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Brushing aside the memory of that awed whisper curled through him, and a warm sensation shifted inside at her kindness. Wolf had been well loved and fed, and it was clear she had taken her responsibilities seriously. Wolf barked and raced over to the old earl. As expected, his father was sitting in the alcove, his face lifted to the sky, a telescope set on its tripod before him.
Hugh lowered himself onto the stone bench facing his father.
“When is she leaving?” Father demanded without looking away from the stars.
At his silence, his father shifted his gaze and met Hugh’s stare.
“Lady Phoebe is the daughter of a duke, one who is on the list of your ten most influential family in the ton.”
The old earl went silent for several moments, then he asked, “Which one?”
“The Duke of Salop.”
His father’s mien grew contemplative. “I see. Salop is an influential man. Very rigid. His connections are golden. We ran around town years ago.”
Another long silence stretched, and Hugh waited for his father to gather his thoughts.
“Salop’s daughter is not the best choice. One of the young ladies whose guardian responded to the advert, that lady is the daughter of an earl and she is quite charming from the tone of her guardian’s letter.”
“I do not want that one.”
His father jerked and faltered into stillness. “You want this Lady Phoebe?” he asked gruffly.
“Yes.”
“No!” the old earl thundered. “I am extremely vexed! It did not escape me that she traveled here with no chaperone and uninvited! That kind of willfulness must not be tolerated. You know where it will lead.”
“Father…she is courageous and determined, the kind of wife I will need by my side when the world starts to whisper of my bastardy, when they talk that none of us Winthrop siblings look alike, and when they try to cut us…when they try to harm our children. I can already tell she will be fiercely protective.”
Hugh sensed he was falling into something he did not fully understand, only knowing that he was willing to tumble headlong into it, but with some caution and shrewdness. He’d promise his father to marry and take his place in society, and that he would do without hesitation, but the choice of whom he took to be his bride would remain with him.
He knew what suffering a massive blow to the heart could do to a man. The evidence of it was seen in the longing and pain in his father’s eyes every day for the last fifteen years. “Our marriage will be one of mutual convenience. We are simply using each other, Father, and I perceive numerous advantages in our connection. Rest assured you have nothing to fear with my choice.”
“And when she breaks your heart?”
A spurt of amusement went through Hugh, and it showed, considering how his father narrowed his gaze.
“There is little chance of that ever happening.”
“But why her? I am dying, my boy; you should select someone whom I approved,” the earl said with ruthless manipulation.
“Perhaps there are some things that will simply exist beyond my capacity to control.”
His father’s jaw slackened. “Like what?” he hissed.
Hugh considered his father for a few seconds then said bluntly, “Like wanting her. I am attracted to her beauty and the strength I’ve seen.” In truth, he had never been this aware of another woman in his life. But that was a physical matter that enticed him, and to his way of thinking, it was better to have a desirable wife.
His father surged to his feet, and Hugh calmly stood. “I am five and twenty. Trust that I can desire a woman, and I’ll not allow her to twist my heart into a mangled mess. If we marry and one day she decides to walk away, I promise you I shall not give a damn. It won’t hurt, and it most certainly will not ruin me.”
The old earl gripped his walking cane, his bony yet still elegant fingers curling like claws over the head of the cane positioned at his front. “My boy,” his father said heavily. “She is the wrong sort, but the stubborn fool before me now is my own doing. I’ve raised you to be intractable and shrewd. See that it does not cause you harm.”
Relief blew through him in fierce waves. He almost hesitated in saying the rest. How many shocks could his father endure in one evening? “There is more.”
His father grimaced. “Just tell me and be done with it.”
“She is with child.”
His father stumbled, and Hugh quickly grasped his elbow and steadied him. The earl lowered himself to the stone bench, resting heavily on the cane. “With child?”
