Page 44 of Devoted to the Spanish Duke
“Good evening, Mamá. I am pleased you could join us.” Lisandro greeted his mother.
The dowager duchess snorted. “I doubt that very much. Or, should I say, you might have been happier if I had left it a few minutes longer to make my arrival.”
Maria didn’t know what to do with herself. The temptation to run off into the dark and hide in the vineyard was strong. Stepping away from Lisandro, she put space between them.
This was the first time anyone else had been made aware of the romantic relationship connecting her and Lisandro. And while it was inevitable that they would eventually have to reveal their love, this was most certainly not the way she wished her future mother-in-law to find out.
A look passed from mother to son, and it was clear in its meaning.Are you sure?
“I intend to make Maria my duchess,” he said.
From the first night she and Lisandro shared a room alone at the RR Coaching Company offices in London, this had always been her fate. As an unwed woman of high, noble birth, there couldn’t be any other outcome. It didn’t matter if nothing had transpired between them; to save Maria’s honor, marriage was the only possible solution.
She’d known this—but hearing those words made it feel real. He would be hers. Nothing could stop their union. Love and destiny had worked hand in hand to bring them to this day.
Doña Elena came to Maria and took hold of her hand. There was the hint of a tentative smile on her face. “My son is a good man, and he will marry you because Spanish society and the church will expect it of him. But I want to know the truth of your heart in this matter. Do you care for Lisandro?” she said.
“Yes. I love him,” Maria replied.
There was no hesitation in her response. That night on the road, at Stephen’s house, she knew Lisandro held her heart. Every day since, her love for him had grown stronger.
“I am glad, but it doesn’t address the problem of Don de Elizondo and what he wants. We all know that if he is against the marriage, his decision will be the one which counts,” said Elena.
Maria turned her gaze to Lisandro. “If we decide to marry and my father does not support the union, then we will just have to trust that the church will.”
Going against her family and marrying Lisandro would be something of a last resort, but she wanted to be clear about her decision. If the Duke of Tolosa wished for her to be his wife, she was willing, family feud withstanding or not.
Lisandro held out his hand to her, and she shyly came back to him. She could only pray that her father would see the sense in all this and finally put an end to the enmity between their clans.
“Do not fret over the future, Maria. All will be well—I promise. We are both tired after such a long journey. So, tonight, let us eat, drink, and enjoy good company. Tomorrow will see a fresh morning and the path ahead.”
“But what of my family? You promised to send word,” she replied.
“I sent a message to Castle Villabona not long after we arrived. Diego knows that you are safe and back in Spain, though I did tell him we are somewhere on the road from Bilbao. I dared not risk anyone knowing you are here. We still don’t know who can be trusted among your family’s servants and friends.”
Lying to her family did not sit well with Maria, nor was she happy about being kept in the dark about it. A private conversation with Lisandro was in her plans for the latter part of the evening. She might well be in love with him, but Maria had been raised to have opinions of her own, and she would not stand idly by while Lisandro went ahead and made all the decisions in their lives.
Tonight, would be one for sharing honesty and agreeing to the terms of their future marriage. She had a horrible suspicion Lisandro might not like all that she was going to demand of him.
When Elena left the terrace several hours later, Maria and Lisandro shared a few quiet minutes. The evening had gone well. By the time the dowager duchess bade them both a fond goodnight, Maria was greatly relieved to know that she had the blessing of this woman.
Lisandro picked up his wine glass and emptied the last of it. He sat back in his chair and stared out into the night.A penny for your thoughts, Don de Aguirre.
He rose from his chair and came around to where she sat. Maria accepted his offered hand and got to her feet. She melted into his embrace as Lisandro wrapped his arms around her.
“You must be tired, my love,” he said.
She lifted her gaze and smiled up at him. “A little, but I am more in the mood for a private conversation with you. If you are willing.”
He narrowed his eyes. “And where would you wish to have this discussion? Out here on the terrace or . . .”
“You did promise to show me your giant bed,” she said.
When the lines of worry between his eyes grew deeper, Maria softly chortled. Placing a hand on his waistcoat, she toyed with the buttons. One popped open and she slipped a finger inside. The fine, thin linen of his shirt barely created a layer between the skin of her hand and the hairs on his chest. A second finger joined the first and she rubbed them back and forth. “Take me to your room.”
Lisandro didn’t protest.
Chapter Twenty-Four
