Page 31 of Stolen by My Knave
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I’m going to kill him,” James Kendall, the Duke of Weston shouted. He stormed past Elizabeth and was about to exit the room when his wife placed her hand on his arm. He halted long enough to glance down at her.
“Don’t be ridiculous dear,” she said, attempting to placate him. “He has to marry her first.”
Elizabeth wanted to strangle both of her parents. Jack didn’t have to marry her—they didn’t live in the dark ages. All he’d done was kiss her... It didn’t matter that it was more intimately than her parents realized. Thank the lord Lady Hyacinth hadn’t come into the library any sooner... That was between her and Jack. She was still very much a virgin, and it was absurd that they were going to force him to marry her. Drat and blast. Stupid, stupid Hyacinth and her meddling ways...
“Has anyone bothered to ask me what I want?” Elizabeth demanded. “Because I’m the one you’re trying to foist off on a man.”
Her mother glanced down at her. “Dear, I believe you already made your decision when you decided to make-out with him in the library. If you didn’t want to pay the consequences, you should have told him no.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “When did you turn into a prude? You can’t tell me that you didn’t kiss men before you married Daddy.”
“That’s not the point,” she said. “I grew up in a different era.”
Her father glared at Elizabeth. “My daughter is not going to live with a scandal if I can prevent it.”
Lord save her from her parents. Her father meant well... He was being rather old-fashioned and she couldn’t make him understand that she didn’t have to marry anyone. She was perfectly all right with never marrying and besides, Jack hadn’t told her he loved her. In time, he probably would, but he needed time to accept how he felt. She already understood what he had yet to—they were fated to be together. Why else had he come to her from a different century? He’d even had time to acclimate to it and build a life. All he needed now was to have her by his side forever.
“I don’t want to marry him.” Right now—but she left that part out. She turned toward her father. “Before you met Mama, and you were off fighting in the war, did you believe you’d marry every woman you kissed?”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Oh?” She raised a brow. “So you can kiss whomever you want without consequences. Quite the double standard, isn’t it?”
Her mother chuckled. “She does have a point.”
Her father turned and stared at her mother. “That is not helping the situation. Don’t encourage her. She’s marrying the scoundrel.”
Elizabeth sat down and stared at the two of them. When she woke up, a maid informed her both of her parents were awaiting her in the library. The place of herfait accompli... As much as she was arguing with them, she was well aware there would be one outcome at the end of it. They were going to make her marry Jack. That is if he could be persuaded to their way of thinking. She wasn’t sure if that was at all possible.
“And how do you propose to make him come up to scratch?” Elizabeth asked. Jack had disappeared after Hyacinth interrupted them. She had no idea where he’d gone off to. He’d left so suddenly she was afraid she’d never see him again. The thought saddened her, but she’d be all right either way. One day he’d return. She’d stake her life on it.
“Your father doesn’t have to make me do anything, love,” Jack said as he strolled into the room. “It would be my pleasure to marry you.”
“Be careful with your choice of words,” her father demanded. “I don’t want to hear pleasure and my daughter in the same sentence.” He glared at Jack. “Ever.”
Jack held his hand over his heart and said, “I promise never to do so in your presence. Well, not intentionally so.”
Elizabeth giggled. When had she returned to acting like a little girl? She couldn’t help herself. Jack was the reason for it. His very presence was a conduit for actions she’d not done in a long time, and sometimes ever. With him, everything was different.
“Where did you go?” she asked unable to keep the heartache out of her voice. She was happy he’d returned, but she didn’t like that he’d been absent at all. “You left me to face this by myself.”
He smiled. “That was never my intention. I had to take care of a few things I’d anticipated we’d need.”
What could have been so important he’d abandon her for even a moment? She wanted to smack him for being so incredibly insensitive.
“What?” she inquired.
“In all due time, my lady,” he said and then turned toward her father. “May I have a word with you in private?”
Her father was still staring at Jack belligerently. Elizabeth wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to leave them alone. It was hard to tell what her father would do. Jack could, at least, defend himself, but she didn’t want him to have to.
“That’s not necessary,” Elizabeth said. “I’m certain we can all talk together.”
Jack grinned wickedly. “As fun as that sounds, I owe it to your father to have a private word with him. We shouldn’t be long.” He turned toward her father and asked, “Would you join me in Clifton’s study so we can discuss this?”
Her father nodded and followed Jack out of the room. Why did they have to talk where she couldn’t listen in? She was dying to know what Jack had to say to her father. It didn’t really matter though. She wanted her own private word with him. He had a lot to answer for, and he’d not get off lightly. She planned on making him pay for abandoning her. Hyacinth had made her miserable the entire time. If it would have helped to slap her, Elizabeth would have done so.
