Nathan shook his head. “Come on, James, you know. What were you always doing as a child?”
“What do you mean?”
“Weren’t you always rescuing the dogs that Farrell had cast aside?”
“Oh… true.”
“The number of times I had to help you save a dog!” Nathan shook his head again. “We were even chased by gangsters a few times! It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t begged me. You cared deeply about rescuing those dogs—about rescuing anyone in pain—just like you cared about rescuing your wife when she came to you, desperate and scared.”
“That wasn’t me loving deeply. That was me thinking about the money I needed to clean up my duchy.”
“Maybe that’s what you told yourself at the time. But I know you, James, and I know that underneath the hardness, there is someone soft and tender and capable of deep emotions.”
James took a sip of his scotch to gather his thoughts.
“So what is happening tonight?” Nathan asked after a long moment.
“What?”
“Earlier, you said you couldn’t return home drunk tonight, which makes me think that there is something special planned for you and the Duchess.”
“Just a dinner,” James said. “With her, her sister, and their mother. But I want it to be nice for Violet—I want to show her how much I care about making her happy. She has put so much work into making my house a home, the least I can do is show it off to her family.”
Nathan raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Is that it?”
James hesitated. “And, well, I said that we would talk about how to move forward in our relationship.”
“And how do you want to move forward?”
“I want her to be happy, but I still don’t know if I am capable of giving her the kind of relationship she desires.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward. When he spoke again, there was a new urgency in his voice.
“My dear cousin, I cannot tell you enough how important it is to let go of your anger at your father—it is holding you back from happiness. Your wife loves you. Of that, I am certain.”
“I am in no way certain of that!”
James’s stomach was in knots. The words“your wife loves you”had filled him with a deep, sickening dread. Not that Nathan might be right, but that he might be wrong.
Nathan pursed his lips. “What did she say after thispassionate momentthat you two shared?”
“She said… why can’t we just be happy.”
“Then she at least wants to try. And you would be a fool to keep pushing her away because of the fear of rejection, or because you are afraid of passing down some malignant spirit to your child. You are a good man, and your children will be as wonderful as you and your wife. As for the fear of rejection, well… that’s how you know it’s real—when you are afraid to lose her.”
“How do you know these things?” James asked, his voice hoarse. He had never considered his cousin an expert on the tribulations of romantic love.
“I read,” Nathan said, with a laugh. “Or has the Devilish Duke never read a romance novel?”
James smiled weakly. “Novels aren’t always right.”
“Well,Iam right about this——you have to try with Violet. And tonight, after your romantic dinner, you have to tell her how you feel. Because if you keep pushing her away, then eventually, she will leave you. Maybe she won’t move out of your home, but she will close herself off emotionally, and you will never be able to get back in. Women do not wait forever. So act now, James, before it’s too late. Be brave—allow yourself to be happy for perhaps the first time in your life.”
And as James stared into the eyes of his oldest and closest confidante, he suddenly wanted to do everything Nathan asked of him. He wanted to be brave. He wanted to be happy. And he wanted Violet.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Is Her Grace home?” James asked the moment he walked into his townhouse that evening. “I must speak with her at once!”
