Page 117 of Romancing Daphne

“I can’t. We aren’t family.”

He pressed forward while his courage held out. “I’d like us to be, my dearest Daphne.” He stopped and turned to face her, taking her hands in his. “I know I have a great deal yet to atone for, and I do not yet deserve your full trust, but someday, someday soon, I hope—I pray that I will have proven myself worthy of your love and affection.”

She kissed his cheek, something she did more and more often of late. “You have it already, James.”

“But do I have enough of it to hope that one day we’ll never have to be apart?”

Her eyes flew to his face. “What is it you’re asking of me?”

He lifted her hands one at a time to his lips.“I am asking if you . . . Will you marry me, Daphne?”

Her smile blossomed on the instant, though she didn’t answer his hastily posed question.

“My dear?” he pressed nervously.

“Of course my answer is yes. A thousand times yes.”

Relief rushed over him. He pulled her into his arms, pressing light kisses to her hair and face.“I will do everything in my power to secure your happiness,” he said between kisses.“I swear it.”

A yelp followed that sounded strikingly like agreement.

He ceased his show of affection long enough to cast his meddlesome puppy a disapproving but amused glare.“Have you been eavesdropping this entire time, you unmannered mongrel?”

“The little scamp,” Daphne added.

James chuckled. Then, wrapping his arms around her once more, liftedher from the ground and spun her about in a show of unabashed celebration, their laughter echoing through the trees around them.

Chapter Forty-Three

The Duke of Kielder reallyought to be given full rein of everything in the kingdom. The man regularly accomplished the impossible. Only ten days had passed since James had sought formal permission from the gentleman to marry Daphne, and there they were, married and ready to embark on an abbreviated wedding trip he’d not been required to plan or finance.

“I cannot abide the sight of newlyweds,” His Grace had said when James had objected.“I am paying you to get out of my sight—a wedding giftto myself. Say another word against the idea, and I’ll toss you off the roof.”

So James had graciously conceded the point and opted not to bring up the fact that the duke had obtained and paid for the special license that had allowed them to marry in such short order. He also kept mum about the miraculous arrival of his mother in Shropshire. Except for her short and somewhat dismal trip to London, that lady had not left the immediate grounds of Techney Manor in twenty years. Ben made the journey from Northumberland, bringing with him the regrets of the Windover family that Mrs. Windover’s fast-approaching confinement did not allow them to attend.

Perhaps the most miraculous occurrence of all was Father’s presence. His attitude shocked both James and his brother into near incoherence. He did not once attempt to bully or threaten or intimidate them. He spoke to Daphne with utmost gentility and respect. He mostly ignored his wife, something for which they were all immensely grateful. The only person with whom his interactions were not outwardly unexceptional was the duke. James did not know what precisely had passed between the two gentlemen beyond what he’d seen at the memorable family dinner several weeks earlier, but he knew without a doubt that his usually blustery father was utterly terrified of his son’s new brother-in-law.

James stood near the entryway, waiting. Three hours had passed since the wedding. A seemingly endless meal celebrating the marriage had finallyreached its conclusion, and any moment now, his new bride would joinhim, and they could begin their journey. A smile tugged at his mouth.Hisnew bride.Not a month ago, he’d been plagued with doubts, wonderingwhat miracle would be required to finally win her heart and her trust. Nowhe had a lifetime in which to prove himself worthy of it.

“A word with you.” The duke spoke as he strode to where James stood. The man would likely always be intimidating, though James found he did not feel quite so nervous in his presence as he once had.

“Certainly, Your Grace.”

The duke gave him a look of complete annoyance.“I will not be ‘Your Grace’-ed by my own family—at least not those on the Lancaster side. Like it or not, you’re included in that number.”

“I find I like it very much,” James said. Daphne always smiled when her brother-in-law grumbled in that irritated manner. James had not yet reached that level of familiarity but almost felt a bubble of amusement.

“The relations I can tolerate call me Adam,” he said but not in a way that would naturally invite familial regard. Somehow, though, theinvitationdid not feel begrudgingly made.

“I will attempt to do so,” James said,“though I admit it will not come naturally.”

“Of course it won’t. You are not a presumptuous mushroom. Work on it—you’ll get it eventually.”

“I will.”

The duke’s expression shifted quickly from annoyance to threat. James took an involuntary step backward.

“I believe it is customary,” the duke said, his tone low and a bit ominous,“for a guardian to spout vague threats to his ward’s new husband should that husband bring any harm to his new wife.”

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