Chapter 4
Wesley
Ithadonlybeena couple weeks since his mother’s letters had started to arrive, yet he knew that she was waiting for him in the drawing room from the moment he stepped through the front door.
Simmons, his butler, had a pained expression, and it could only be for one reason.Wesley handed over his hat and gloves.He considered retreating to his study or turning right back around and leaving his home altogether, but he dismissed the ideas.She would simply wait him out.She always did.So he might as well get on with it.
“Your Grace,” Simmons said.“You should know that Her Grace is—”
“I gathered.”Wesley straightened his coat.“Tea?”
“Already served, Your Grace.”
Of course it was.Mother would have taken the house in hand from the moment she crossed the threshold.
He found her seated by the window, a cup and saucer effortlessly balanced before her, her posture perfectly proper.She looked up when he entered, and her expression made his chest tighten.She looked tired and even older than he remembered.And he’d just seen her nearly a month ago.She still wore half-mourning colors for his father, though it had been almost five years.Had it really been that long?
“Mother.”He crossed to the sideboard and poured himself something stronger than tea.“I wasn't expecting you.”
“Clearly.You've been avoiding my letters.”
“I wasn’t avoiding you.I've been busy.”That wasn’t entirely true.He could have at least asked his secretary to pen a missive to her.But he didn’t really know how to respond to an ultimatum of marriage, especially one his mother didn’t have the authority to coordinate on his behalf.
“Too busy to respond to your mother?”
He took a long swallow of brandy before turning to face her.“What brings you to town?”
“You know perfectly well what brings me here.”She set down her teacup.“Lady Caroline’s mother tells me you've barely spoken to the girl.”
“Lady Caroline and I have nothing to discuss.That is your folly, not mine.”
His mother rose with a stiffness that hadn’t been there before his father had passed.Since Father’s death, she either cried or nagged Wesley about his duties—marriage, siring an heir, or whatever else she believed he should be doing.“Wesley, I have been patient.I have given you time to settle into your duties and find your footing.But you are almost six-and-twenty, and you have given no indication that you are going to take your duty to marry seriously.”
Because he already knew who he wanted, and she didn’t want him.
“I will when I meet someone of interest.Might I remind you that it is still my choice who I wed.”
“But you have to actually make a choice.”She approached him, and he resisted the urge to step back.“Your father would have expected—”
“Don't.”The word came out sharp.“Don't tell me again what Father would have expected.”
Her mouth thinned.“Someone must.You seem determined to forget your obligations to this family.”
Wesley set down his glass before he threw it.“I have forgotten nothing.I have done everything asked of me.I have managed the estates, attended Parliament, maintained every duty and act of propriety that Father’s title requires.I have been the perfect duke.”
“And yet there is still more to do.”The words landed with a sting.
“I’m well aware of your desire to see me wed.So that I can bed the woman until I put my son in your arms, and then you can teach him his duty, too.”
His mother's face had gone pale.“I can’t believe you—”
“Is this not how a duke is supposed to speak to his mother?”Wesley moved past her to the window, staring out at the street below.“I am not Father.I will never be Father.And I am sorry that disappoints you, but get out of my future marriage, Mother.”
The silence stretched between them.When his mother spoke again, her voice had lost some of its edge.
“I do not need you to be your father.”She sounded tired now, the relentless energy draining away.“I need you to be the duke.The family needs an heir.The title needs continuity.These are not my whims, Wesley.These are facts.”
“I am aware of the facts.”He turned to face her.“And the facts are that the bloody title can hang if it means marrying someone that I don’t have affection for.Some cousin of mine can inherit this blasted title, for all I care.Those are the facts, Mother.”
