Page 25 of A Wanton Adventure
Her eyes widened at the question. She shook her head. “Of course not. I believe it is more of a precaution. If it were my choice, I would happily have you join me.”
A smile filled his face. “No. It’s a smart move on Lady Hawley’s part. She’s a shrewd lady. I’m not sure I would have gleaned that from my few encounters with her.”
Diana bristled, feeling protective of Addie. It shocked her. She didn’t know her well, but she suspected many judged her wrongly. “I think she is a lady that is often underestimated.”
The corners of his mouth tilted up. “Thank you for correcting my inaccurate assumptions.”
They sat silently for a moment, and eventually, Wescott said, “I didn’t know you were interested in antiquities.”
She played with the folds of her skirts. “I’m not, but I feel like I need to do something…something different.”
“My son would wholeheartedly encourage you if he were here.”
She felt tears sting her eyes but admonished herself. Diana would not cry.
Sadness drifted across her father-in-law’s face. “Sometimes, I think Stuart being sick for so long was both a curse and blessing. I hated watching him waste away, but it also gave him time to share his hopes for you and Robert with me.”
Diana’s eyes widened. “You and Stuart talked about that?”
“We did. And he always said the same thing. He wanted you to explore more of the world. I don’t think he meant travelso much as finding your interests. He said your whole life, including him, had been chosen for you.”
Tears stung her eyes again. “I have no regrets about any of those decisions. I would choose Stuart again and again.”
He squeezed her hand. “I know. I don’t doubt your love. Nor did he, but at the end of his life, the one thing he was cross with me about was how your parents and I maneuvered you into marriage with him. Something to the effect that a beautiful lady like you would have never chosen a shy, round man like him on her own. He told me that my only role after he passed when it came to you, was to make sure you did as you liked and you were happy. I was not to tell you what was right or appropriate.”
Diana smiled. She wasn’t surprised. Stuart had thought differently than most lords and ladies. She’d grown up in a family that only cared about titles and appearances. He’d been the first person ever to tell her none of that mattered. He truly hadn’t cared about status, which shocked her in the beginning.
She hated that, at the end of his life, he still worried about how their marriage came to be. Their union was full of deep love and passion.
“I loved him quite desperately.”
“He knew you did,” her father-in-law said as he stood and held his hand out. “Enough of that. My point was not to make us both sad but to tell you that I am here to trust and support your choices.”
“Thank you.”
“Where will my grandson be while you are on this grand adventure?” he asked as they walked back to the terrace doors.
“He will stay with my sister and her husband at their country estate.”
“I hope they like Snap.”
Diana laughed.
*
Sebastian laughed, andhis brother glowered at him. He shrugged. “She is right. Both you and Miller are only here one night a week. Don’t pretend that isn’t the case.”
Sebastian, Malcolm, and their other Den partner Simon Miller were meeting with Celeste about the management of the club while he was gone. They’d offered to raise her salary by fifty percent, and she’d asked them to double it. Malcolm had dared to question her lofty sum.
“I don’t care how much either of you spend at the Den, my lord. My point is I will be spending the majority of the time playing host for Devons, so I think it warrants what I’m asking for,” Celeste explained.
“When did you start calling him ‘my lord’?” Sebastian asked her.
She glared at him. “I’m trying to be respectful.”
“We will give you your requested increase, Miss Hathaway,” Sebastian teased her.
Malcolm glowered at him, and Miller laughed. “Your brother is going to give you a thrashing. Am I correct, Derry?”
