolling thoughts behind them.
She slipped her hand into his, and the slide of her fingertips against his palm had her craving his proximity more.
But then she stepped down, and the Duke retreated quickly.
In the foyer of the manor, Veronica resolved to retire, letting their silence do the speaking for them. If that was how the Duke wished for it to be, then so be it. But as she watched him ascend the main staircase, she changed her mind, not bearing another second of doubt.
“Your Grace,” she called out sharply.
