Page 86 of The Duke and the Runaway Bride

“I have not, but it is nice to have her back. Did she have a good visit with her sister?”

“Yes, she did,” Edwin replied. “She was happy to be home again.”

He became a little frightened when he saw his stepmother’s expression change. “Then why has she run off again?”

“What?” Edwin frowned.

“I asked you why she has run off again,” Modesty said sternly. “What have you done this time?”

“I haven’t done anything,” Edwin claimed. “Where did she go?”

“People might think me a fool, but I am not an idiot,” Modesty warned. “I know Beatrice was at her sister’s house for a week, and I might not know why, but I know it had something to do with you. I saw the way you were with her gone. You messed things up, and then you only got annoyed about it before you decided to get her back. Your father would have never let something like this happen.”

“My father!” Edwin boomed. “My father is the man who got us into this mess in the first place, and I would not have to run around, fixing a million problems if it were not for him.”

“And how is that working out for you?” Modesty asked.

Edwin was not sure he had ever seen his stepmother so angry. He did not have a chance to respond when she continued.

“Not very well,” she said, answering her own question. “You are stubborn and ruthless and altogether too unemotional for your own good. You believe you can get through life by making good business decisions alone.”

“So, I should be a pushover like my father? Should I give in to any demands anyone has of me instead of standing up for myself? The reason we have a life at all is because I am nothing like my father.”

“Well, that is certainly not true. Do you call this a life, Edwin? Look me in the eye right now and tell me you are happy with your life!”

Edwin could not do that.

“You can’t continue to blame your father for everything. Yes, he made some mistakes in life, but he is not responsible for any troubles in your marriage. And you do not need to be exactly like him, but you do need to be more like him. Yes, he was a pushover at times, and he did stray from the middle ground, but you have gone so far in the other direction that you can’t even see the middle ground anymore.”

A maid entered the room carrying more bread, and upon hearing Modesty shouting, she turned on her heels and scurried away.

“Your father was taken advantage of, but that was his burden to carry for all the good he did in the word. I could tell you stories for days about the people he helped. He always had a coin, a kind word, some food and shelter, or a piece of advice for those around him. Your decisions since his passing have helped us, but how many other people have they helped, Edwin?”

The Duke was still shocked that his stepmother was shouting, but he was even more shocked at how right she was about everything.

“Love is always worth it,” Modesty continued, not stopping for breath. “Love is always worth every sacrifice, and your father sacrificed a lot. Yet, he loved me dearly, and he loved you and Elizabeth, and he loved the people around him. He even loved strangers. I would not change the man he was for anything in the world. I am grateful for everything you have done for me and Elizabeth, but you need to start doing things for yourself, and that means opening up to the people around you.”

“I’m the fool,” Edwin stated miserably.

“You will be if you let her go,” Modesty replied. “She is the best thing that has ever happened to you, and you are prepared to throw it all away, and for what? Because you are scared to become your father?”

Edwin looked down in shame. He tried not to feel it, to feel anything, but it came rushing at him.

Modesty moved to the chair beside him and placed a hand on his cheek. “You are like him in so many ways, even if you don’t recognize it. He had all the same traits and characteristics you do—you both just utilize them in different ways. You are not weak, Edwin, but neither was he. Gosh, I miss him every single day.”

“I do, too,” Edwin admitted. “I still think it might all be one big joke, and he is ready to jump into the room and surprise us all. Sometimes, I think if I can fix everything, he might come back.”

“I wish that were possible,” Modesty admitted, wiping away her tears. “There is not a day I don’t wish for your father to be back by my side. I have a good life, but life was always better with him by my side. You don’t have to fix the world, Edwin, but you do have to fix this. If Beatrice is gone, Elizabeth will never forgive you. You have no idea how much your sister relies on her. Iwillforgive you—your father taught me well—but I will be very, very, very disappointed.”

Edwin managed a sad smile. “I will get her back.”

He pressed a kiss to his stepmother’s cheek, then left the breakfast room without having anything to eat.

The Duke went straight to the stables and had the fastest horse saddled. As soon as it was ready, he took off toward the Duke of Hayward’s estate.

As he rode, he had some time to think. He had thought he knew everything about the world the previous night, but Beatrice’s reaction and Modesty’s words had pierced his heart. He had been wrong, he could admit that now. He had made himself so unlike his father that he had become unrecognizable, even to himself.

He had to make the journey back from his mind to his heart. He had seen the love in Beatrice’s eyes but had been afraid to return it. He had shown weakness by caring for her, which came back to haunt him when she disappeared the previous night.

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