Page 8 of Claimed By the Duke of Ice

Grace took the kerchief her father offered her and quickly did as she was told as her mother quickly entered the room.

“Darling, there you are,” Susan said, almost breathless. There was a look of excitement in her eyes as she looked at him then to her daughter. “Oh, hello, Grace. Stay there, would you? I’d like to speak with you after your father and I have a brief conversation in the hall.”

“See?” Aaron whispered, giving his daughter one more squeeze as he kissed her temple. “What did I tell you?”

Grace felt a wave of angst as her father got up and met her mother in the hall. On one hand, she was relieved that her mother was ready to speak to her again, but on the other, she feared what sort of lecture was about to impart on her. Curiosity joined the emotional mixture as she heard a sudden gasp from the hall, followed by a cacophony of excited whispers.

Standing up, Grace leaned her torso toward the doorway, hoping to hear something intelligible. As she did so, the whispers suddenly ceased, and her mother came striding into the room, making Grace jump. Quickly she gathered her wits and fumbled with a curtsey toward her mother.

“Why the formality, darling?” Susan laughed as she came in.

“To show you how sorry I am, Mama,” Grace replied, feeling her heart bloom. Her mother was not only speaking kindly but using pet names. Surely, that was a good sign that she was on her way to being forgiven.

Susan laughed lightly, wrapped her arms around Grace, and held her close. Relief, as well as slight confusion, filled her as she hugged her mother back. Something didn’t seem quite right. Had something happened on their day out to improve her mood? It couldn’t have if what her father had said was true about what they’d seen and heard.

“Mama, what’s going on?” Grace asked calmly as their hug ended. From out in the hall, she suddenly heard her father’s boisterous laugh and the slam of his study door.

“Do we have a guest?” she asked next, surprised. While they still received the random social invite from time to time, no one had dared to visit the Rowley house since Matilda’s scandal.

“Actually, we do,” Susan replied happily.

Grace looked her mother up and down and noticed that she was tightly wringing her hands and shifting from foot to foot. Something was definitely strange. Grace was about to ask her what was going on once more, but then, her mother urged her to sit and rang the bell for tea.

“Darling, I would like you to talk to me about what happened at the dinner party,” Susan said as she took a seat opposite her daughter. “Particularly about the gentleman you were seen with.”

Grace felt her stomach clench in discomfort, but she nodded.

“Nathaniel Voss,” Grace said softly, “Duke of Ninter.”

Susan nodded. “What did you think of him?”

Grace’s eyebrows perked up in surprise as a maid appeared with a tea tray. She waited patiently until she and her mother were alone again then gave her answer.

“Well…to be honest, he seemed like a rather…unique gentleman. A bit full of himself and mightily suspicious. But we are alike in that manner, I suppose,” Grace replied honestly, then added, “I do wish we had met under different circumstances, however.”

Susan nodded her head affirmatively then took a sip of tea.

“Well, we cannot change the past, but we can carefully navigate the future if we pay attention,” Susan told her daughter sagely.

“What are you saying, Mama?” Grace asked curiously.

A mischievous smile spread across Susan’s face, and she leaned in close.

“The Duke of Ninter is here, Grace,” her mother whispered. “He feels awful about the scandal he’s wrapped you up in. He is with your father right now, asking for your hand!”

Grace’s heart stopped for a moment then suddenly it throbbed overtime as she heard her father’s animated laugh echo from down the hall. Her entire body grew warm as she realized the seriousness of what was happening, and she looked at her mother with wide eyes.

“He is?” she asked, hearing two sets of footsteps coming down the hall.

“Yes!” Susan replied excitedly, reaching for her daughter’s hand. “Don’t you see? He’s come to make things right!”

CHAPTER FIVE

“So, you would marry my daughter despite knowing I have no more dowry to offer you?” Viscount Yorkston asked Nathaniel pointedly.

“Indeed, My Lord,” Nathaniel replied matter-of-factly. “I am not interested in such a payment anyway as my finances are quite stable.” He had just finished explaining his side of the story to Grace’s father, proving Grace’s innocence, and they had moved on to the subject of marriage. Aaron Rowley seemed surprised that Nathaniel was not interested in a dowry and had asked him twice now if he still wanted to wed her.

“In our short time together, I discovered that she is a wonderful young lady,” Nathaniel explained. “If our little faux pas had not transpired, I would have liked to take more time to know her better, but our realities are what they are, and to save her and myself from scandal, I should like to offer the protection of marriage.”

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