Page 104 of His Forbidden Duchess
“And I promise you,” Felix said smoothly, “she isallwoman.”
“All right, all right!” Jeremy said, holding his hands up in defeat. “That is one step too far. Jesting is one thing, but…” He feigned a shudder. “Surely there is something else we can talk about. Anything at all.”
“Is Mother here?” Eloise asked. “It feels like an age since I last saw her.”
“Yes, she is here,” Lady Danridge said of herself as she swept over to them in a flurry of satin and lace, fanning herself with unnecessary vigor. “And I must say, Eloise, you look an absolute vision. And Felix,” she added, tilting her chin with a nod of approval, “if I were twenty years younger…”
“Mother!” Jeremy and Eloise admonished in unison, but Lady Danridge merely laughed, and Felix chuckled along.
“Can an old lady not enjoy teasing her family now and then?” Lady Danridge said. “You must allow mesometheatrics, or otherwise I shall become terribly bored. Besides, His Grace hasbecome such a worthy husband. The Tonis quite jealous—even the men!”
Felix chuckled again. “You are most kind, Lady Danridge,” he replied, casting Eloise a wink. “It is all due to Eloise’s remarkable influence, I assure you.”
“I can attest to that,” Jeremy said. “Felix was a terrible human until Eloise became involved.”
“Actually,” Eloise interrupted, “he turned for the good before I was involved. In some strange way, we have got Carlisle and his men to thank for it all. If it was not for Felix walking in on them destroying our home, he would have never married me.”
“And you would have been married to some bore like Mortcombe,” Felix added.
“Mortcombe?” Jeremy asked, confusion crossing his face.
Eloise giggled. “Ignore him.”
Lady Danridge dabbed at her eyes with a lace handkerchief. “You could even say that your dear father brought you together. After all, it was his debts that caused Carlisle’s men to be there in first place. Is it not lovely to believe your father had a hand in it? It is like he was giving his permission from beyond the grave.”
Eloise rolled her eyes. “Perhaps, Mother, but if that is true, I would have preferred that he played his hand in a far less dramatic manner.”
“It is all nonsense anyhow,” Felix said, taking a sip of his brandy.
“How so?” Eloise asked, gazing up at him lovingly.
He looked down into her eyes and smiled. “It was fate that brought us together, Eloise. No matter what else happened, we would have found our way to one another eventually.”
Jeremy let out a load groan, rolling his eyes. “Goodness, no! Please make it stop.”
Lady Danridge, still dabbing at her eyes, let out a wistful sigh. “Oh, how dramatic life has been! And yet, here we are, perfectly settled,” she said. She rested a hand over her heart as though she might burst from the emotions it contained. “And I am proud to say I have accepted it with all the grace I can muster.”
Eloise shared an amused glance with Felix.
Lady Danridge’s dramatics had become far more endearing since she had offered her heartfelt apology. Her displays were now less of an annoyance and more of a fond quirk—one that Lady Brimsleigh herself sometimes encouraged.
“Have you heard?” Lady Danridge continued, leaning in conspiratorially.
“You must give us a little more information than that, Mother,” Jeremy said.
“About that dreadful Lord Kaylocke? Left the country without so much as a goodbye and with nothing to his name but a tattered reputation and an empty bank account.”
“Oh, we have heard,” Felix replied in a satisfied tone. “And I cannot say that London mourns his absence.”
“Nor should it!” Lady Danridge scoffed, her gaze flitting over to Mortcombe and his equally sour wife. “There are enough unpleasant people left in town as it is.”
“I trust that you are not referring to me,” Percy said as he joined them.
To Eloise’s surprise, Hannah trailed behind him with a dreamy look on her face. She looked at her curiously as the conversation continued around her.
“I would never say such a thing about you!” Lady Danridge gasped, placing a hand over her heart. “Why, Lord Stentford, you are practically family by now.”
Percy chuckled, casting an amused glance at Eloise and Felix. “Family? My, how low my standards have fallen.”
