Page 32 of A Bride for the Wicked Duke

It was so unlike Gerald to act that way. All his life, wherever he went, he was always so careful to say the right thing so as not to offend. He had a reputation to uphold, one which was prized by all as the most pristine in all of London. Insulting lords and their daughters was certainly not his way.

However, hearing Lady Wainright insult his sister... and Lady Hawkins, even if that shouldn’t have mattered, had annoyed him. Who were they to say such things? They didn’t know Lady Hawkins one bit. And if they did, they would certainly think differently.

Besides, Gerald would be lying if he had said he didn’t enjoy the look on Lord Marlow’s face just a little...

“Did I miss something funny?” Gerald said as he approached his sister, Lady Hawkins, the younger sister Eveline, and their mother the dowager countess.

“Your Grace!” the dowager countess said with surprise, rushing around her daughters to greet him. “Please, ignore my daughters.” She shot them a look of warning. “They have a tendency to forget sometimes that they are in public and ought to behave as such.”

“It is perfectly fine,” he assured her with a smile. “To live in a world where one should apologize for laughter, well...” He shrugged. “That is not a world I wish to live in.”

He looked past the dowager, meeting the eyes of Lady Hawkins. She was frowning at his comment, which had him raising his eyebrows at her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, he smiled, which saw her smile sheepishly and look away as if embarrassed.

“How was your friend?” Rosalind asked, the implication clear as she likely thought it was yet another suitor whom he wished to introduce her to.

He shrugged. “Fine, but I don’t want to talk about him right now.”

“Oh...?”

“No...” His mood was surprisingly high. There was just something about the day, and who he was with, that made Gerald feel better than he had in a long time. Relaxed and comfortable beyond what he so often was when with people of his own class. That desire to put on his usual facade of propriety didn’t feel as necessary as it so often did, and there was no need for him to guess why that was.

Rather, Gerald found himself looking beyond where they were all standing, finding an iced-creams vendor not too far away. Although it was a rare delicacy, on days like this they were known to be available in sections of the park where the peerage would conjugate. Gerald didn’t have a sweet tooth, and he was often at pains to curb Rosalind's, as a lady ought to know better than to indulge in such things. Today, however...

“What say we get you a treat,” he said to Rosalind.

“A treat?” she blinked, unsure of what he meant.

“Yes,” he laughed and nodded toward the vendor.

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother,” Rosalind said.

“Is that a no…?”

She rolled her eyes and then turned to Lady Hawkins. “Aurelia, shall we? My brother’s treat.”

“I did not say that!”

“I want one!” The younger sister, Eveline cried. “Mother, can we?”

The dowager countess clicked her tongue. “I don’t think so girls...” She looked noticeably at Lady Hawkins who was still looking away with embarrassment. “You know how I feel about such things.” Again, a look at her daughter, the implication clear.

Again, Gerald found himself annoyed. He had noticed by now that Lady Hawkins was a tad shy about her weight and voluptuous figure, a fact which frustrated Gerald as much as anything. He did not care how she looked as much as he cared how she acted. And as he had since decided, her heart was too big to worry with such things as weight.

“It is count,” Gerald assured the dowager countess as he strode through the group, putting himself beside Lady Hawkins. “Isn’t that right, Lady Hawkin?”

She frowned at him, a look that suggested that she did not understand what he was doing. Which made sense, as even he did not know. “I am not...”

“Come now,” he chuckled. “Don’t make me beg.”

Still she studied him curiously, which he responded with an honest look. Why he was doing this? Why he felt this sudden need to defend her?I wish I knew. I am attracted to her, clearly. But this feels like something else…

“Well, I would hate to see you bed,” Lady Hawkins said finally with a chuckle.

“Somehow, I doubt it,” he laughed.

The dowager countess still protested, albeit with less enthusiasm. And with Eveline crying out that she wished for one, and Rosalind joining in, the protestation quickly disappeared and soon they found their way toward the iced-creams vendor.

As they did, Gerald made sure to have a quick moment alone with Aurelia. “I have been thinking about our lessons.”

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