Page 51 of The Unwanted Duchess

“What is it?” a startled Graham asked. “Have I done something wrong?”

Samantha watched him, her heart pounding. It was not an intruder or someone that had arrived specifically to cause her harm. It was her new husband, who seemed just as terrified as she was.

“My apologies,” she said quickly, ignoring the beating in her chest. “I thought you were… someone else.”

“Who else could I have been?”

He looked sharply and steadily at her, and for the first time since they had met, she felt her defenses crumble. The tears fell from her eyes, and she did not stop them. She did not know whether or not she might have been able to if she tried, but she couldn’t do so regardless.

“Samantha?” he asked. “What is it?”

“It is nothing,” she said breathily as she wept. “It is nothing at all.”

“The way you are now would suggest otherwise,” he said gently, stroking his fingertips up and down her arms. “Come, sit with me and tell me what is happening to you.”

Samantha allowed him to lead her to her bed, and she took a deep breath. It had been a shameful time in her life, and she swore that only she, Diana, and Colin would ever know about it, except now that he was looking at her with those perfect blue eyes, there was nothing she could do but unravel.

“When my sister married,” she began, her voice shaking, “I did something shameful. I ran away. I thought that any life without my father would be good, and so I ran. I stole a carriage and headed for a nunnery.”

“That is not something to be ashamed of. You clearly turned back.”

“Only because my sister followed me! She chased after me, and that night at the inn we stayed in… two men attacked us.”

She saw as his hand clenched into a fist.

“Nothing too terrible happened,” she promised, “but they did tie us to… to the bed. It was frightening, but we were unharmed by the end of it all. Besides, Colin came to our rescue. I hardly even know why I am so concerned about it all now. It does not make any sense.”

“Of course, it does,” he said gently. “It was a frightening experience, one I would not want anyone to suffer through. Is this why you asked about the journey? I would have waited until morning to leave had I known.”

“I did not think it would be an issue. I did not expect any of this to happen.”

“Then next time there is a problem, you must speak to me first so that we can do something about it beforehand.”

“I will,” she agreed. “I promise.”

He was gentle with her once more, as if he had returned to his normal self and that evening had been tiredness and nothing more. She felt safe, just so long as he was there.

“Would you mind staying for a while?” she asked. “I know that nothing will happen, but…”

“You need not explain. Fear not, I shall stay with you until you fall asleep.”

That was enough for her, and at last she allowed her exhaustion to take over, and she drifted off to sleep.

What she hadn’t expected was for him to still be beside her when she awoke.

CHAPTER 17

Guilt. That was all that Graham had felt since he had proposed to his wife.

She deserved so much more than to be the wife of a man who was so utterly miserable, but she was willing to do it. Perhaps it was only for her own reputation, though he was quite sure that she did not care at all about that, or to increase her social standing, though she did not seem to care for that either. Regardless, she had clipped her own wings just so that Nicholas did not win, and there was something to be said about that.

And he felt terrible about it. She had been a bright young lady with a quick wit, and had she been anywhere else, she could have flourished. She could have had any man for a husband, and instead she was stuck with him. Not only that, but she would have to do all of the things that a duchess was expected to do, and it had been no more her choice than it was his to be a duke. It was simply how things were, and he hated it, but all the same, he was incapable of changing it.

And so he had been silent. There was nothing that he could say to make her feel better about giving her life away to be a wife, and so he said nothing at all. That had to be what she wanted from him, wasn’t it?

Then she told him about her past, and he could not find it in him to leave her there. He wished that he’d known, but there was no going back. He had to be there for her; he had to support her. That was how he would fix what had happened to her and prove that she was worth more than she had been led to believe.

“Good morning,” she said softly when he awoke. “I was not expecting you to stay.”

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