Page 187 of The Scandal You Started
“So itisbecause of a woman,” Mother Penny muttered.
He swallowed and lowered his lashes to hide away from her searching gaze.
She placed a gentle hand on his knee. “What is her name?”
His family all seemed to lean in curiously, except Flyn and Candreas, who’d heard it all the previous day.
“Miss Rayna Faez,” he mumbled.
“Who is she? How did you meet her?” Mother Penny then asked.
Dominic recited the same half-truths he’d told his friends. “She is a historian from the northern Region of Olkmond. I was with Mr Harris when her hired coach’s axle broke nearby. We saw it from the hill where we were and went to help. She was with her uncle and cousin. They had come down to Tanbridge for some work and were returning to Olkmond. She was…”
His lips curled as images of the first time he’d met her in the lab flooded his mind. “She was beautiful. And angry.” He chuckled. “So angry. She wanted neither mine nor Mr Harris’s help, though her uncle was more inclined to take it. I walked her and her cousin to the Tailroad Inn while Mr Harris stayed behind with her uncle and the coachman. She had a quick-witted reply to everything I said and rolled her eyes whenever I smiled at her.”
He lifted his lashes to meet Mother Penny’s glassy stare. “It took several hours for the coach to be repaired, and when it came time for her to leave…I could not bear to see her go. So I hired a horse and insisted on travelling with them a bit further. By the time we reached the edge of the next region three days later…I realised I had fallen in love with her.
“I asked her to marry me. But she said we were too different. That she would be miserable without her work, that I would regret leaving high society behind for her. I said we could spend our time between both places, but she said I would be happier marrying someone else.”
Hurt blocked his throat, turning his last few words hoarse.
“Oh, Evie,” Mother Penny cooed and wrapped her arms around him.
He pressed his face into her shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Bloody woods, is he weeping?” he heard Art whisper loudly.
“You miss her terribly, don’t you?” his stepmother muttered.
“Yes. So very much.”
“Will she agree to marry you if you go find her?”
“I will not return until she does.”
“So that is why you have made me your proxy and given all the books to Solomon,” Art said, placing a restless Fredrick on his feet so he could run to his mother. “You wish to leave.”
Dominic pulled away from Mother Penny and moved his attention around the room. “I do not intend to give up being marquess. I cannot and do not wish to do that, but…”
Mother Penny smiled, sad and knowing, her eyes brimming with tears. “You were ever so young when you became marquess. I know it was hard for you, but you did a wonderful job protecting your siblings and making your own mark.” She cupped his cheek in one hand, her lips wobbling. “But for as long as I can remember, you have always been flying across fields on horseback as if you were chasing even the slightest taste of freedom. You would much prefer living in the world beyond, wouldn’t you?”
The back of his nose stung as he heard Rayna’s words in his ears and dreaded what his father was thinking, looking down upon him. “I fear she was right,” he croaked. “I cannot leave it behind. And if I try to, I will regret it. Neither will marrying her and convincing thetonto accept her be easy. It may only cause pain for everyone involved.”
“But you are not leaving it behind, are you?” Mother Penny said with the confidence he was lacking. “You will come visit us, and in those moments, even in the ones you are not with us, you will still be the Marquess of Norland. Hopefully, a happier one too, if you are with her. And when they see that, when they seehow you love her, how many of our friends give her importance, the rest of thetonwill accept her, willingly or unwillingly. But more importantly, she is most welcome in our family, even if she does not wish to stay here all the time.”
Unable to speak, Dominic turned his head and laid a heavy kiss to his stepmother’s palm.
“I would have agreed to it sooner, you know,” Art then said, sitting forward. “If you had told me about Miss Faez, I would have happily agreed to stand in for you months ago.” He shrugged. “It is not as if I have much else to do. I may as well help you in what little way I can.” He grinned, looking so much like their father. “But I promise I will not go near the accounts. I will leave them solely to Solomon and the solicitors. Do not worry about that.”
“It is not that simple,” Dominic said, though he smiled at his brother. “For me to ask you to take over my duty when I am not here, it would mean asking you to give up on your own aspirations.”
Patricia scoffed. “What aspirations could Art possibly have other than sleeping in ’til three after noon every day?”
Mary chuckled, while Art glared at Patricia. “WhenI find an aspiration, I am sure I will manage to balance committing to both.”
“And what about when you marry?” Dominic challenged. “What will your wife think of you acting as marquess without the benefit of an actual title?”
“Ah.” Art seemed to choke on the sound as his face went red and his eyes flew to Mary.
