Page 72 of Her Bear of a Duke

"Catherine, please come with me. I shall send your uncle back with you, but you must come with me."

She tried to take the girl with her, but Catherine pulled away, forcing her heels into the ground.

"I am not going. You can send for my uncle, but I am staying here. Aunt Annabelle is unwell, like me, and I will not allow her to be sent away. You all care for me. Why is she different?"

Dorothy bit her lip. Morgan was nearby, and it would only take her a minute or so to reach him. It was not worth hurting Catherine over.

"I shall only be a moment," she said reluctantly, leaving for the drawing room once more.

Morgan left in an instant, giving her an uncertain look for leaving Catherine alone, but Dorothy did not know what more she could have done when there were no servants to assist her and Catherine refused to leave. The only other thing that she could have done was force her to leave by dragging her, which she could not have done in good faith.

When Morgan returned, however, he could not meet her eye.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You know perfectly well what it is."

Dorothy looked at him, puzzled, but he did not soften when he saw her confusion. If anything, it only made him appear to be angry.

"I will discuss it with you when the week is through," he said coldly.

"Morgan, I–"

"We will discuss it when the week is through."

He did not say anything more, and none of her friends had anything to say in response.

She would simply have to wait.

CHAPTER 26

There were very things that could hurt Morgan.

With all that had happened to him, he had learned not to be affected by things that did not matter. It was why he was able to maintain his composure when Lady Annabelle had appeared, and why he had allowed her to stay long past his obligations.

What never failed to infuriate him, however, was the mistreatment of his family.

He knew that his wife was hurt by what had taken place, and that the smile she wore was not real, and he felt himself being driven mad. What Dorothy had been accused of was so unlike her that he did not want to believe it, but Catherine was not a liar. If she said something, Morgan was inclined to believe it.

The remainder of the week felt like torture, and on the last day he knew that he would also have to tell Lady Annabelle that shewould also be leaving. He knew that she would not want to, but it had to be done. She had met Catherine and bonded with her, and the time had come for her to return to her own home.

"But that is cruel!" she argued, as he had expected. "You cannot tear the poor girl away from her family like this."

"You may see her again soon, but as it stands I need time to speak with my wife, and I would rather do that without guests present."

"Yes, well, unlike those other awful ladies I am not a guest. I am family to both you and our niece. There is something far more important than marriage that binds us now, and it is the interests of that little girl."

He sighed, exhausted from what had passed of late and not willing to continue the argument further than he had to.

"It will only be for a week. I know that Catherine thinks a great deal of you, and I am not trying to stand in the way of that, but I have a family to take care of and I must do that before considering the wants of someone who has only just arrived."

Her eyes blazed, but he was not going to change his mind. He had to be rid of her, not only for his family but for himself, too. He did not like the person he became in her presence, and he wished to return to himself.

She stormed away from him, and after collecting himself he went to find Dorothy. Their guests had not yet left, but their belongings were being loaded into their carriages and he could not wait any longer. He found her in her bedchambers, sitting at her writing desk.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Should you not be with your friends?"

"If I could face them, I would be. Do you not know how terrible this has been for me?"

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