Page 66 of Her Bear of a Duke

"No, that was certainly strange too. Lady Annabelle never liked children. She said that she would–"

He stopped himself.

"It is all right," Dorothy assured him. "It was a long time ago, and it does not mean anything now. You were engaged to her, and now you are married to me."

He cleared his throat, nodding at her.

"She told me that we would sire an heir and then no more, and that even then she would not want to see the child itself."

"And if you had a girl?"

"Any children we had would be for their nanny to care for. She had very little interest."

"In which case, I wonder what changed."

"I believe it is because she now regrets that she has not had any. She has no husband and no children, and so she will be living quite a lonely life."

Dorothy would have pointed him to Cecilia, who was proudly unmarried, but it was not the time. It was true that Lady Annabelle had come to a sort of realization that she was alone, and perhaps that had made her change her mind. Regardless, she would have to find a husband if she wished to change that, and that was not something that would be easily done by hiding away in another family's household.

"Is it wrong of me to say that I am pleased that she was awful to you?" she asked.

"I cannot say that I enjoyed it," he replied, laughing.

"No, but had she not done it, you would have married her instead of me. I cannot say that I am unhappy about that."

He embraced her, his fingertips nestled in her hair.

"Nor can I," he promised. "And in that respect, I would have to agree with you. She will not be alone with me again, I assure you. I should have told you, but I wanted you to enjoy your time with your friends."

"I can do that no matter where we are."

"Then might I suggest we join them?" he asked. "I believe it might be an idea that I improve their opinions of me."

"I would have to agree with you there," she giggled, "but truly, they will come around. They simply need to see that you are not a callous man that is holding me prisoner."

"Is that what they think of me?"

"No," she replied firmly. "They think you are strange, and perhaps a little off putting, but they will soon change their minds."

"Good, because I would hate to have to lock them in the dungeon."

They laughed together before leaving to join the others in the glasshouse. When they arrived, they saw all of the ladies sitting down, while Catherine explained what each plant was. Dorothy's heart swelled at the sight of her, especially when she began to look at her as she said the more difficult pronunciations.

What Dorothy especially appreciated was the way her friends acted as though they were truly interested in what the little girl had to say. She knew perfectly well that they did not care about plants, and that they only humored her when she told them about botany because she was their friend, but they were pretending nonetheless and it was making Catherine blossom.

She had changed so much in such a short time. From the day that Lady Annabelle had arrived to that moment, it was as though she had truly begun to recover from her illness. There was color in her face and she spoke excitedly, as if she were truly alive again. She wanted to enjoy it, but there was that samenagging feeling that this happiness arrived when her new aunt did, and that when Lady Annabelle left it would all change back to how it was.

"Aunt Dorothy," Catherine asked, making her focus on where she was again. "What is this?"

Dorothy looked at the plant that Catherine was pointing at, and then blinked. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen, the one thing that she had always wanted, and she could not believe that she had not noticed it before.

"Oh," Lady Annabelle remarked, "it appears the Duchess does not know."

"Strelitzia Reginae," she whispered, and all eyes turned to her. "A bird of paradise. Where did it come from?"

She turned to Morgan, who was grinning widely at her.

"I was hoping to show you it when we were alone," he explained. "I had it brought in."

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