Page 30 of The Duke and the Runaway Bride

His eyes lingered on her lips for a moment more before he went back to his soup.

“I wonder if our paths ever crossed at night, in London,” Edwin mused.

“I don’t remember you, and I am sure I would have remembered you if I had run into you,” Beatrice said.

Edwin looked at her again. This time, she blushed as she looked down at her soup. When she had entered the breakfast room that morning, she had a hint of pink on her cheeks, and he had wondered where the color had come from. Perhaps she had been thinking things she was not supposed to.

“I believe I would have remembered you, too,” Edwin stated. “Even if you were in disguise.”

“I met a great many interesting characters,” Beatrice said.

“I don’t doubt it.” Edwin felt some parts of his life collide. “I wonder if that would present any additional business opportunities for me.”

“Business opportunities?” Beatrice echoed.

“I’m only thinking out loud.” Edwin laughed. “The world is changing, and business is conducted in many ways now. I don’t doubt the way we do business will change completely over the next few decades. If I stay ahead, I could… I’m boring you now.” He chuckled again. “You don’t need to hear a lot of talk about different business methods.”

“No, probably not, but I enjoy hearing you talk, Your Grace. You could try to explain business methods to me, but I am sure I would understand very little. You went to Eton to study business, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Edwin replied. “I studied there with my good friend Robert.”

That made Beatrice blush again.

Edwin enjoyed teasing her. He enjoyed a lot of things about her, including conversing with her. He had arranged to have a late supper so they would not have to dine with Modesty and Elizabeth, but that was only to stop them from pestering her. Now that they were alone, he found he enjoyed her company. He had organized the dinner for her benefit, but he benefitted from it too.

“I didn’t expect your family to be living in the main house with you, Your Grace,” Beatrice admitted, changing the topic of conversation after the mention of Robert.

The soup bowls were cleared away and replaced with plates of mutton, parsnips, and beetroot.

The Duke was a little irked by the question. “Yes, my family lives with me. It is not unheard of, but they sleep in a separate wing of the manor, and we lead completely separate lives.”

“Do you often have breakfast together?” Beatrice asked.

Edwin was sure she did not mean it as a slight. “I only wanted them to get to know you,” he lied. “You sound like my younger sister now.”

“I don’t mean to, you must believe me,” Beatrice assured him. “I’m not saying anything by it. It’s just…”

“Well, spit it out,” Edwin prompted. “What are you saying by it?”

“Only that our marriage is not conventional by any means. And before you say anything, I know this is a marriage of convenience for both of us, but I expected things to be different.”

“Different?” the Duke asked. “Please go on.”

“I feel I am making you angry, and that is not my intention. I will keep my mouth shut.” Beatrice looked up from her plate and smiled playfully. “Except to eat, of course. I can’t very well keep my mouth shut for that.”

“No,” Edwin muttered.

He shouldn’t have been annoyed by her questions, but it was not Beatrice with whom he was annoyed. He was annoyed at himself, at life, at Society. He considered her words, and he knew what she meant.

“Yes, my family lives here with me and not in separate lodgings,” the Duke said.

Beatrice opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a finger, silencing her.

“And I can see you are disappointed by our wedding. We did not have a grand wedding, and there was no breakfast celebration after and no honeymoon. Your first morning after we wed, and you come downstairs for breakfast only to find my entire immediate family waiting for you.”

“I enjoy their company,” Beatrice reassured him. “You shouldn’t worry about any of this.”

“I do worry about it, and I have worried about it for years—that’s the problem,” Edwin said. “It is because my estate is not in good shape.”

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