Page 109 of Duchess Material

George smiled.

“He loves her. See,” Patrick said. “I told you it would happen.”

“Patrick has been convinced the two of you would end up together since he first met you. He claims to know these things.”

“Look, I ended up with you. Crazier things can happen, Georgie.”

“Yes, but I must swing impressing your father, right? Some stupid, archaic rubbish there.”

“Try to get to know Dad. Demonstrate that you care about Natalie. It’s not hard watching you two get on,” George assured Ed. “Try. Dad sucks at that, I’ll grant you. He’s not all bad, though. He loves us. Bit mental with the girls. Nat is different because she’s the heir. He wants to make sure that the two of you aren’t doing something impulsive. More than that, he wants to make sure this won’t break you. He’s protective of the institution.”

“He gives me a fright every time we talk.”

“Stop worrying about it. Be confident. He will come around. He’s protective, but not a total asshole. That was our grandmother. The woman had a complex about Mum. It caused all sorts of issues.”

“I cannot imagine disliking your mother. Even my mother, who is suspicious of any English person, likes her.”

“She’s technically Welsh, so maybe it helps?”

“Nah, she likes Natalie, too. But I find they have more in common than they don’t. Neither of them will be muzzled and neither has ever known fear.”

“At least you admire that in Natalie. She’s brave as hell, but a hard nut to crack. You’ve done that. Dad finds it unnerving. He’ll come around.”

“You’ll succeed. You love her. You’ve been there and you’ve never wavered.” Patrick sounded sure of it.

Ed sighed. “I hope you’re right. Guess I’m going to try to make nice with the King.”

* * *

“We’re never going to plan a covert wedding at this rate, Lucy,” Winston said.

Lucy scheduled an appointment at the registry office. The mere idea of applying made them giddy. Winston was convinced they would never get out of bed. While he wanted to stay, he also had a podcast in need of a guest and no leads on who add in. He also had a commission deadline looming. Still, lying in bed with Lucy was too tempting to turn down. Unfortunately, they had started this task in Winston’s room at the safe, wound up back in bed, and when Lucy went to find her documents, they ended up in bed in her old room.

“What do we still need then?” Lucy pulled on a shirt.

“The list says: passport—”

“Check. Got that.”

“Not your American one. That’s not—”

“Dude, this is my British one,” Lucy said, incredulously.

“What? It’s blue.”

“Diplomatic passport,” Lucy beamed. “Top job, fancy passport.”

“Alright, miss posh-o. Come on now. I didn’t know.”

“This one is my personal. I’ll bring both. I don’t know what they need. And I’m not super fancy. The King doesn’t even have a passport. Think of that!”

“We’re stalling, Luce.”

“Okay. What now?”

Winston was focused on her arse. She was bent over sorting through papers in a drawer.

“Winston?”

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