Page 80 of The Duke's Mysterious Lover
That’s why Blackrose had been so intent on marrying; as itstood now, Danielle MacMillan, Fawkes’s wife and Blackrose’s niece, was his heir.
Oh shite.If Blackrose was still married to Gloria Pastorino, then he was clearly counting on no one knowing that. If word escaped, it would make him a potential bigamist, and Lady Emma wouldn’t marry him. Of course, if Blackrose had his current wife killed, it would open the way for another marriage, another heir…but the great Gloria Pastorino was famous enough her murder wouldn’t go unnoticed.
Thorne wondered if this was why she rarely accepted invitations to sing in Britain…
Could ye use this information? To lure Blackrose into yer trap?
Aye, it would absolutely lure him…but then Kit would find out.
And if Kit learned she was the next Countess of Bonkinbone, if she learned she wasn’t a bastard, she’d have to rethink her entire life. The birth she’d learned to accept would be gone, replaced with the stain of legitimacy.
She’d have to accept that the arsehole who had abandoned her mother hadn’t abandoned a lover; he’d abandoned a wife.
She’d have to face the fact that she would have responsibilities, hold a title for a future son, have expectations placed on her that she clearly had never wanted. Hell,heknew that pain.
And she would face the scandal of being aligned to a traitor to the Crown when this all came out.
But it would move her into the perfect position to become yer wife.
Thorne scrubbed a hand over his face.
Kit had made itveryclear she didn’twantto marry him.
It was why he’d swallowed down everyI love yeand every talk of a future together. She didn’t want that, and he was trying so fooking hard to be as unselfish as possible.
Last night, staring down at that marriage certificate, he’d panicked. What man wouldn’t? He’d shoved it back into the Pastorino folio and hadn’t said anything to Kit. Because hewanted her to make her own decision, didn’t want to influence her.
He wanted her to choose him because she wanted him. Because shesawhim. Anything else would be a manipulation.
She has the right to ken the truth.
Aye, of course. And he’d tell her.
Eventually.
Fook.
He needed to tell her, but if he told her, would she think he was lying to manipulate her into marriage? This information—almost magically—negated her main objection to marriage, didn’t it?
Besides, they all needed to focus. This plan had to work, they couldn’t afford to fail now. Spilling the news to Kit that her parents had been wed would only distract her, distract him, distract Georgia and Danielle and Demon and Fawkes—
Growling again, Thorne dragged his hand through his hair.
He didn’t know what he was supposed to do.
He wanted to tell Kit the truth, but he also didn’t want her to think worse of him than she already had cause to.
And last night it had been impossible not to whisper the words of love to her after she’d fallen asleep in his arms.
How could he lose her?
“Ye ken, he’s no’ normally this grumpy.” Fawkes’s slightly amused tone told Thorne his cousin was watching him.
Kit’s snort was quiet. “He’s not grumpy, he’s worried. The idiot thinks he has to do all this himself.”
“All what?”
A pause, as if she was gesturing, then Kit said, “Trap Blackrose. Run a dukedom. Be the hero.”
