Page 8 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

“All Montgomery boys have attended Eton from the age of nine,” he told her in a firm tone.

“I don’t object to Eton, but not from the age of nine. Thirteen.”

Lord Riddlesmarsh scoffed, before countering with: “Ten.”

“Twelve.”

“Eleven.”

“Eleven and a half,” Jo responded.

Which made the duke huff with amusement again.

“Fine, twelve,” he muttered and turned to the paper to write it again. “But you do know they will be called mama’s boys,” he told her without looking at her.

“I don’t mind. They will be anyway,” Jo told him and felt a swirl of excitement in her stomach as she imagined the sons she might have. She had never known if she would marry in time to have children, which had always bothered her. “Besides if they are anything like you, I doubt that the other students would dare to say it with anything other than a light teasing tone.”

She did not realize what she had said, before Lord Riddlesmarsh looked at her again and she felt the weight of his gaze upon her. It made her stomach swirl lower and deeper than before and her entire body heat. Was this… desire? She gulped at the thought.

She had of course felt it before when she had read an intriguing passage in a book or seen men harvest without their shirts on, but never toward a person standing so close, being so… real. Did Lord Riddlesmarsh feel it too? Up until now she had only imagined that the marriage bed would be a chore for them both, but this boded something much more pleasant.

The spell was broken when Beatrice said:

“Thirty minutes.”

“Right.” The duke cleared his throat and looked at the front of the paper again. “United public front,” he read. He turned the paper again.

“The duke and duchess will display a united public front and help each other in their respective public pursuits,” he said as he wrote. “I too am good at organizing, Miss Hawkins, and I might have some insight into your charitable work.” He continued without waiting for her reply, as if he also felt the expediency of the matter now. “The duke and duchess will always be honest with each other and no infidelity will be tolerated in the union.”

He looked up as if he sought her approval, but Jo could only nod. She had thought of making a clause against infidelity but had feared that no man would agree to it. When Lord Riddlesmarsh was the one to suggest it, she was not one to argue. She certainly had no plans of being unfaithful.

“Good,” he said. “It seems we are in agreement then.”

Jo gulped. It had gone much smoother than she had ever hoped, although she had just agreed to have two more children than she had expected. Perhaps she should let the other list remain in her reticule.

He seemed kind. She might be able to go through with it tonight. But even though she had felt desire toward him just now, the idea of being naked with him in only a matter of hours made her skin prickle in an uneasy way and gave her the urge to run. No, she had to present him with the second list as well.

“Actually, I have another list as well.”

4

Robert frowned as he took the second list from Miss Hawkins’s trembling hands. She had gone pale and was obviously more nervous about presenting him with this list than she had been about walking up to him in the ballroom and proposing marriage to a stranger.

He offered her a reassuring smile but was not certain she received the message. At least, it only made her look even more in pain than before.

He was still not certain when he had made the decision. He had only gone into the garden with her to best her cousin and turn her down politely. He asked out of curiosity how she would make a marriage to a stranger work and then how she logistically would pull off marrying him by midnight. He had been impressed with how thought-through her plan was, despite the haste.

Her choice of groom might be rash, but her decision to marry certainly was not. She had thought about every aspect as much as she was able to. Her demands had resonated with him. He figured it was when she mentioned the children and the fact that they would raise them together.

Suddenly he saw a glimpse of the large family he had always envisioned: The ruckus when the children were brought into the sitting room at Riddlesmarsh Hall in the afternoon and the entire family would spend time together. How he would bounce the youngest on his knee, while reprimanding someone for not running inside, until everyone settled down and listened to Miss Hawkins reading out loud. The children caught by her vivid telling of the story.

It had been such a powerful image that he had to at least try to see if her version of the future could fit with his and it had. For some reason, she had agreed to five children instead of three and he had agreed to not send his sons to Eton until the age of twelve. And the way she had looked at him afterwards… He had been attracted to her from the start, but it seemed that she too was attracted to him.

Which meant that he felt the prickle of nerves as he unfolded her second list. It was obvious she feared that the list would make him reject her, and now he felt it too.

Because it would be so easy to marry her. He would not have to court anyone next season. Not having to choose and then feign an interest. Miss Hawkins’ attitude toward marriage meant that they already knew where they stood.

“Week one: