Page 57 of Stolen By the Duke of Stone

“So you see? There is nothing preventing us from attending.”

Jessamine sighed, because he was right. And she wanted to show the world that she was happy, that her marriage was not a farce, and she would not cave under the pressure of their idle gossip. Lady Marwich had been defending them, so let them stand up and prove their happiness.

Andrew stroked a hand down William’s downy head, and Jessamine placed him back in the cradle. With Andrew’s hand still on the small of her back, they moved to the door.

“Thank you,” she said.

“I know it can be… alarming to feel as though you’re not in control.”

She glanced up at his face. “Have you felt like that?”

“Often. And with far more reason to think so.”

She squeezed his hand, and they went downstairs together, more in harmony than they had been in a long time. The carriage had been waiting for several minutes, so they climbed inside, and Jessamine attempted not to notice how many times their knees touched as they sat together.

Then they were at Lady Marwich’s grand home, walking up the steps together.

A footman greeted them and brought them to the ballroom, where the butler announced them. A hush spread across the room as people turned to stare—the unexpected duke, freshly back from the army, and his new, almost Scottish bride, daughter of a man who was imprisoned for his crimes—a rare punishment for the nobility.

She knew she was infamous, but it seemed her connection to Andrew only made her more so. Not only was she her father’s long-lost daughter—as though he had not been the one to send her away—but she was also married to a duke who had, in the eyes of the ton, produced a son for her to care for.

A duke, moreover, who did often not play to the regular niceties of society. He did not simper and smile and offer fake assurances of regard. He looked at them all as though he had no interest in being alongside them, and as though their shallow materialistic natures disgusted him.

Jessamine put her hand on his arm and leaned up to him. He glanced down as though he couldn’t help himself, his gaze dropping from her eyes to her mouth for a fraction of a second before returning.

“Smile,” she murmured, smiling sweetly up at him as though he were the only thing to exist in her world. “You must act as though you want to be here.”

His hand covered hers. “I suppose you can convince me of that. Will you dance with me?”

“As many times as you like.”

A light sparked in his eyes, and she caught her breath.

Was this flirting? Was her stoic, stern husband flirting?

“Your Graces,” Lady Marwich boomed as she made it through the crowd to her. “You must be introduced to everyone who has not already met you. Come, come. And then, yes, you may dance with your bride, Your Grace.” This, she directed at Andrew. “I can see the way you look at her. I will not keep you from her smiles long.”

To Jessamine’s relief, he cracked long enough to offer her a smile. “You are very kind, Lady Marwich.”

“Nonsense. I look out for my own interests as much as anyone else’s, and it’s in my interest that you enjoy your time here. I already know the most enjoyment you will get is with your wife, who is looking exceedingly pretty tonight. You are magnificent, my dear. Truly, a diamond.”

Jessamine touched the diamonds around her neck, which were a gift from Irene upon her marriage. “Thank you.”

With Andrew’s arm in hers, they were taken on a brief tour around the room, and Lady Marwich made it plain at every introduction that Jessamine and Andrew were wildly in love and wanted nothing more than to dance with one another.

By the time they had finished their rounds of the room, it was plain at least half the guests believed theirs was a love match. The other half whispered to themselves, but that was fine. Jessamine knew they could not win everyone over on their first try. But for William’s sake, she would keep trying.

Andrew extended a hand. “A dance, wife?”

“It would be my pleasure, husband.” She put her fingers in his, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze as they took to the dance floor for a waltz. Given how unusual it was for a waltz to be played at this point in the proceedings, Jessamine suspected Lady Marwich had been speaking with the quartet.

Andrew drew her closer. “Have you danced the waltz before?”

“A handful of times. Not many. I was tutored in it, but…” She shrugged and glanced down at her feet. “Have you?”

“I was in the army, Jessamine, not the wilds of the Arctic.” He chuckled, a warm, unexpected sound. “Of course I’ve waltzed before.”

“How should I know what occurs in the army?”