“There’s more,” Augusta said, looking at her son with hesitation. “About your father. Things you should know, if you’re ready to hear them.”
Graham tensed, but nodded. He wasn’t certain he could stomach any more revelations at present. “Tell me.”
“He tried to love me. In the beginning, he truly tried. But I couldn’t…” She paused for a moment and then released a long sigh. “After what the duke had attempted, I couldn’t bear to be touched. Not for a long time. By the time I could, too much distance had grown between us. We were strangers sharing a house.”
“The other women…”
“Started after you were born. He had you as his heir to the business. After that, we lived separate lives under the same roof. It wasn’t what either of us wanted, but it was what we could manage.” Augusta held his chin as she looked up into his eyes. “But you, my dear boy. You were the one good thing to come from it all. He loved you. Never doubt that.”
Graham thought of his own marriage, of how differently things had gone despite the similar beginning. He and Diana had chosen each other every day since their wedding, and had built something real from an impossible situation.
“I wish you had told me sooner.”
“I probably should have, and for that I hope you can forgive me. I thought I was protecting you from the burden of knowing who I truly was. I never thought you’d end up with a title and thrust into society. But seeing the happiness you have found with Diana, I can see that this is where you were always meant to be.”
Diana stepped beside him and he put his arm around her, needing to hold her close.
Lady Harrowby cleared her throat, and clapped her hands together. “I think we are in need of a fresh pot of tea after this reunion.” She wiped the tears away from her cheeks. “And then, Augusta, you’re coming home with me. We have much to catch up on.”
“Mama, I couldn’t—”
“Nonsense. Graham has his wife to look after. You’ll stay with me for a few days at least.” Lady Harrowby’s tone brooked no argument. “I’m not letting you out of my sight so quickly after finally finding you again.”
Graham saw the yearning in his mother’s eyes. “Go,” he urged. “Diana and I will be fine. You should have this time with her.”
Augusta hugged him tightly. “You’ve inherited the best of your father’s traits. I hope you can come to see that.”
As Graham watched his mother and grandmother settle together on the settee with their hands clasped. The anger he’d carried toward his father didn’t disappear entirely, but it transformed into something more complex. It was more like understanding, perhaps even pity.
And for the first time in his life, Graham didn’t feel the weight of his father’s perceived failures pressing down on him. He was free to be the man, the husband, the son, and grandson, and, he hoped, one day the father he chose to be.
Diana leaned into him, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I love you,” he whispered to his wife. “And my love is forever.”
Diana’s smile was radiant. “I love you too, my unexpected earl. I’m thankful we were both wandering in the garden that night.”
As Mitchell brought in a fresh cart for their refreshment, conversation between Augusta and his grandmother shifted to stories and reminiscing. Graham held his wife and marveled at how truth could change everything.
His father hadn’t been a villain. His mother hadn’t been weak.They’d simply been two people caught in an impossible situation who’d done their best with what they had.
He and Diana would do better. They already were.
