Page 35 of Her Tiger of a Duke
“True as that may be, I can understand it. Might we go for a walk?”
He did not argue, taking her out to the gardens while they were still dressed in their finery. He steered her away from the forest, thinking back to that morning when he had set foot in it for the first time in years, and took her through the quiet streets surrounding the estate.
“I was enjoying the dancing,” she explained, “but I started to think about the way my mother and father looked when we attended balls, and they danced together. You would think that after having a child they would enjoy one another’s company, but they seemed to do it out of obligation.”
“That is not too uncommon,” he pointed out, but she shook her head.
“It was not that they had an arranged marriage. There seemed to be a real issue, and it only came from my father.”
“That is not your fault.”
“But it may just be.”
He turned to her, and he saw the certainty on her face. It was clear that she wanted to say something and was trying to find the words.
“I do not want you to see me differently,” she continued. “You are an understanding man, but if you wanted to, you would be able to annul our marriage, and I do not want that.”
There was a relief at her saying she did not want to lose him, for he was beginning to feel like a fool for feeling that way.
“I can assure you that, after all of the trouble I went to finding a wife, I would much rather keep the one that I have,” he joked, trying to lighten her. “Come now, I do not think that you could have done anything too terrible.”
“I do not think that I am my father’s daughter.”
He paused, as did she.
He thought back to the day he met them all. His first thought had been that Beatrice looked exactly like her mother, but there wasnot a single trait shared with Lord Jennings. That had been the case for many people Owen knew, himself included, and so he had not thought much of it at the time.
There was also the distance he felt between them. It was clear, and he knew that her father wanted to get rid of her. There was no pleasure in the knowledge his daughter was to marry well, nor any reaction at all other than mild happiness that she would be gone.
He had hated the man for it, for he could not fathom why he would possibly hate someone that was so undeserving, but as Beatrice explained it all he started to comprehend it. Granted, he still could not understand why Beatrice had been treated so poorly, but he at least had a reason if it were the case.
“And, if you are right, how would you feel?”
“In truth? Relieved. Do you know, my father always said the same thing to me when he was upset. He was not supposed to be able to father children, which made me a blessing. That was why he had such high expectations, and yet I never achieved them. It hurt me greatly every single time, but now…”
“Now it only makes it more likely to you that he is not your father at all,” he finished for her.
“Precisely, meaning that I am illegitimate, and that you have every right to cast me out if you so choose, for my dubious parentage.”
“Then it is just as well that I have no intention of that. This is your home now, Beatrice. If I was willing to marry a lady carrying an illegitimate child and pass it off as my own, why would I be opposed to marrying one that may or may or not be illegitimate herself?”
She laughed sadly, shrugging her shoulders and continuing on.
“It is a shameful thing to admit. To be entirely honest, I do not know why you were so inclined to marry Lady Helena either, for there are many men who would pity a lady in her position, but that does not mean they wish to marry her.”
Owen thought back to the day Lady Helena told him of her situation. She had come stumbling into Everthorne Hall unannounced, terrified, and when his butler tried to force her to leave, she looked at him with her wide hazel eyes and he could not send her away, having seen those eyes before.
“I heard that you are unmarried,” she’d explained, “and I– I do not know where else to go.”
It was pity that he felt, but there was also something more. The sight of her made him feel brotherly, protective, and he knew he had to do something to help her.
“I suppose that I saw her as someone like me,” he said, his mind returning to his wife. “We all have times where we need someone, and it was not as though I had any loyalties toward anyone else. It was quite a neat arrangement, all things considered.”
“Until I spoiled it.”
He chuckled, his hand resting on hers.
“Yes, until you spoiled it. For what it is worth, I am pleased that you did.”
