Page 34 of Stolen By the Duke of Stone

“And you made an excellent marriage,” he added.

Her lips twitched. “How modest.”

“Is being a duchess not better than living in obscurity in the back of beyond?”

“Well.” She considered the point, her head tilting to one side like a bird. “It certainly has its perks. I could not have known or cared for William if I had still been in Scotland.”

“Is that all?”

“You know I never aspired to an excellent marriage like this. Nevertheless, you have a very lovely home,” she added politely.

“So you would have been just as satisfied if a villager had offered for your hand?” he asked, unoffended but curious. “Did you have a beau there?”

“Oh, no!” She flushed. “I had no thoughts of marriage while I lived with my aunt.”

“I see.”

“Please don’t think me ungrateful,” she said quickly. “I know I have not always been appreciative of what you’ve done for me, but I am thankful that you gave me this chance to be your wife and William’s mother.”

He almost laughed at her earnestness, as though she feared she might have hurt him. If theirs had been a love match, then perhaps it would, but she had made her reservations about the marriage clear from the very beginning.

Now, all he needed to do was get her from his head.

“You need have no fear of offending me,” he said, rising and offering her his hand. “Now it’s time for bed. Don’t argue with me, Jessamine. You may tell me anything you please from your past, and I will have no qualms about it, but if you cross me, I shall find a thoroughly wicked way to make you pay.”

She looked up at him shyly, placing her fingers in his once again. “And if I were to protest?”

“Protest while you’re sleeping,” he said curtly, and was rewarded with a smile that made his chest feel lighter.

He hadn’t known a smile could do that, and he quashed the feeling as ruthlessly as he dared.

So much for keeping his distance from her.

He ought to have known from the start, from her defiance and her beauty and her love of William, that it would have been an impossible task.

No one could resist her for long, not even him.

Not even when he believed it to be the best thing for both of them.

Although now, he wondered if that were even the case, or if there could be some form of future for them, after all, in a way he hadn’t considered before.

Partners.

Perhaps even… friends.

Chapter Twelve

Amonth or so after the wedding, Lady Marwich paid Jessamine and Andrew a call. As one of the leading London matriarchs, she evidently believed it was her responsibility to keep everything in the ton as it should be.

Jessamine didn’t mind, and she pulled the other woman into an embrace. “I am so glad to see you,” she exclaimed.

Lady Marwich patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t disgrace yourself, dear. It’s unseemly to be seen having too many emotions.”

Jessamine drew back, fighting a smile. “Of course.”

“Where is William?”

“Upstairs sleeping. Would you like me to bring him down?”