Page 98 of Irresistible
“I’ll give it, Papa,” Jess said from beside him. She’d taken her hand from his arm and now clasped her hands tightly in front of her. “It’s entirely my fault. I insisted Dougal and I spend time together—alone—before I would accept his proposal. I wanted to be sure we would suit.”
Mrs. Goodfellow’s face was entirely red. “You didwhat?”
“I wanted to be sure after all these years of not wanting to marry,” Jess explained. “Why do you think I’ve avoided it for so long?” Dougal knew she was feeding her mother nonsense and wholeheartedly applauded her quick thinking. She’d make an excellent spy yet. Or she would have if she hadn’t been exposed.
“I thought it was just to annoy me,” her mother said, getting the right of it. “Are you saying you went to Hampshire with him and not Lady Pickering? I must have a stern conversation with her for allowing this to happen!”
“You aren’t going to blame anyone but me, Mother. This was entirely my doing. Dougal was kind enough to humor me.”
“He will not avoid recrimination,” Goodfellow said darkly, shifting his attention back to Dougal. “You absconded with my daughter without at least having a marriage contract. This is intolerable.”
“I understand, and I would be angry too,” Da said before Dougal could respond.
Dougal gritted his teeth. “Can I please speak?” He didn’t wait for anyone’s permission. “This wasourdecision. Lady Pickering had nothing to do with anything.” Moving to Jess’s side, he put his arm around her and immediately felt her stiffen. He tried not to read too much into it but couldn’t imagine it boded well for their actual future.
“It isn’t going to help matters to belabor what is done,” Da stated calmly. “I think we can all agree that our children might have handled things differently, but they did not and now we must mitigate the damage. That is why I will obtain a special license for them to wed tomorrow.”
Goodfellow looked from the earl to Dougal and back again, doubt etched in the lines around his eyes. “He is truly your son?”
Dougal was sorry to hear him ask it, but couldn’t say he was surprised. He was even sorrier that Da had to hear it, because he would consider calling the poor man out.
Da’s eyes glittered with outrage. “Of course he is. Why would you question me?”
Goodfellow had the intelligence to look away, and the splotches faded from his face. “I didn’t mean to,” he mumbled. “He said Clark is his cousin, and how can that be when I know his mother was…” The man pressed his lips together until they were white—a good choice given the fury simmering in Dougal’s father. “Please accept my apology,” he added quietly.
“Things are rather heated,” Robbie said with a tame smile. “Let us all take a moment. There is happiness to celebrate here, for certain.”
“Yes.” Dougal tipped his head toward Jess. “Isn’t there, my hummingbird?” He felt her relax and caught the slight tick of a smile. Hope bloomed in his chest.
Robbie continued, “What they did may not have been traditional, but they got there in the end.”
Mrs. Goodfellow still looked cross. “What did that woman mean about an investigation?”
“I didn’t catch that,” Dougal fibbed. He really didn’t want to address that issue. Best to let everyone speculate and hope they eventually determined that they’d misheard what Mary had said.
Again, Jess tensed beside him, and Da sent Dougal a mildly amused look.
“Yes, let us celebrate this happy union,” Da declared. “Does anyone object to me obtaining a special license? I think the sooner they are wed, the more quickly the gossip will die down. This will become an oft-repeated tale of true love and the art of romance.”
Dougal wanted to hug his father—and Robbie. Later, he would do just that. “I have no objection. Indeed, I am quite eager to be wed.” He meant that. He only wished he could tell Jess that he loved her—privately—and offer a second, much better proposal than what he’d done last night. “If you would all excuse us, I’d like a moment with my bride—”
“Absolutely not,” Goodfellow said with a firm head shake. “You can be alone after the ceremony and not a moment before. At least not more than you’ve already done.”
“That’s probably for the best,” Da agreed.
Dougal wanted to argue. He was frankly beginning to seethe at how this entire situation seemed entirely out of his control. Not that he was disappointed since the result was precisely what he wanted. He just hoped it was what Jess wanted. Right now, he had no way of knowing, and that was eating at him like nothing ever had. That included everything to do with the Foreign Office. He supposed that’s how he knew he loved her—she’d become the primary focus of his life. Everything else paled next to her.
“Please don’t be hard on her.” Dougal didn’t want Jess to go home with them for fear they would berate her.
“We won’t,” her mother said, surprising Dougal, and it seemed Jess as well, for she twitched against him. “Our daughter is marrying a viscount. I think that is cause for great celebration, even if the path was rather…bumpy.” The creases in her forehead disappeared, and she actually smiled at Jess.
Again, Jess relaxed. “Thank you, Mother,” she said quietly.
“Let’s steal away,” Goodfellow said. “I’ve no desire to return to the ballroom. Come, Jessamine.” He went to the door.
“We’ll call on you as soon as we have the special license,” Da said.
Goodfellow inclined his head in response, then held the door for his wife and daughter. Jessamine glanced back at Dougal, but she had no idea what she was thinking. Her face held a jumble of emotions, and all he wanted to do was smooth them away.
