Page 91 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
“I look forward to it,” Philip said.
“And I’ll be back during my next break,” Percy added. “Perhaps sooner, if you are lucky.” He added a wink to make the point.
Philip looked at him flatly. “Don’t do me any favors.”
“You’re still here!” Iris’ voice carried from the front of the manor. The three men were standing together on the drive and they turned as one to see her coming for them. “I hoped to have missed you.”
“Mean!” Percy cried.
“She is even harsher than you are,” Robert added.
Philip laughed at his wife’s joke and beamed as she reached the three of them. There, she did not hesitate to hug Percy and then Robert, showing them both how much she cared.
“You are both welcome any time,” she said as she pulled back from Robert. “Despite what my husband might have you think.”
“Finally, some decent hospitality!” Percy cried.
Behind the three men, standing in wait, was their carriage. It was packed with several trunks and the driver sat perched and ready to steer it from the estate so the long trip north could begin. For Percy, it meant heading back to Eton to finish his year of study, and for Robert it meant a chance to travel and get away, have his misdeeds forgotten by the ton, while forging new memories that weren’t saddled with past mistakes.
Philip smiled at his two brothers, feeling a swelling sense of sadness growing inside of him.
Percy, he would miss most of all, but that was not a surprise. He had always thought of himself as Percy’s protector, and he still was that. But Percy was almost a man now and needed room to breathe and grow so he might forge his own path.
Robert was another matter entirely. Since his had apologized, and since Philip had forgiven him, a change had taken the once roguish lord, and he seemed determined to prove that this change was not fleeting. In the month since, Robert had abstained from drinking and gambling, had stopped trying to bed random women any chance he got, and had even started to speak about the possibility of marriage.
So much had changed, and it was all thanks to Iris.
With that in mind, Philip wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist as they bid farewell to the two brothers. They watched on and waved as the carriage pulled from the estate and made down the road, slowly cantering out of sight.
And despite being glad to see them leave, Philip knew too that he would miss them dearly. Lucky then that he had Iris to keep him busy.
“It is about time,” Iris sighed once they were gone.
Philip frowned and turned to his wife. “I thought you enjoyed my brothers’ company?”
“Oh, I do,” she said earnestly. “But come now, Philip. It has been a month and where it might sound selfish of me…” She turned to face him, pulling him into her arms. “It is about time I have you all to myself.”
He laughed and slid his arms around her waist. “Well, I won’t hold that against you.” He kissed her on the nose. “Now, what did you have in mind? Seeing as you have me all to yourself?”
“Today? I was planning on paying a visit to the village.”
“You were?” Philip no longer resented the villagers as he had once done and was even in the process of making amends with them. But that did not mean he wanted to share his wife with them. Not now that they were finally left alone.
“Oh yes,” she said most seriously. “I need to pay Agatha a visit.”
“Another dress?” He rolled his eyes. “How many more can you possibly need?”
“For now, none,” she said, a grin taking her lips. “But the thing is, I have a feeling that soon I’ll be needing an entirely new wardrobe. For I fear that the dresses will no longer fit me.”
Philip frowned and leaned back, his eyes assessing his wife’s figure. “What on earth are you talking about? Plan on gaining some weight, do you? You may try, but I know a particular way to work it off.” He winked and flashed his eyes with hunger, his meaning clear.
Her smile grew. “It is not that sort of weight.”
Still, Philip had no idea what she was talking about, and he let her see it on his face.
She giggled. “It is a shame, really. With your brothers now gone, that we will have the house to ourselves. A shame, because it is not going to last for very long.”
“Iris, what are you…” he trailed off when he saw her raise a single eyebrow at him.
