Page 14 of Her Tiger of a Duke
“She was a spinster,” Owen explained. “Her father did not think that she needed one anymore. He was not expecting her to marry and had her doing a lot for herself.”
“How unfortunate. Do you suppose–”
She stopped herself. Owen chuckled, knowing that his housekeeper always had thoughts, but she remembered her place more than he would have liked. She had been his father’s housekeeper for too long.
“Go on,” he prompted.
“Well, do you suppose that the decision was financial? They were all too eager to marry her off to a man they did not know, after all.”
“I would not have said so. The Jennings family are very serious, and I would say they are social climbers, but they seemed relatively well off.”
“But her gown–”
“Was all that could be made in the span of a week,” he explained, and Mrs. Forsythe gasped.
“But you had a month to prepare. I thought that the wedding gown would be the first thing that she would have planned.”
It was then that he realized that he had not made them aware of his situation. They had been planning for the arrival of Lady Helena, not Lady Beatrice. As far as the household, including Mrs. Forsythe, was aware, the wedding had been planned perfectly, and all was in hand. They did not know that said wedding had been ruined, and that a second had been arranged and held a week later.
With a sigh, he took her to his study and explained everything, including the predicament that Lady Helena faced. He could see the sorrow in her eyes as he recounted it all. She was a sensitive lady, and he liked that about her. He had met a few housekeepers, and they had been strict and uptight, which he could not have coped with in his own domain.
His household was cold enough without the people inside making it worse.
“You are an excellent man for helping her,” she said after a moment. “I cannot believe that you would have passed her child as your own.”
“I would have done what was necessary. I could not bear the thought of her being ruined simply because she had fallen in love. What was I to do? I could not turn her away after she had sought me out and been so honest.”
Mrs. Forsythe sighed with a smile, patting his shoulder the way she did when he was a boy.
“I am most proud of the man you have become, but please do not let yourself be taken advantage of. You make it easy to do so.”
“I do not,” he protested, but he knew it was the truth.
He wished to take care of others, no matter who they were. He wanted the people around him to be happy, and he was usually able to make it so. There was nothing he loved more than seeing the appreciation on people’s faces when he did the right thing.
But it did come at a cost, and he had been burned before. It should have turned him away from his need to please, but it had not. If anything, his past trials had only made him more determined to find someone who would accept his kindness without selfish motives.
When his wife returned in a gown of pale blue, he wondered if she could be the person who would appreciate him—and accept his gentle nature without qualms.
“I shall be with you in a moment,” he told her. “I am discussing some things with Mrs. Forsythe.”
She nodded, leaving them be. Mrs. Forsythe turned to him with surprise.
“I was not expecting a lady like her, I must say. She is terribly quiet, not to mention… short in stature.”
“She is not particularly what I expected of a wife either, but she is a sweet lady.”
“A sweet lady who ruins weddings.”
“She is a friend of Lady Helena, who just so happened to have lied about the circumstances surrounding the marriage. She had claimed that it was not what she wanted, an arrangement between fathers, and so Lady Beatrice did what she thought was right.”
“So, she is like you,” she nodded. “It will either be a perfect match, or you shall both be incapable of standing your ground.”
Had it been anyone else, he would have scolded them, but he knew her intention in saying such words. It was a reminder notto let himself be walked over, for that was the last thing a duke should allow.
They went to dinner, and Owen wondered if his wife would be able to eat anything after how grand their wedding breakfast had been. She ate everything, though, which he was rather impressed by, and placed her knife and fork properly at the end of each course. At least, he thought, she had manners despite what her actions might have led one to believe.
“You wished to discuss something?” she reminded him as dessert was served.
