Page 63 of Her Seven Nights with the Duke

“You are right. I do not approve of her, but I suppose it doesn’t matter, after all. It is as you said—it is none of my business.” She offered him a small smile, which he returned.

His smile faded as he remembered what he had done. “I punched Lord Worlington.”Swinton.”

Samuel stared in shock as his mother laughed out loud. He had never seen her laugh so freely before, only managing a smile and a peal of half-hearted practiced laughter when she was with the ladies in her circle. She had always been so stern and cold that it was a shock to see her like this.

“Good,” she said, smiling. “In truth, I have always hated the man. I’m glad that someone has finally given him a taste of his own medicine.”

Samuel was dumbfounded. The woman before him was nothing like the woman he had always known and the memories of her he carried in his heart.

“You need not appear so shocked. Although Julia and I have never been friends, I have seen her hiding her bruises way too many times for me to care about him. Somebody had to do it, and if your father was alive, he probably would have done the same.”

Samuel shook his head, his smile and shock fading, only to be replaced with anger. “This is what I never wanted to be. A man like father. Violent and cruel for no reason other than the pleasure of it.”

The Dowager Duchess nodded in agreement. “You are right, your father was very cruel and violent with you. However, he was never that way with anyone else. Especially not with his wife.”

Samuel stared into her eyes. He could see the honesty in them.

“I never approved of the way that your father treated you. However, I was never allowed to voice my objections no matter how strongly I felt. His father raised him in the same way that he raised you because he believed that was the only way to raise a duke right to grow up fearless and deserving of the title,” she explained, returning to her seat.

“That was what he was taught. However, you are right to hate him for choosing to treat you in a way that had caused him pain, even when he could have done things differently.”

Samuel looked away. He had not expected that he would ever hear any of this from his mother. Suddenly, things appeared different from how he had always viewed them.

“You do not have to raise your son to be that way. You could be different. When things don’t work, you try a different approach. I’m sure you have used that logic in your business before,” she reasoned.advised.

Samuel rested his head on his chair, suddenly exhausted. “This is why I have never wished to marry. It only serves to bring heartache and misunderstanding to one or all parties involved.”

She laughed once again. “Marriage is not what we imagine it to be when we are younger and still read fairytales.”

Her face fell, and her brow furrowed as she sighed. “You never had the chance to grow up with a fairytale notion of marriage, however flawed it would have been. I suppose none of it matters now. You no longer have the option of remaining unwed. After all, you have fallen in love.”

She got up, heading for the door. She stopped and turned around. “You do not have to worry about turning into a man like your father. You will never be like him, that much is obvious. However, if you still fear that it is a possibility, I will be thereto make sure that it doesn’t, and I suspect the lady will do so as well.”

Samuel smiled at her, grateful that she had not invalidated his fears or made him feel worse, as it often happened whenever they had a conversation, however rare it was.

“Samuel, I am sorry I did not stop your father from treating you the way he did. I know it does not excuse it, but I was young, and he was master of the house. It seemed like my hands were tied,” she said. “I cannot say for certain now whether that would have remained the case if things happened now, and I suppose that says a lot.”

She turned and left, leaving him in the quiet room to ponder on his thoughts and come to a decision. The one certainty was that he would be visiting Lord Worlington tomorrow. There had never been anything more certain than that.

He stood to retrieve the decanter and fill the glass when he noticed Nora’s letter in front of the fireplace. In all the commotion that had ensued, he had forgotten to pick it back up. Samuel bent to retrieve it, glad that it hadn’t been thrown into the fire or trampled on by the people who had filed into the room to witness the moment he was caught with her.

His thoughts drifted to Nora. Was she asleep? He doubted anyone would be able to sleep at a time like this when they were plagued by thoughts of their possible ruination.

Wait for me, Nora. I promise not to ever abandon you.

He would keep that promise even if he broke anything else. He hadn’t told her he loved her, nor did he tell her that he wished to marry her. He hoped she would not worry herself with the thought that she had trapped him into a marriage he did not want.

Samuel remained awake until sunlight filteredthrough his window, plagued by the idea that she worried he would not want her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Samuel yawned as the carriage rode through the cracks in the cobbled street leading up to Lord Worlington’s home. He hadn’t been able to get much sleep, and although he wished to, the last thing he wanted was for Nora to have any reason to believe that he would not be coming for her if he was delayed.

He would propose to her and make her his wife. He had thought about it all night. She made him happy, that much had been obvious from the very first night they spent together, when he had been so carried away that he barely noticed it had become day.

He loved her and would be happier to have her in his life than if she was married off to someone else.

The doors opened before he could knock as the butler stepped out. “Your Grace, His Lordship awaits you in his study.”

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