Page 38 of The Duke and the Runaway Bride

“Your Grace, we should have invited you, too. I apologize for not thinking about it,” Elizabeth said. “I hope I haven’t offended you.”

“Not at all,” Beatrice replied. “I am only just getting settled into my new home, and I don’t have the energy to attend events just yet, but I hope to start attending many more with His Grace.”

Elizabeth nodded, then leaned in close to Beatrice and whispered, “I think Miss Jennings might be there, so I don’t know if it would be wise for you to be there, too. Although, I would feel more confident if you were by my side.”

“You will be fine,” Beatrice assured. “Avoid her as much as you can and ignore any gossip that comes out of her mouth.”

Especially the nickname she has given me.

“Yes, I will,” Elizabeth agreed. She turned to Modesty. “Come on, Mother, we can go and get dressed together.”

“I hope you both have a lot of fun,” Beatrice said. “And, Lady Elizabeth, I will not be there today, but I will be there for your debut.”

Modesty immediately put her hand over her heart. “My gosh, what a lovely thing to say. Did you hear that, Elizabeth?”

“I heard it, Mother. Come on, or we will be late,” Elizabeth urged.

Beatrice watched them go before she turned to look back at the gardens. The gardener was hard at work, digging into the soil and shaking his head occasionally. She smiled. She did not wish to burden the gardener with extra work, but she enjoyed Modesty and her exuberance.

She turned around, intending to go back into the manor, and almost got the fright of her life when she found the Duke standing before her. As Modesty had done only a few moments ago, Beatrice put her hand over her heart.

“You scared the life out of me!” she gasped.

“Am I that terrible?” Edwin asked.

“No, you are not,” Beatrice told him. “I was not expecting you there. Has Lord Pemberton left?”

“You will be happy to know that he has. And Mother and Elizabeth will soon leave, too.”

“Yes, they were just out here, and Elizabeth was worried they would be late,” Beatrice said.

“My sister can sometimes be a little dramatic, but she means well,” Edwin spoke, watching the gardener.

“I wonder who she gets it from,” Beatrice quipped.

Edwin looked at her for a second before he smiled. “You have been spending time with Mother.”

“I have, and I have enjoyed it so far,” Beatrice replied.

“From what I have heard from them, they feel the same way about you,” Edwin said. “I have never known them to warm up to someone so quickly. You are doing something right.”

“And I will continue to do right by you. Whatever you need me to do at the garden party, I will do it,” Beatrice affirmed.

“Let’s walk,” Edwin said.

It was not a command, but it didn’t sound like Beatrice could refuse him either.

She fell into step with him as he led her toward the orchard, avoiding straying too close to the gardener, who looked completely absorbed in his work.

“You ran from the first man you were promised to, and you concocted this plan of yours when you were promised to a second man. Then, I forced you into marriage, but you did not run. Why now?” the Duke asked.

Beatrice could not tell him it was partly because of how handsome he was.

“I couldn’t run anymore, and I needed to do right by my father,” she replied instead.

“You escaped two men because you did not know them well enough, but you do not know me. And you knew my reputation before you agreed to marry me. You can claim to know me all you want, but you didn’t know me in any way back then. So, why me? You could have gotten out of it if you really wanted, and I would not have made a fuss, but you agreed without any thought.”

“I have hurt too many people. Not only my father but my sister, too. My youngest sister will debut this year, just like Elizabeth, and I could not set such a bad example for her. If you must know the truth, the man my father picked for me was horrible. Yes, I might have run from the first man because I did not know him, and I am thankful every day that it ended well for my sister, but I couldn’t wed Lord Mutton. So, when I saw you, I realized how narrow my options were, and I… thought you were very dashing. And when you wanted to marry me, I could not say no.”

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