Page 61 of Five Ways to Bed a Duke

Richard would do her that last favor before traveling somewhere for a long while. Perhaps it would help dull the pain piercing his heart every time he imagined Catherine being married to someone else.

“I wish you all the very best, then,” he said through gritted teeth.

The Viscount beamed. But before he could respond, the Dowager Duchess and Catherine’s mother came up to them.

“Your Grace,” the Viscountess greeted, “it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise, Lady Mowbray.” Richard smiled. “It has been an age. How is Lord Mowbray?”

“He is well.” She smiled. “Would you mind terribly if I borrowed Lord Livingston? The girls and I need his expertise on botany to end our debate.”

“Not at all,” Richard answered, grinning at her.

And he meant it because he was not sure he could tolerate one more minute of seeing the man’s face without throwing a punch.

He watched the Viscountess lead him over to where Catherine and Emmy were chatting animatedly. He took in how pale and muted Catherine looked. Even though she seemed excited talking to his sister, he could spot the exhaustion in her posture.

Guilt ate at him as he wondered if perhaps he was to blame for the sudden illness that made her skip the past few Society events.

His mother walked up to him without him noticing, and by the time he did, she had followed his gaze and smiled knowingly at him.

“I know this isn’t the right time to bring this up, but I think it is necessary before you strangle that ignorant man.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

She shook her head and laughed softly. “You forget I gave birth to you and raised you in your formative years. I know all your tells, my darling boy.” She laughed, ruffling his hair.

Richard wrinkled his nose at the gesture, but instead of red-hot anger, he felt an ember of the emotion. If anything, he felt comforted by her.

“I think it’s time you finally told the poor girl how you feel about her,” she added suddenly, startling him.

“I already told you?—”

“Yes, I have heard your reservations, but have you ever stopped to think that your having those reservations shows that you might actually care for her way more than you let on? It takes a selfless and loving person to try to avoid hurting someone else.”

“I do care for her, and I do not want to hurt her, but that cannot mean I love her,” he argued. “I cannot come to love her.”

“You’re right.” His mother nodded, smiling at him. “You cannot come to love her because you already do.”

A frown creased his forehead at her logic.

He did not love Catherine. How could he? He did not even know what love was.

“I do not.”

“You are willing to put her happiness above your own, and you actually do care more than you let on,” she continued. “I do believe that is what love is. Selflessness. Consideration. Protectiveness. Desire.”

The last word prompted him to look over at Catherine again, and the thought of Lord Livingston touching her sent a surge of anger through him.

The Viscount did not deserve to see how beautiful Catherine looked when she climaxed. For all Richard knew, the man wouldn’t care about her needs, and she might never experience bliss again.

A woman as passionate as Catherine needed a man who knew how to stoke her fires and not extinguish them.

“I feel if I had come a second later than I did, Lord Livingston would have been in need of a doctor if your glare is anything to go by.” The Dowager Duchess laughed. “Tell her how you feel, Son. The worst thing she could say is no.”

Her words echoed in his mind. He had never considered the possibility that Catherine could actually reject him, and now that the idea had been planted in his mind, he wondered.

“How?” he sighed. “Livingston’s circling her like a hawk.”

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