Page 12 of The Icy Duke Claims a Bride

“Then why does he wear it?” Jemima questioned with a frown.

“Because he doesn’t want to show anyone what’s underneath, I suppose.” Catherine felt the tears welling up in her eyes. “He expects them to be frightened away. But I’m not scared of him at all, I told him so.”

“I like your Duke,” Jemima said. “I think he’s a good man.”

“Is there such a thing as a good man?” Catherine replied automatically while managing to bite back the remark that he wasn’t even her Duke.

“Yes,” Jemima assured her. “I believe that there is.”

CHAPTER FIVE

“Hugh! How marvelous to see you! Look at you, you’re looking so well,” Lady Georgina gushed, embracing her nephew in a way that made him just as uncomfortable at thirty as it had twenty years ago.

“As are you, Aunt Georgina,” Hugh replied, forcing a smile and kissing her cheek lightly, before stepping back from her embrace as far as he physically could. “And Uncle Edwin, too.”

Typically, Hugh would have hidden away somewhere in Redbridge Hall at the arrival of unexpected guests, either waiting for them to be brought to him or hoping that they might go away entirely. Today, however, the prospect of a direct conversation with his uncle and aunt had brought him purposefully down into the hallway.

Lady Georgina had handsome brown eyes that seemed to always brim over with solicitude and a generous mouth that smiled so broadly that it could eclipse all her other features. Together with her glossy black hair—always pinned neatly under a well-trimmed hat—it was easy to see how her beauty had captured Edwin Vaughan.

Something in her greetings still made Hugh want to squirm away from her sympathetic voice and cloying perfume and then pull faces at his brother and sister behind her back as he had done in his early childhood. She always seemed so terribly pleased to see him that his lack of enthusiasm felt like something he ought to be ashamed of.

“Hugh, my boy.” Edwin, quieter and more reserved than his wife, smiled, extending a hand for Hugh to shake. “Georgina is right. You look very well, indeed, and I’m glad to see it.”

Edwin did slightly resemble Hugh’s father, but in the sense that a quickly sketched pencil portrait might resemble someone. His features were similar but less defined than his brother’s, and he had a lighter coloring. With the passage of time, the little color Edwin had seemed to be slowly fading, his pale blue eyes almost grey and his thinning hair a grayish brown more than chestnut.

“Thank you. I’m feeling very well and glad that you both decided to visit,” Hugh told them. “I planned to call on you this week, but you have saved me a trip. Come into the morning room, and I’ll ring for tea.”

“We heard your news, of course,” Lady Georgina said lightly before they even reached the morning room. “I’m guessing that’s what you wished to tell us.”

Hugh decided that there was no point in drawing things out. The sooner he gave his aunt and uncle the information they wanted, the sooner they would be on their way and leave him in peace.

“The news of my engagement to Miss Catherine Wright? Yes, it will be in theTimesby the end of the week, and we’ll be married before the month is out.”

“It’s all rather rushed, isn’t it?” Edwin cautioned, taking a seat on the sofa beside his wife as Hugh settled into a chair.

“Not really,” Hugh replied mildly. “It’s only a small wedding with immediate family, so we don’t need much time to make arrangements. From my side, there is only Grandmother, the two of you, and Andrew. Miss Wright’s family isn’t much larger.”

Lady Georgina cast an anxious and meaningful glance at her husband.

Already thoughtful and concerned, Edwin cleared his throat once more and sat forward in his chair. “What I’m saying, Hugh, is that you haven’t known one another for very long, and marriage is a very big step, especially for a man in your position. Are you sure you’ve thought this through?”

“In my position as Duke of Redbridge, you mean? I’ve thought every detail through,” Hugh assured them, feeling far more relaxed in their company now than he could ever remember.

For the first time, he was taking the initiative, and it feltgood.

“What we mean, dear Hugh, is that you have always had such a solitary and introverted nature, and we were therefore surprised and worried to hear that you were suddenly planning to marry,” Lady Georgina interjected, her face lined with concern. “Can you be sure of this lady’s character and family?”

“We’re aware that the ton can be very cruel.” Edwin nodded in agreement. “You’ve always been so conscious of your…” Rather than referring to the scars on Hugh’s face, Edwin touched his own cheek below the eye.

“Your disfigurement,” Lady Georgina supplied. “We know the kind of things people say, and we’ve always tried to protect you from those who may not have your best interests at heart. We know that none of it was your fault and that you’re not cursed, but we can’t control the views of others…”

Hugh sighed to himself as she continued along the obvious track.

However good her intentions, Hugh did wish that his aunt would not repeat unpleasant gossip and unfortunate past encounters, even when accompanied by assurances that she and Edwin wished only to save him from heartbreak.

All the time that Lady Georgina was speaking, Edwin was looking at him strangely, as if surreptitiously studying him for some flaw or defect that would explain his decision to marry. Hugh felt some resentment as this continued.

Why should a man of thirty even need to explain why he decided to marry? If he could just forget the rumor-mongering and whispers, he suspected he could deal perfectly well with Society, even if he might not enjoy it. Should he tell his uncle and aunt that too much sympathy and kindness could be worse than none?

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