Page 50 of Wedded to the Loveless Duke
Eleanor pondered that for a moment. It was true that her uncle hadn’t been the one to suggest the proceedings afterwards. Or at least, she doubted he was. It wasn’t his style. Her father had undoubtedly kept his plots a secret from her uncle as well or had, at the very least, made him swear to keep quiet about it just as he’d done with Phillip.
“I suppose I cannot be too upset with you, Uncle. Your judgment was accurate, in the end. Phillip does suit me quite well.” She smiled up at her husband teasingly. “I have found him adequate.”
Phillip smiled back. “Merely adequate, my love? You wound me.”
The oppressive ache in her chest eased just a little. “You said you were to tell us the whole truth, Uncle?”
“Indeed.”
“Why did my father never tell me about any of this? Surely he did not believe I would not wish to know?”
“He discovered his illness two years ago,” her uncle said. “The day before he came to see me, he had been to the doctor and heard that his illness was incurable. He did not give me the particulars of it, only that he would not live many more months. As such, he was desperate to marry you off. He kept much of this secret from me when we met and only told me and His Grace once it was clear that a bargain would be struck. He begged us both to stay silent about his illness and warned your husband that the deal would mean he could not court you before your wedding.”
Eleanor gasped. “Then you knew my father’s intentions for my wedding?”
Edward grimaced and stared at the grass beneath his feet. “I knew he might not tell you the whole story. I swear to you that I did not know he had yet to tell you about your wedding.”
“Did you know that he had not told me?” she asked Phillip, eyeing him.
“Indeed I did not,” he muttered. “Had I known, I would have insisted that if he wished me to wed and protect his only daughter, he had best tell her before she walks down the aisle. I am sorry for how that was handled, Eleanor.”
Eleanor lowered her gaze to her feet, relieved. She’d never thought to ask Phillip if he’d known that she hadn’t beentold about their wedding, likely because she’d assumed he was complicit in all of it. Only, the realization that her uncle had been involved but unaware of the secrecy of her wedding had made her wonder. Her father had rarely hidden anything from her or his brother. They were all he had left after her mother passed, and he’d cherished them both dearly. If he hadn’t told her uncle, there was a good chance he hadn’t told Phillip either.
A weight she didn’t known she’d been carrying finally lifted, and she sighed. “I am glad to know that. What else did you have to tell us, Uncle?”
“Your father put his affairs in order shortly before the wedding. As I said, he paid a visit to his lawyer and drafted his will. All of the financial and business matters are laid out there and will be revealed in short order. I am here to share what he was thinking in his final days.” Edward stopped and faced her, taking her hands in his. “Eleanor, whatever else you believe, know this. Your father loved you dearly. He needed to protect you, and as much as you wish it did not have to be done through marriage, that is the way of our world. He wanted to make sure you are safe and happy.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she squeezed her uncle’s hands. “I wish he had trusted me enough to tell me all of it before he married me off to Phillip.” Her voice fell to a pained whisper. “I am thankful to know all now, but I lost those final months with him because of this… I wanted to hate him for what I thought he had done to me.”
Edward smiled sadly and glanced at Phillip. “I daresay you are not alone in feeling anger and frustration at William’s meddling, but he meant well. You both know that, do you not?”
“We do,” Phillip murmured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I believe they made amends before he passed. Is that right, my love?”
Eleanor nodded and wiped her tears. “It is only… Why did he not trust me to obey?”
“You were set upon refusing to marry at all costs, and he did not wish for his final months on earth to be marred with fights about the matter or worries about your future. He wanted the matter resolved quickly and quietly, and he believed that could not be achieved if he told you the truth.” Her uncle frowned and released her hands. “Truth be told, I disagreed with him, but I believe he did not want his last months on earth to tie you down with so much grief that you will not be able to love another family as dearly as you have loved your first. He believed Richmond could break through to you, and he wanted to stand out of the way.”
“Then why did he come to see me a month ago?”
“He knew it was coming to a close, and he hoped to tell you the truth before you discovered it when he was on his deathbed. That was his one regret. Not being able to speak to you and tell you the truth when it was finally settled…” Edward sighed. “He was certainly the source of your stubborn streak, Eleanor.”
“I prefer to consider it a streak of determination. Stubborn makes me sound intractable.”
Phillip laughed. “Stubborn or determined, it makes no difference to me. I believe it to be one of your best qualities, most of the time.”
Eleanor bit back a smile. “Do you?”
“Most of the time,” Phillip repeated. “I must admit that it was quite frustrating at times, as it related to your father, but all is well now, so it seems my patience has been rewarded.”
She wrapped her arm around his bicep with a sigh. “I suppose so. Is there anything else, Uncle?”
“That was all your father wished me to share. I will leave you two to grieve as you see fit. The funeral arrangements have been left to me, so you need not worry about them. Take your time to mourn, Eleanor. I know how dearly you loved him, even when you were most angry with him.”
The pain of losing her father and the reality that he was gone returned with a vengeance, chasing away any humor she’d felt throughout the conversation. She was at peace with his death. Nothing that needed to be said had been left unsaid, and they had made their peace with one another. It didn’t make it hurt any less, though. William’s final months had been spent alone and hurting without the comfort of his only child to see him through because she had refused to believe he might have hadgood intentions. All could have been forgiven much earlier, but she would always regret that.
Still, as Eleanor watched her uncle return to the house to prepare for his return to London, she realized she wouldn’t change what had happened. If her father hadn’t done what he had, she might not have married Phillip, and she realized with a start that the idea of not marrying Phillip left her feeling as sad as the idea of being forced to wed him had once left her horrified and furious. Phillip was the man she needed to be with, the man she wanted to stand beside. Their path might have been hard, but she couldn’t find it in her to regret the hardships. After all, they had found contentment in adversity, so she had no doubt they would also find it in the days of companionship and friendship that lay ahead.
CHAPTER 19
