Page 84 of A Marquess to Save Her
"Callum, I wish to..."
"You are here to tell me that I cannot marry Louise, aren't you?" Callum asked, "I knew that your deciding to honor my decision was too good to be true," he said.
"Callum, you are..."
"Because if that is the case, then I am most definitely not interested," Callum continued quickly, "nothing could ever make me not marry Louise. And I would gladly let go of all the benefits that I enjoy just to spend the rest of my time with her."
"Would you at least take a seat and let me speak, child?" the Duke said, angrily.
"Fine!" Callum replied, sitting on his bed.
"Good!" the Duke said, "now, I came here this morning to let you know that I am proud of you."
"What?" Callum looked at his grandfather, searching his face to see if he was jesting but he saw that the old man looked serious.
"I realized that I have never expressed my approval of any of your endeavors before, not even when they are successful," the Duke continued, "I am always quick to pass judgment on you and point out your shortcomings. I know now, however, that you are a young man of good character and that there was no better person to inherit the estate after me but you."
"I am shocked, Your Grace," Callum said.
"I expected that you would be," the Duke replied, "do you have any plans for your honeymoon?"
"Louise and I would spend a few weeks at one of the estates by the end of the season. I know that Louise likes to be close to nature," Callum responded.
"If that is the case then, I imagine you both would love a few weeks at the resort in the Lake District," the Duke said.
Callum gasped. "You are giving us a honeymoon at the resort as a gift?" He asked.
The Duke nodded. "It is the least I can do," he replied, "after all, I am your grandfather."
"Thank you, your Grace," Callum said, "I have to ask, however, what changed your mind?"
The Duke gave a deep sigh.
"From spending time with my fiancée, the lovely Lady Theodora, I have found myself wondering time and time again just how beautiful my life would have been if I had married her right in my youth," he said, "make no mistake, I do not regret marrying your grandmother because if I did not, I would not have had your father or even you.
Yet, I cannot help but wonder if I would have led a more beautiful life if I had met Lady Theodora. And then, I remembered that even if I had met Lady Theodora earlier, I would have been unable to marry her because my father forbade us from marrying from a family with lesser repute."
Callum nodded.
"And then, I realized then that that was what I was doing to you. I regretted not truly looking for who I loved and marrying her because I was scared of what my father would say. And now, as an older man, I was doing just the same to you.
However, unlike me, you are a brave young man who is not scared to stand up for himself and for his love. I do not wish for you to be an old man who is now regretting the decisions his grandfather made for him," the Duke said.
"Thank you," he replied, "you only did what you thought was right at the moment. There was no way for you to know that you could do things any differently. Moreover, you could not possibly risk getting disinherited by your father."
"And yet you do not care for being disinherited," his grandfather pointed out, "you even said so yourself."
Callum shrugged. "Maybe deep within me, I know that despite your tough exterior, you love me and the love you have for me would dissuade you from disinheriting me."
For the first time in a while, Callum saw his grandfather break into a smile. He patted Callum's back before he rose to his feet.
"You have to hasten up. You do not want to get to your own wedding late, do you?" he asked.
And with that, he was gone out of the door.
For a moment, Callum sat on the bed pondering over what had just happened. He could not believe that he had just had a heart-to-heart conversation with his own grandfather. Not in a million years did Callum think that would ever be possible. After all, the Duke was the most severe man that he had ever known.
Seeing that the sun was now bright, he quickly finished up his look with a tie. Soon enough, he was on his way to church in his carriage with his grandfather in tow.
