Page 86 of The Duke and the Unwanted Bride

An annulment? Was that even possible? Hannah did not want to think about such a thing. Yes, she had cried. Yes, shehad accepted her fate the best she could. But deep down, she wondered if maybe Frederick would change his mind, if this wasn’t the end, if there was still a chance…

But that would require her to give up on the notion of having children entirely. To make him believe that she had. To accept that their marriage would not progress, for how could it if they didn’t start a family?

Even as sad as Hannah was feeling, even as broken, she wasn’t sure she could do such a thing.

And then, as if to confirm this point, a little head poked around the door of her room—Charlotte’s four-year-old son, Sebastian.

“Mummy!” He saw Charlotte sitting on the bed and ran for her, holding out his little arms expectantly.

And Charlotte, spotting him coming for her, was quick to let go of Hannah, lean forward, and scoop her son into her arms. “Oh, what are you doing up here?”

“Where were you?” Sebastian pouted. “I want to play!”

“You’re supposed to be with Miss Emily,” Charlotte said in her motherly voice. “You didn’t sneak out, did you?”

There was a look of mischief on the little boy’s face.

“Oh, Sebastian. What am I going to do with you.” She pretended to be angry but could not keep herself from smiling.

With her son sitting on her lap now, it was impossible not to see the pure love and adoration that Charlotte held for her only child.

Hannah watched the two with a sense of melancholy. Charlotte had just one child, whereas Beatrice had even more. Each as loved as the other, adored and worshipped as any mother would adore and worship her children. And Sebastian, his little arms wrapped tight around Charlotte, giggling as she began to tickle his stomach while telling him he needed to behave, was typically enchanted by his mother as any young child would be.

It was hard to watch. Harder to sit through. A reminder now of the fight that Hannah and Frederick had, while seeming to confirm that Hannah had made the right decision. Theonlydecision.

She wanted what her sister had. She wanted a child of her own. Someone to love and care for and raise in her image. What was more, she wanted to share that with the man she loved. And if Frederick was not willing to be that man…

The tears came suddenly. Hannah tried to stop them, but they burst as if from a broken pipe, and she fell onto the bed, shoving her head into her pillow, ignoring Charlotte, who was trying to put her son down so she could comfort her.

Hannah’s marriage was over, and now, a day afterward, she was finally beginning to accept that fact. Not that this made things any easier, but she supposed that was what the crying was for. And with how she was suddenly feeling, she had no doubt that there was plenty more to come.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“You’re not going to like what I have to say,” William began in a solemn tone.

“I rarely do.”

“Just promise me that you will not get mad.”

“I promise nothing of the sort—and hand me that bottle, will you? My glass has been empty for close to five minutes now, which is beginning to look like a problem.”

“Well, that’s just it…” William held the bottle close to his chest. “What I wanted to say is that I think you have had enough.”

Frederick narrowed his eyes at his brother. “I do hope that you are joking.”

“Ordinarily, yes, for few enjoy a joke as much as I do. But in this case…” William looked at Frederick, no sense of humor whatsoever in his eyes. “I am afraid that I must put my foot down.”

“How about you put that foot down closer to me…” Frederick leaned forward to snatch the bottle back, but William was quick, leaping to his feet and dancing away.

“It is for your own good, Brother.”

“Get back here!”

“You will thank me tomorrow.”

“If I do not kill you first.”

“Ha!” William stood at the back of the room, one eyebrow raised in derision. “And how will you do that? You can barely stand.”

---