Page 18 of The Duke and the Accidental Bride

She shrugged. “I think His Grace did a rather fine job.”

“When were you planning on telling me this?”

Another shrug. “Now seemed like a good enough time.”

“Louisa! Did you know of this – you did!”

“It’s not my fault!”

“Don’t blame her!”

“The embarrassment you have both caused me!”

“Please!” the pregnant woman began to cry again. “Can you please -- the baby! Is it too much to ask for --”

“An engagement! How has this happened – and that dress!”

“I rather like it!”

“The baby! The baby!”

The three women shouted back and forth, devolving into a state of hysteria once more, leaving Duncan standing alone in a state of awkwardness that saw his temper rising, his frustration building, and the desire to double guess this entire circumstance settling on him in ways that were becoming harder and harder to ignore.

He managed to make eye contact with Miss Gouldsmith, to which she smirked proudly as if she was taking pleasure in the chaos that had been brought upon this household. Duncan tried to silence that smirk by hardening his glare, but this only seemed to encourage her.

Whatever this was, Duncan sensed it was far from over and that his marriage to Miss Gouldsmith was set to test him in ways that he could not even imagine.

Chapter Seven

"Imust say, this is all very surprising,” the viscountess said.

“Hopefully a welcome surprise,” Duncan responded pleasantly. “My intent was not to cause you any duress.”

“Certainly not,” the viscountess assured him. “A surprise but one that I could not be more over the moon for – truly, when I read your letter yesterday evening, I had assumed that you were referring to Louisa.” She chuckled. “But that it was Isabella to whom you meant, well...” She glanced at her daughter. “Even better.”

“I am glad,” Duncan said simply, doing his best to not look at Isabella. “Of course, I did not mean for things to transpire in this manner – my intent was never to insult or assume. But sometimes...” He forced a smile. “To put it simply, the heart wants what it wants and in this instance it has spoken.”

“And it shall be heard.” The viscountess was quick to raise her glass; filled with water, but the gesture was what mattered. “A wedding, a most wonderous occasion, and indeed a reason to celebrate. And might I say, Your Grace, welcome to the family.”

And what a family it is.

Things had calmed down dramatically since Duncan had first arrived at Greenfield Manor. There was no more screaming. No more shouting. And no more crying, thank God. The pregnant woman, who he learned was the viscountess’s oldest daughter, the Duchess of Northwick, had retired to a spare bedroom so that Duncan and her mother might talk in peace and work through this most unexpected misunderstanding.

They adjourned to the drawing room, joined by Miss Gouldsmith. Duncan took a place on the single couch while mother and daughter squeezed onto a couch across from him.

Once settled, Duncan explained carefully what it was that had brought him here in the first place – the details of his and Miss Gouldsmith's engagement. It was a story he had expected the young woman to have already gone over with her mother, only to learn that she had decided to keep her mother in the dark for reasons that Duncan did not have to guess very hard at.

As such, he did all the talking, while Miss Gouldsmith watched him with a devilish look in her eyes that he worked hard to ignore.

Obviously, he could not tell her the true nature of their engagement, opting to lie instead. A tale of love at first sight. An accidental meeting whilst he was visiting their uncle. An unexpected but deep connection which saw him propose because he had been unable to imagine living in a world that did not involve the newly found love of his life.

“Isabella?” the viscountess had confirmed, sounding somewhat shocked by this decree.

“Could there be any other,” Duncan had said. “I confess, our pairing might seem strange...” He had then looked to Miss Gouldsmith and smiled before turning away. “But it works. And who are we to question the peculiarities of love? Rather, I say that we simply enjoy them and thank God that we were lucky enough to find one another as we did.”

“I could not agree more,” the viscountess had then purred.

The lie was a necessary one. This entire engagement was predicated on the need to save face and hide from the truth, so what better way to lean into the concept of love at first sight and hope that stuck.

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