Page 68 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

“Exactly…” Jo began enthusiastically until her mind caught on what he had said. “You spoke to a solicitor?”

“I… yes, I wanted the matter dealt with as fast as possible. I didn’t want to bother you with it. Or have to deal with your cousin ever again, frankly.”

“But why didn’t you come and get me? We could have gone to the solicitor together.”

“I didn’t want to cause a scene. If I came storming into the Pavilion Hotel and hauled you out of there, it would be the talk of both this town and London and…”

“You could have waited until I finished the ice cream!” Jo cried. She did not know when she had risen, but she realized she was looking down at Robert as she said this.

“I wanted the matter out of the world,” Robert repeated; his voice was steady and kind, as was his habit, but right now it annoyed Jo instead of reassuring her, since it seemed to imply that Robert thought he was right.

“It’s my money!” Jo cried.

“He wanted the money by tomorrow, Jo,” Robert reasoned with her, still patient, still not raising his voice. As if she was a child he was scolding.

“But he had no right to them; you said so yourself.” Jo began pacing in front of him. “It was the first clause in our contract. The duchess will manage her own money. You wrote that. You signed it. How could you forget it?”

“Jo,” Robert said with a deep sigh and looked down almost as if he deflated. “I know what I signed. I just didn’t want to bother you with it. I didn't want you to have to deal with that despicable man ever again…”

“I want to deal with him!” Jo stopped in front of him to meet his eyes. When Robert sent her an incredulous look, she amended:

“Or I don’t want to. But I will, if I have to. It’s a privilege to manage my own money. One I want. One you agreed I could have…”

“And I want you to…” Robert said in a calming voice and reached for her hand again. Jo stumbled backward from his grasp.

“I would never take that from you, Jo,” Robert continued, looking startled by the fact that she had retreated. Jo felt a little as well.

But she needed distance from him now. If she felt his touch, she might relent, and she did not want to. Not now. This was an important aspect of their marriage. One of the most important and if she could not make him see that… Jo drew in a deep breath to steady herself, but she was shaking with anger and frustration.

“You just did,” she told him calmly. “It was the one reason I agreed to marry you…”

“I thought you married me to save your seaside cottage…” Robert scoffed, and Jo’s stomach dropped at his words, yet another part felt happy that he was finally participating in the fight.

“That too,” she told him hotly. “But the money is part of it… We had a contract, Robert. We had a deal.”

Robert closed his eyes and she could visibly see him collect himself: his features softened, and his jaw relaxed. When he opened his eyes, he was the picture of steady and calm. And she hated it right now.

“But matters changed, haven’t they?” Robert told her gently as he rose. Jo took another step back, needing not to be pressed against him in the small space. “One of the reasons why I married you was that I wanted an heir, and we agreed that we would wait at least three months before we begin trying, perhaps longer…”

“Yes, we agreed, Robert,” Jo told him quietly, feeling her voice shake with emotion.

Robert’s eyes searched her face for several seconds.

“Why can’t you understand that I did this for you? Because I did not want to burden you.”

“Why can’t you understand that when it comes to my money, I want to be burdened?” Jo replied, feeling her temper flare again.

“It made no sense, Jo, for me to…” Robert began hotly, but Jo interrupted him.

“It made every sense in the world!”

They stared at each other. Jo did not know how to proceed from here. He seemed unwilling to acknowledge that he had acted against both their agreement and her wishes. And Jo did not know how to persuade him. She had made her perspective clear, but it seemed it was not enough.

“I need to go for a walk,” she muttered, since it was the only way she knew to clear her head.

“No, Jo, please,” Robert said and reached for her arm as she passed him to grab her bonnet from the chair behind him.

Jo gently pulled her arm from his grip as she looked into his eyes. This morning she would have said she knew everything there was to know about Robert Montgomery, but now she was not so certain.