Page 1 of The Duke and the Unwanted Bride

Chapter One

“Father, I have but one request for tonight,” Lady Hannah Bolton announced as the carriage came to a gentle stop outside Langham Estate.

“Is that right?” Phineas Bolton, the Earl of Ramsbury, huffed, looking out the window as if mentally preparing himself to exit the carriage. “I was not aware that you were giving commands. Nor that I was taking them.”

“When you see Aunt Teresa, will you at least try and behave?”

“Me!” He whipped around.

“Tonight is about Selina,” Hannah continued, ignoring his exclamation. “She is anxious enough as it is, and the sight of you arguing with her mother will only worsen the matter.”

“You speak as if I want to fight with my sister,” her father complained, his chubby face scrunching up in a grimace. “When she is the one who?—”

“Father,” Hannah cut him off with a raised eyebrow and a warning stare. “Please.”

“She is right, Phineas,” Lady Ramsbury sighed. “The two of you are like children when you are together. It is most unappealing.”

“Oh, so you are on her side!”

“I am on the side of having a pleasant evening,” she said, refusing to take the bait. “And I will ask that you not use that tone with me, dear.”

Lord Ramsbury looked as if he wanted nothing more than to argue. Face still scrunched up in a grimace. Complexion turning redder by the second. He was even shaking! Yet, his wife cocked a warning eyebrow at him, and he somehow pushed those emotions down, forcing a smile as he took her hand.

“Of course, my love.” He stroked the back of her hand. “I shall behave. But if she tests me…” he muttered, again looking out the window.

“Then I am sure you will be the bigger man,” Lady Ramsbury asserted. “If such a thing is possible.”

Hannah rolled her eyes at her father’s theatrics, then met her mother’s eyes and gave her an amused grin.

Before leaving the house, they had discussed the need to keep her father under surveillance because whenever he and his sister Teresa were in the same room together, all hell broke loose, as the two could not stop bickering as if they were hens fighting over the last seed.

“We are here for Selina,” Lord Ramsbury repeated to himself, taking a deep breath as he worked to calm himself down. “And I am sure that my sister will keep that in mind. She darn well better—and where is she!” he then barked, looking out the window again. “What are the odds she is inside right now, watching us stew? Oh, I bet she loves the idea of?—”

“Phineas!” ’Lady Ramsbury snapped. “Calm down, dear. Calm down.”

To that, Lord Ramsbury scrunched up his nose and muttered something that neither of them could hear. Likely, it was not anything worth hearing anyway.

Beyond the windows of the carriage stood Langham Estate, home to Teresa Gouldsmith, the Dowager Viscountess Langham. She had invited the Boltons for a celebratory supper tonight, one which Hannah’s two older sisters and their husbands would attend as well. Hannah was very excited, as she did not see her sisters anywhere near as much as she would have liked, now that they were married with children of their own.

As to the reason for said celebration? Next week, Teresa’s eldest daughter, and Hannah’s favorite cousin, Selina, was due to wed the Duke of Thorne. As exciting an occasion as one could hope for and a perfect occasion to get the entire family together, as they had not been in an age.

The rest of the family were staying in residence, as they all lived some distance away, having made the journey especially for this supper and the wedding next week. But seeing as Hannah and her family lived nearby, they opted to arrive this evening instead… and now they were waiting to be greeted.

“Where is she?!” Lord Ramsbury snapped. “I have half a mind to storm in there without a prior notice. Let her know that we have been waiting for what feels like hours.”

“It has hardly been a minute,” Lady Ramsbury sighed. “Likely, she is busy dealing with her guests. There are half a dozen people staying here this week—surely she is busy.”

“At the very least, Charlotte or Beatrice should have seen us arrive? Oh, my sister knows how to vex me!”

Lord Ramsbury was beginning to get angry… or angrier. A man of tradition, he had insisted that they wait in the carriage until they were greeted outside by their hosts. And so, they sat tight, watching the manor, waiting for the doors to open and the Dowager Viscountess to appear.

Which she did do… only after another five minutes of waiting.

It was Teresa who appeared in the doorway first. Short and stocky like Lord Ramsbury, she was dressed finely in a colorful frock, her grey hair colored red, her round face looking sharper than usual with the powder and rouge she had applied.

She saw the carriage sitting there, waiting, opened her arms as she approached them, and beamed.

“Phineas!” she called out. “What on earth are you doing?! Come out and say hello!”

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