Page 7 of Her Tiger of a Duke
“Then it is what we must do. My father is in his study. I can have someone take you there.”
He thanked her, and then he left the room. Beatrice tried to steady her breathing. She also tried not to think about the fact that her life was going to change for good, and she had nobody to blame for that but herself.
Her mother returned very quickly.
“Did I hear all of that right?” she asked.
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“Of course I was. I am your mother. Now, tell me the truth. Are you to marry the Duke?”
“Should Father give him his permission, yes. It is the only way to navigate all of this.”
“In that case, I cannot be angry with you for your actions. Oh, Beatrice!”
Her mother embraced her suddenly, tightly pulling her in until Beatrice was certain that she could not breathe.
“Mama!” she yelped. “This is not a good thing. I do not want to marry him.”
“Perhaps not, but it is as I told you. You need stability, and he will offer that more than any other gentleman. I cannot believe it. My daughter, a duchess!”
“But the circumstances are less than ideal, Mother. We cannot be too excited when it could very easily all go wrong.”
“It will not. Your father would not allow that. Besides, we never thought that you would marry at all, let alone this well. We deserve some happiness, Dear.”
Beatrice wondered why she had never been enough reason for them to be happy, but then she was always a disappointment as far as they were concerned. She was unmarried, and until that day she had been without prospects. In the space of a day, that had all changed.
“I shall begin some preparations,” her mother smiled, and though Beatrice went to stop her she did not pay attention.
Her mother did not wait to hear another word, gliding out of the room and humming. Beatrice wished that she could share this enthusiasm, but she could not. She was not pleased about her fate, but it was what she had to do to fix the mess that she had made.
She wished that Helena had not lied to her, and that she had kept quiet and allowed the ceremony to go as planned, but that was not what had happened. Now, she would have to become a duchess and have duties that she never expected. She would marry a husband she did not want, but if it meant protecting her friend then she would do it.
And she would do it with a smile on her face.
CHAPTER 4
“And you are certain that my daughter is who you want?”
Owen raised an eyebrow at the question. It was an offer that any father would be excited for; a wealthy duke wanting to marry his spinster daughter. And yet, Lord Jennings was looking at him as though it was the last thing he wanted to hear.
“Do you wish to refuse?” he asked, and the older gentleman quickly smiled.
“No, of course not. It is simply… well, it is awfully sudden. What has brought on this sudden offer?”
“I have spoken with Lady Beatrice, and she wishes to correct what happened at my wedding. If that means marrying me, then she will.”
“And you are also happy to do so? The two of you are not well acquainted and you are not the sort of man I envisioned asking for her hand, that is all. My daughter is rather shy and timid. She is markedly unlike most duchesses.”
“What sort of proposal did you expect for your quiet daughter, then?” Owen asked, and the gentleman did not respond.
Instead, he looked around the room, anywhere but directly at Owen, who could not believe that a man could think of his own child the way he did.
“If a marriage is what you want,” he said finally, “then my daughter is yours. I assume that she is aware of your intentions to wed immediately?”
“Indeed. She is more than happy for the arrangements to be made, but a formality is a formality, and I wanted to ask for your permission first.”
“Then you have it,” Lord Jennings said firmly, extending his hand. “Be good to her. That is all that I can ask of you.”
