Page 40 of Claimed By the Duke of Ice

“Do not remind her,” Susan chastised as she laughed. “She is the last daughter I have left! I get one more year with her before a nobleman comes to sweep her off her feet.”

“If that,” her father retorted. “Once word spread that you married a Duke, Grace, several gentlemen have been showing their interest. Apparently, your husband is rather good at investments when it comes to trade. Now, young men are excited at the idea of becoming his brother-in-law.”

“Indeed, I am,” Nathaniel agreed, appearing at the bottom of the steps. They all turned to him, and he gave them all a polite bow of his head.

“Viscount Yorkston, Viscountess Yorkston, it is an honor that you visit our home,” he went on. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

At Grace’s side, her mother’s face scrunched up into another sob, and before she could catch her, Susan Rowley was rushing forward and wrapping her arms tightly around her son-in-law. Grace tried to untether herself from her younger sister’s embrace so she could get between them in time, but as she saw Nathaniel freeze at her mother’s touch, she knew it was too late.

“Mama, please,” Grace urged, untangling herself from Letitia’s embrace. “Don’t do that.”

“Oh, come now,” Susan scoffed, holding Nathaniel tight. “A mother-in-law has every right to hug her son. Is that not so, Your Grace?”

Grace met Nathaniel’s eyes, silently pleading for her forgiveness for not warning them. But to her surprise, a warm but forced smile drew across Nathaniel’s lips, and he pulled Susan back so that he could look at her.

“I believe you are correct, Lady Rowley,” he replied, agreed, his tone relaxed and matter-of-fact. “Every mother should be able to hug her son. No matter the manner in which they were named as one.”

Grace’s eyes widened, and her mouth almost dropped open upon seeing the great change Nathaniel was showing by allowing her mother to hug him. Her heart filled with happiness as his eyes pivoted to her, and he winked at her.

“Oh, please, Your Grace,” Susan urged, “do call me Susan. I would prefer Mama, but I know that will take you some time.”

“Well, I’m afraid that it will,” Nathaniel agreed, “but if I may call you Susan, then I must urge that you call me Nathaniel.” His eyes left Grace’s mother and looked toward her father and sister.

“That goes for all of you,” he informed them. “Now, my beautiful wife has arranged a wonderful little welcome party for you in our solarium. Shall we show you inside? My servants will be happy to take care of your luggage while you relax from the ride.”

At her side, Letitia went to move forward, and Grace quickly snatched her hand.

“What do you think you are doing?” she whispered.

“I’m going to hug your husband,” Letitia whispered back, her eyes on Nathaniel, “so that I may thank him for his generosity.”

“Your kind words will suffice,” Grace quipped, keeping hold of her sister’s hand as she also reached for her father’s, keeping them both from reaching for Nathaniel. “Come,” she urged, “let us show you our home.”

* * *

Throughout the evening, Nathaniel could not help but notice how often his wife was ready to run interference on his behalf, and as time wore on, his appreciation for her grew. He’d done fairly well with Lady Rowley’s embrace, but thus far, Grace had ensured that no other touch was made unto him.

“So, our daughter challenged you to a horse race?” Aaron asked, chuckling as they all sat down for dinner.

“Indeed, she did,” Nathaniel agreed, his eyes going to Grace. A look of amusement was exchanged between them as he pulled her chair out for her.

“She insisted that she would not ride a side saddle,” he said dryly, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Well, I won’t,” she replied haughtily as she took her seat, her eyes still following his. “They are silly and unnecessary.”

“Not to mention unsafe,” Aaron added as Nathaniel sat beside his wife. “When I attempted to balance upon one, I nearly broke my neck!”

“You rode a side saddle?” Nathaniel asked, shocked. His mind conjured up the image of the great man stuffed into such a tiny seat, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Of course, I did,” Aaron replied matter-of-factly as their plates were filled. “As a father, I needed personal reassurance that my daughters were not put in dangerous situations.” He leaned forward and patted down hard on Nathaniel’s shoulder. “You will understand one day soon, son.”

Nathaniel felt Grace’s eyes burning into him as Aaron sat back down and went on telling other stories from her childhood. He turned to look at her. There was fear in her eyes. Worry. Apology. He knew she was concerned about what was happening to him, and his appreciation for her grew.

“It’s fine,” he mouthed, looking at her. Grace’s shoulders fell away from her ears then, and as she relaxed, her hand fell to her side, brushing against his thigh under the table. Once more, she tensed, worried for him.

You really do care for me, don’t you? Nathaniel thought, his heart swelling with emotion as he looked at her. Wanting to soothe her, he caught her hand and put it back on his thigh. Her body instantly relaxed again—but this time, so did his. In fact, the moment he placed her hand back on his leg, his muscles, once rigid, smoothed down. Something was changing within him, especially when it came to Grace’s touch in particular. Even though Aaron’s and Susan’s touches had been jarring, his wife’s was not.

“So, what other sorts of mischief did Grace get herself into when she was little?” Nathaniel asked, rejoining the conversation.

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