Page 19 of The Duke and the Widow
“I know all too well what a besotted man looks like.”
James clenched his jaw, trying to hide his annoyance. “I believe you are mistaken.” Although James wasn’t completely certain it was a mistake. He had become far more infatuated with the lady than he had ever intended.
He climbed into the carriage, not interested in giving Demming a chance to offer a retort. Even though he knew that taking the seat beside Rosina would earn him a knowing look from Demming, he did so anyway. The idea of Demming sitting next to her, their sides touching, irritated him, and the two broad-shouldered gentlemen sitting together would prove quite uncomfortable.
Just as he suspected, as soon as Demming took his seat, the man caught his eye and arched his brows before he shifted to stare out the carriage window.
They rode in silence for a few minutes and James noticed nothing except for how Rosina felt pressed against him. He had the strongest urge to put his arm around her and had to clasp his hands in his lap to keep from doing so. That would only give Demming even more cause to believe he was correct in his declarations.
Demming broke the silence. “I don’t believe I ever got to offer you condolences for your parents, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, my lord.” James’ tone wasn’t one to encourage further words on the subject as he didn’t prefer to speak about his parents.
Rosina glanced up at James and he noted the sympathy in her expression. She gave him a soft smile, and his heart did a flip in his chest.
“Your father was a good man,” Demming continued. “He was quite proud of all his sons.”
James swallowed the emotion that arose from the man’s words. His throat was thick as he hoped his father would be proud of him. Proud that he had devoted his time and attention to caring for his brothers. Although his father would want him to marry and carry on the family line as he was expected to do and not pass the responsibility to one of those very same brothers.
Perhaps considering marriage wasn’t the worst idea if he did so with the right woman. The woman must love his brothers, and they must love her. It was the only way it might work.
“We miss him very much,” James finally spoke. “And our mother.”
A few moments later, the carriage came to a stop at the beginning of the street in the village. James released a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to discuss his parents any longer.
He stepped out of the carriage and then lifted Rosina down instead of offering her his hand. When Demming descended the carriage step. “I believe I shall go this way. I will see you both later.”
Demming gave James a small nod, and he knew the man was intending to leave the pair alone on purpose. James wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or thankful for the man doing so. He decided it was the latter as he wished to enjoy Rosina’s company without the necessary pretense if others were to remain in their presence.
Rosina placed her hand in the crook of his arm and pulled him to stroll down the road in the opposite route that most of the other guests took.
“What happened to your parents?” she asked quietly where only he might hear.
So much for avoiding more conversation about them. He drew a deep breath. “They were attacked by highwaymen returning home from our London townhome.”
She gasped. “I thought they were ill for an extended period.”
James closed his eyes to steady himself. “They were injured in the attack. The complications of their injuries left them mostly bedridden and in a precarious condition. My mother passed almost a year after the attack, and then my father passed another two years after she did.” She gripped his arm tighter, and it soothed him, making him wish she could wrap her slender arms around him.
“That must have been so awful for you and your brothers. Were you away at university while they were cared for at home?”
He shook his head. “I never attended university. My brothers didn’t handle the ordeal very well. They were only seven when the attack happened.” He glanced at her and she just stared back at him, remaining quiet so he might explain what he meant. “You see, my parents weren’t like others of the ton. They were a love match and spent a lot of time with us. Before my brothers were born, well, and afterwards, my parents doted on me. They read me stories, took meals with me, Papa played with me on the floor, and they spent little time away from our country home. They were much the same with my brothers. We were a happy, contented family.”
“That sounds like a wonderful life.” They strolled through an outdoor market, mostly pretending to look at the wares.
“Indeed, it was.” He sighed. “But after their attack, I had just returned from Eton. My mother was hardly awake and when she was, she experienced a lot of pain. I had her placed in the same room with my father since they didn’t wish to be apart. Papa was a bit more himself but didn’t quite have all of his faculties from the medications.
“The boys began having nightmares and soiled their beds in the night,” he continued. “They acted out for their nanny during the day, and they weren’t eating properly.” James wasn’t sure why he shared as much as he had. He never spoke of his parents or what his family went through.
Rosina had gasped a few times as he spoke. “Those poor boys,” she said. “And you.”
She glanced up at him, and the tenderness in her expression almost undid him. He always had to be his own pillar of strength for the last five years to ensure that his brothers endured, and the lady beside him was taking down the wall he had built around himself, brick by brick.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said, placing his free gloved hand on top of hers. He just needed to touch her. “I didn’t attend university as planned and stayed with them. I read to them at night before bed as my parents did, and I helped with their lessons. We ate our meals together, just the three of us, and then we’d sit with our parents each afternoon. I had the boys read to them while they slept so they could practice doing so and to make it less scary for them to see Mama and Papa that way.”
“You are a good man, and brother, Duke,” she said, discreetly wiping her eyes. “It’s no wonder you are so concerned for them while they are away.”
“They have been as happy as could be expected, but being away at school is quite the adjustment.”
