Page 79 of A Bride for the Rakish Duke

She turned in surprise, putting on a nervous smile as she waited for him to catch up to her. “I was just going to put some toast and eggs on a plate and then return to my chambers. I do not want to be a bother.”

“Nonsense,” he insisted, “you must take breakfast with everyone else. It would seem strange if you were not there.”

Mary chewed on her lower lip, clearly distrustful of the invitation. She had been equally distrustful when William had sent a carriage to the Dower House to invite her to stay at Stonebridge for a week or so, to join the impromptu house party that Lydia had organized. Nevertheless, she had arrived, and though she had mostly made herself scarce, William was glad that she was there.

“You do not have to do this,” she said quietly.

He put his arm around her shoulders and ushered her down the stairs. “Do what?”

“Behave as if you are fond of me all of a sudden,” she replied. “I know that I was wrong to keep the truth from you, and there is no denying that I was… free with my affections in the years before your father’s passing. I never acted on anything, but I was flirtatious and, most likely, an embarrassment to you.”

William swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I have come to understand the importance of love, Mother. I understand why you craved it, and though I have not experienced it, I like to think I can understand how… devastating it would be if someone you loved did not love you in return.”

“It… broke me, I think,” Mary whispered, her voice cracking. “I became a shell of myself for a while until I thought no, enough is enough. This is not living, it is whiling away the days until I die. I did not want to regret anything on my deathbed, Willie, but… I would have regretted you not knowing the truth.”

William steered her toward the breakfast room, walking down the long hallway with his arm still around her. “May I ask why you did not tell me sooner?”

“I was embarrassed,” she replied with a shrug. “I was embarrassed that all of the love and affection that your father should have showered me with was lavished upon everyonebutme. I once asked him why he could not even think of me inthat way, even a little bit, and he said that I was like a strange piece of art that one could admire only from a distance. He said a lot of unkind things over the years, but… I never wanted our relationship to affect yours.”

“You did not think all the screaming might affect Anthony and me?” He smiled, meaning it in jest, but he regretted it immediately as his mother’s face fell.

“It was the only way I could get some semblance of… passion out of him,” she confessed. “If he was angry with me, if he was yelling at me, at least he was paying me some attention. It is pathetic, I know, but… Iwaspathetic back then.”

William paused, and with a breath, he turned to embrace her. “It does not sound pathetic. It sounds like the actions of someone with a broken heart.” He swallowed. “I am sorry that he treated you so badly, and now that I understand, I am glad that you decided to live your life the way that you wanted to. And I hope, in time, you might yet find someone who loves you as much as you love them.”

Her arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly as a few quiet sobs juddered in her chest. He felt them through her back, her ribs expanding and contracting with each painful shudder.

“I am sorry, Willie,” she whispered.

“You are forgiven, Mother.” He kissed the top of her head. “And I am sorry, too.”

“You have no need to be,” she told him.

He hesitated. “Actually, I do.” He pulled back slightly, drawing out his handkerchief to wipe away the tears that stained her face. “I have promised a small annual sum to Beatrice’s daughter, to help them both. And when she is of age, I have promised to help her find a suitable match. But thiswillbe the last embarrassment you have to endure because of Father. It is the last piece of his betrayal, and it has been dealt with.”

Beatrice and Alexandria had returned to her father’s estate two days prior, after a brief negotiation with William and Lydia. And at Lydia’s behest, William had written a letter to the Viscount Whiston, setting out a plan for the child—that she should be claimed as the niece of a distant, deceased relative who had died in childbirth. The annual sum paid by William would masquerade as an inheritance from the fabricated deceased, and with any luck, no one would be any the wiser.

As for his other half-sisters, he had every intention of meeting them one day, but it was not something he felt inclined to raise as a possibility just yet. First, he had to mend his relationship with his mother. Whenshewas ready, he would ask about the others.

“That is… generous,” Mary choked out. “I would expect nothing less from you. As such, you have my forgiveness. Indeed, no child should have to suffer for the actions of their father… or mother, for that matter.”

William pointed his chin in the direction of the breakfast room door. “So, what do you say? Will you have breakfast with all of us?” He listened, hearing the babble of merry chatter from within the room. “I think it might be good for us all to start afresh.”

“Yes, perhaps you are right.” Mary smiled up at him. “Oh, my boy, I knew that Lydia would be the perfect wife for you. The moment I saw her, I thought this young lady is going to change his life forever and for the better. Indeed, I knew there would be love between you, and I am pleased to discover that I was not wrong. Why, I told her that a man ought to be obsessed with his wife, and IknowI am not mistaken in that regard.”

William chuckled. “I have been hearing about all of thelessonsyou taught her, and though I would like to say that I am furious, it worked out rather well. And I do not mind saying that, yes, I am proudly obsessed with my wife.”

With that, he ushered his mother through the breakfast room door, to where quite the congregation had gathered. Around the oval table, all of those who were dearest to Lydia and William were enjoying their breakfast and the chatter that came with it, sharing stories of the day’s news as they devoured toast and eggs and coffee and tea and thick slices of cooked ham.

Emma and Silas had arrived the previous day after receiving Lydia’s letter from Bruxton Hall. When they had reached that manor, Joanna and Edwin had explained what had happened and joined them in coming to Stonebridge to ensure that all was well. Edwin had protested that it was merely to return William’shorse, but William suspected that curiosity had gotten the better of the pair.

“Ah, there he is!” Emma crowed. “We were just talking about you.”

William raised an eyebrow. “All good things, I hope, and nothing too unsavory for so early in the morning.”

“Will!” Lydia squeaked, blushing furiously.

He flashed her a grin. “Do not pretend that you only ever speak of innocent things with these duchesses, my love. You have already told me otherwise.”

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