Page 96 of Stolen By the Duke of Stone

“Well, you are in essence anyway. And truly, I think Rebecca would be honored. We’ll never lie to him. But…”

She wrapped both arms around his neck, and he released a breath of relief that she had taken this so well.

“I would love to,” she said, the words catching on a sob. “I always thought… I thought that perhaps because I was never the bride of your choice, that because you were forced to marry me, that you would not want to name me as his mother. I would never want to tread on Rebecca’s toes.”

The familiar grief touched his consciousness, but instead of dragging him under, it just settled as an ache behind his breastbone.

“Rebecca is dead,” he said gently. “There are no toes to step on. I know that more than anything, she would want her son to feel as though he belonged.” He tilted her chin to his. “And so we are clear: there is no other woman I would rather have as my wife,” he said firmly. “And there is no other woman I would rather see as William’s mother.”

She greeted this statement with a kiss, and hooked one leg over his hip.

“Well then,” she said, affection drenching her voice. “Shall I show you how much this means to me?”

Andrew was the one to suggest they make an outing as a family: William, him, and her. A walk through Hyde Park.

Lucy would come too, of course. But after everything that had happened, it was important to show they were both united, and still unafraid to move on with their life. To the best of Andrew’s knowledge, there were no more gentlemen who despised him to any great degree.

And so, one would hope, there would not be anyone attempting to kidnap William or do them any harm.

“That is not to say there is no one outside my knowledge,” Andrew had told her wryly as they were preparing for their walk. “Harry was not the only man who died under my watch.”

Jessamine had squeezed his hand sympathetically. In time, he would open up about everything he had been through in the war. Until then, she would approach him with love and allow him to excise his demons in his own time.

“But Lord Lorthey was the only man to my knowledge who blamed me for it,” Andrew continued. “So our chances of being attacked are, naturally, lower. But I will, of course, be prepared.”

“Just in case,” Jessamine said, only half teasing.

“Well, as experience has proven, one can never be too careful.”

And so now, as they strolled in the sunshine, Jessamine knew that her military husband was on high alert, scanning the crowd for threats. And even though Andrew had blamed himself for his failure to anticipate and defend William from the threat that was Baron Lorthey, Jessamine felt perfectly safe.

Fancy that. She felt perfectly safe. After everything, out and about with William, she felt safe enough to walk through the park with no fear of what might happen after.

She slipped her hand through his arm, and felt rather than saw him smile down at her. Andrew, so stoic, hardly ever smiled, except for her. It felt as though their happiness was beaming off them.

“Jessamine!”

Jessamine glanced around to find Temperance waving at them. She and Irene were walking together, along with Lady Marwich. She looked up at Andrew. “May we?”

“Be my guest.”

Jessamine headed for her friends, beaming at them. “Hello.”

Irene looked her up and down. “Well, don’t you look happy.”

“Sickeningly so,” Jessamine agreed.

“Your troubles are all resolved?” Irene looked meaningfully at Andrew, who had immediately been collared into conversation with Lady Marwich.

“They are,” Jessamine said serenely. “And really, I was a fool for not seeing the signs. He does love me, sister.”

“Of course he does,” Irene said.

“Did you truly ever doubt it?” Temperance asked with a sly smile. “The question was never did he love you, but did he realize he loved you?”

“And was he prepared to put aside his scruples to be with you?” Irene said. “I’m delighted that the answer to all this is yes.”

“We had a good conversation last night.” Jessamine’s cheeks reddened as she thought about the conversation, and what followed.