Page 36 of Wedded to the Loveless Duke
“Satisfactory.” The older man rose with a pained groan, leaning heavily on his walking stick. “I shall see myself to the door.”
“You do not have to depart before dinner,” Phillip said. “She agreed to see you if you stay.”
“She is not yet ready, Richmond. We both know that well enough. As you said, you will not forgive me if I come between the both of you now.” William’s face looked pale and waxen in the light from the lamps and fire within the small room. “Tell her that I love her and am very sorry for everything I have put her through.”
“I will, though I doubt she will believe it.”
“Tell her anyway.” William turned away and hobbled across the room towards the door.
Phillip watched him open the door and leave before returning to the sideboard to pour himself another drink. It was going to be a long evening after their guests would depart. Eleanor would not receive her father’s apologies with grace. Of that, he had no doubt.
When their guests had left for the evening, there was no more putting off the matter. Phillip knew he needed to speak to Eleanor about what her father had said in parting. He knocked on the door between their rooms and waited until her melodic voice called out for him to enter.
She looked up when he walked into her bedchamber. “Thank you for this evening.”
Phillip shoved his hands into his pockets. “He was the one who chose not to stay,” he admitted.
“Oh.” She fiddled with her hairbrush on the dressing table.
“He asked me to tell you that he loves you,” he murmured.
Eleanor scoffed but didn’t say anything back.
“He also asked me to tell you that he is sorry for everything he has put you through, Eleanor.”
She remained silent, her grip on her hairbrush tightening. Phillip waited and hoped she would say something, anything, to indicate whether she was angry or accepting. When she refused to be forthcoming, he drifted to her side and knelt by her chair, taking her hands away from the brush. “Eleanor, say something, please.”
Eleanor looked down at him, her eyes glassy with tears. “What do you want me to say? I do not know how to believe that, Phillip. Why did he not tell me himself?”
“I expect he would have if you had seen him as he had asked.” Phillip ran his fingers along the inside of her wrist gently.
A tiny shiver ran through her, and her gaze locked on his fingers. “I suppose he would have.” She sounded broken. “Even then, I am not certain I could believe him. He was so very cruel. How could he not tell me about my own wedding, Phillip?” The tearsbegan to fall. “Does he think a plain apology will fix everything? Will erase the pain he caused? I was terrified on my own wedding day. Do you know why I was in the garden that day?”
“You have never said.”
“I went there because I could no longer contain my tears and did not want to fall to pieces in front of our guests on a day that is supposedly one of the happiest days of a woman’s life. That is why I was there, and it was at that moment that I heard you and Father speaking. Can you imagine how badly that hurt?”
Phillip lifted her wrist to his lips and kissed it gently. “No, I cannot. I am sorry for all you have endured, Eleanor. Whether you believe his apology or not, can you believe mine? He will not come between us, and if you do not wish to see him again, you will not have to.”
She stared down at him, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I believe yours,” she whispered. “What else did he want? I know his apology was not all.”
Phillip grimaced and looked away. “I became angry with him over not giving me the chance to court you before our wedding when he brought up the necessity of our deal. He told me that you are mine, whether I romanced you before or after the wedding.”
Eleanor flinched. “And he believes that will encourage me to accept his apology?”
“I doubt he thought so. He mentioned it merely to make a point before asking me when he might expect a grandchild, and I suspect he did not believe I would share this with you.”
She flushed. “So now he wishes to meddle in our marriage and when we would have children? I hope you refused to engage him on such a matter!”
“I told him it was up to you and that it was none of his business. He was most dissatisfied and accused me of failing to do right by you. Apparently, people will talk, though I informed him that I doubted you would care very much.”
Despite the color in her cheeks, Eleanor began to laugh. “Oh, Phillip. Of all the responses, that was not the one I expected from you. People will make remarks about you too, not just about me. It will look bad for both of us if there is no heir or at least a child and the possibility of one within the next year or two.”
Phillip cleared his throat. “I do not care what they say about me, and so long as their remarks about you do not bother you, I care nothing for those either. When we have an heir will be our decision and no one else’s. I made certain your father understood that.”
“You are a strange man, Phillip… I have wondered ever since that first night…” She shifted in her seat. “Why did you not kiss me? I have been afraid to ask, but… I wish to know if you will tell me. It was your right.”
“My rights as your husband are not the most important thing to me, not if exercising them means losing any hope of gaining your love and respect. That is why I did not kiss you that night.”
