Page 78 of An Unwanted Widow for the Duke
He saw her smile softly, but she had gone quiet. Her eyes were now trained on the little boy in her lap.
Would she have given Gerard more attention if he had not avoided her for so long?
When they arrived home, Gerard gently lifted Hector from her lap. The boy stirred and mumbled, but did not wake as Gerard carried him to his room.
Wilhelmina prepared the bed, and Gerard lay him down. They worked together quietly as they took off his shoes, tucked him beneath the blankets, and let him snuggle deeper into his pillow.
Both lingered by his bedside, watching him breathe softly.
“Such a sweetheart,” Wilhelmina murmured. “He will never forget the night he sawThe Tempest.”
“Thank you,” Gerard said. “I would not have thought of it.”
“It’s part of our arrangement, after all.” Wilhelmina smiled softly. “I am supposed to ensure Hector’s happiness while I save myself from the horrors of being a widow in Society.”
Our arrangement.
Gerard could not smile back. His chest had clenched tightly, reminding him that what they had was not real.
Of course, it wasn’t. He had distanced himself from her because it wasn’t.
His gaze lingered on her, tracing the gentle slope of her shoulders, the way her hair caught the candlelight. Something unspoken thrummed in the quiet room, a pull neither of them dared acknowledge.
Wilhelmina shifted, sensing the intensity of his gaze. Her cheeks warmed, and she lowered her gaze to the floor, pretending to smooth the quilt around Hector. The closeness, the heat of the moment—it was almost too much.
Finally, she straightened, lifting her chin with the smallest measure of courage.
“Good night, Duke,” she murmured, her voice soft yet carrying the dignity of her station.
She dipped into a careful curtsy, the fabric of her gown fanning lightly around her feet.
Gerard’s chest tightened at the sight, and for a heartbeat, he imagined closing the distance between them. But he did not move.
Wilhelmina straightened once more, met his eyes briefly, and with a polite smile, made for the door.
Gerard watched her go, the quiet click of the latch echoing louder than it ought. For yet another night, as so many before, he felt the ache of restraint. Of wanting something he could not yet claim.
The door closed.
He exhaled slowly and clenched his fists, as if touching his own skin might anchor him to reality.
Still, his yearning was nearly as sharp as any wound.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Smile, Duchess,” Gerard murmured, offering his arm. “Your family has long deemed me a grump or a snob. Let us not give them further cause to believe it.”
Wilhelmina blinked in surprise at her husband’s unusually lighthearted manner tonight. He seemed almost… approachable. Or was he merely wary of inviting another round of teasing?
“I am smiling,” she countered incredulously. “Can you not tell? Perhapsyoushould smile. You’re the one who seems afraid of being called a grump.”
He chuckled at that—a low, restrained sound that struck her as oddly pleasant, like spiced milk with a hint of nutmeg.
“Am I?” he purred as he leaned slightly closer. His lips hovered so near hers that she could feel the warmth of his breath. “I am smiling. It would be a shame if my wife were the onlyone who failed to notice. Were you not watching me rather closely tonight, wife? Will you at least declare to them that your husband looks handsome and that you adore him?”
Wilhelmina’s lips parted in surprise at his teasing. She let out a laugh, a genuine, bright sound, wondering if Hector had finally softened his father. But of course, her laughter carried further than she had intended. It immediately drew her brother’s attention.
She groaned inwardly. While she genuinely enjoyed seeing Daniel at these gatherings, he had a knack for appearing at the most awkward moments. And this—her fleeting intimacy with Gerard—was apparently one of them.
