Page 75 of Claiming His Lost Duchess
Margaret nodded and took Sophia who had apparently fallen asleep in her father’s arms, before leaving with her husband.
Graham waited until the door clicked shut behind them before he faced Joan.
“I am relieved… beyond words that you are all right. But that does not mean that I approve of your actions tonight. In fact, I am very angry, with you. Not only did you go behind my back to meet with the man who had kidnapped our child but you also put the efforts and plans we had made in jeopardy. What if he had decided to hold you hostage as well? Or he had gravely hurt you before I arrived?” he questioned, his expression closed off and stern in a way she had never been on the receiving end of.
“I wasn’t trying to undermine your efforts of risk your plans. I was only worried about Sophia. The letter I received told me to come alone and —”
“And you played right into his hands by giving him exactly what he wanted. If you had really been worried about Sophia, you would’ve left me some sort of message or come to me for help, at least. Instead you decided to risk yourself with a man who you knew could not be trusted, yet you put your faith him the demands he made in his letter. Would it have been so hard to rely on me? To trust me?”
Joan did not respond and unease settled within him.
“Do… do you not trust me, Joan?”
The silence persisted and he let out an empty laugh in disbelief, ashamed that he was only then realizing exactly what his wife thought about him.
“I didn’t,” she admitted quietly. “Or rather, I couldn’t trust you. Not when I knew the only reason you decided to marry me was because you wanted to keep Sophia close to you. Our marriage was born out of necessity and I feared that if I lost relevance, you would send me away from Sophia.”
Graham felt as though his heart had been shattered. Was this how she had felt… this whole time?
“I thought… our marriage is everything to me. How could you doubt that, after everything I said? After everything I did? I searched for you for five years. It was you I wanted first, you I wanted all along. It was a welcome surprise when I discovered our brief time together all those years ago had provided us with a chance to be a family and it was as though I’d been given an even better reason to propose to you. I love you, Joan,” he told her, the feelings that had been swirling within him finally breaking free.
It was just disappointing that the reception had not been what he had expected at all.
Without another word, he slipped out of bed and walked out of the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Joan could hardly believe her ears.
She sat there, long after her husband had left, his words echoing in her head.
She… she had been wrong? And he actually loved her? He cared about her beyond her relationship with their daughter?
Joan recalled how he had expressed during the first ball they had attended together that he had searched for her for so long. She had thought he was making a jest, testing her to see if she was as needy for the attention of a man as many men assumed she was.
But the longer she thought about it, the clearer his sincerity became to her. For so long, he had voiced his feelings to her, had done his best to show how much he cared for her and their daughter.
“I have been… such an ignorant fool,” she said to herself, her heart overwhelmed by his confession and the fact that he had not lingered long enough to hear hers.
With a tired sigh, Joan stood and went to find Sophia.
Although it was rather late, her daughter seemed far too energized, eagerly speaking to her uncle and aunt as though she had information they desperately needed to hear. Margaret and Lysander seemed as though there was nowhere they would rather be, their gazes tender as they listened with rapt attention as Sophia regaled the masses with more fairy tales.
For a moment, Joan allowed herself to properly take note of Sophia’s mannerisms and features, letting herself properly notice all of Graham’s looks in her. She made herself appreciate how they blended seamlessly with the looks Sophia had gotten from her, how obvious it had been every day that she and Graham had made such a wonderful being.
Margaret noticed Joan lingering by the door way and smiled, telling Sophia softly, “It would seem your mother has come to take you to bed, darling.”
Sophia whirled around, beaming at the sight of her mother before she ran towards her, pausing when she was a few feet away. She turned back to her uncle and aunt and curtsied.
“Good night,” she told them sweetly.
Margaret beamed, waving at her.
“Good night, my darling. Rest well.”
Lysander echoed the same sentiment, his expression just as pleased as his wife’s. Joan bid them goodbye as well thanking them once more for their support and help before she led them away.
Once they reached Sophia’s room, she eagerly climbed into her bed, sighing as her mother tucked her in.
