Page 44 of Her Seven Nights with the Duke

Her mother sat on a bench and tapped the space beside her. “Sometimes, love just happens to be like that. It isn’t really anyone’s fault.”

It’s definitely Lord Worlington’s fault.

Nora refrained from saying so. There was no time for them to argue over whose fault it was and if Lord Worlington deserved forgiveness or to be loved by someone like her mother, or anyone for that matter.

“Mother, I-I have a plan,” she said wearily.

Her mother’s head snapped up to hers. She could see the wariness in her own eyes before she asked, “What do you mean?”

Nora swallowed. There were only two ways this could go. Her mother would balk at the idea but come to accept it as the only way out of their problem, or she would ask her to forget about it.

I hope it’ll be the former.

She didn’t know what she would do if her mother refused to go with her.

“Why don’t we run away together and finally be free of him?” Nora suggested, her hands behind her back as she bit her lip in trepidation.

Her mother was still for a moment, her hair flowing down in the midnight breeze and her blinking eyes the only evidence Nora wasn’t talking to a sculpture.

“What?”

“Aren’t you tired of living this way with a man who doesn’t love you? You should come with me, Mother. We can escape together,” Nora repeated desperately.

Her mother’s eyes widened in fear as she looked around them as though Lord Worlington would suddenly appear behind them.

Nora’s heart ached for her mother. She’d become a shell of her former self. This person here in front of her was not the mother she knew when she was a child.

Why can’t you see this? Why do you let him turn you into this?

She turned away to hide the lone tear that slid down her cheek.

“You should never speak of something like that out in the open again. What if someone hears you?” Julia chided, fear plain in her eyes.

“Mother, please. Can’t you just consider this?” Nora asked her.

“No, Nora. Moreover, even if I entertained this foolish notion, where would we go? How far would we run before he finds us?Timothy is a very powerful, proud man. He will not take kindly to being played like a fool. He will find us, and when he does, the consequences will be more dire.”

Nora sucked in a breath. She had thought about it all. She knew he would go after them, which was why she’d needed to make sure that they had enough money to disappear for a while. At least until he accepted the idea that they would never return to him.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Mother. I will take care of everything. We could go to your cousin, and she will help us out for as long as we need—at least until the dust settles and he stops searching for us. And then we could go wherever we wish to. I’ll get a job, and you can do as you please,” Nora said convincingly, smiling at her mother.

“And what about money? How will we survive until you get a job?” Julia asked. “We can only live on my cousin’s mercy for so long.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Mother. I have some money saved up already. It will keep us afloat for a while until I am able to get a job. I am a noblewoman, Mother. It would not be difficult for me to find work as a governess.” to care for our needs.”

Nora was excited. “Oh, Mother, we could leave tonight if you so wish it. I have been thinking about it for quite some time.”

“No. I will not have it. We cannot escape, Nora. I don’t want to do that,” Julia said with conviction, her voice sharper than it had been earlier. The spell had been shattered before it could take root. “I love Timothy, and I will not leave him.”

Nora reared back like she had been slapped. She’d accounted for her mother refusing to go with her, and yet the shock of it was almost too much for her to bear.

“And me? Do you not love me enough to want to run away with me? He’s trying to separate us, Mother,” she cried out, calming herself when her mother flinched.

“You know I love you, Nora. I have always loved you. You are my daughter. But I love him as well. You know that. I don’t wish to lose either of you,” Julia pleaded.

Guilt ate at Nora for putting her mother in a tight spot. Of course, her mother loved her.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I know you love me, and I’m aware that you love Lord Worlington, but it doesn’t change the fact that he isn’t good for you,” she tried to convince her.

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