Page 57 of Courting the Wrong Duke

Rosalind sensed there was more to the story than the older woman intended to tell.

Or perhaps more than she could.

“My husband became convinced that drawing attention to the stammer only made it worse. He believed Algernon needed firmness more than sympathy.”

A faint, wistful smile touched her lips.

“Your father disagreed.”

Rosalind looked at her.

“He tried, more than once, to persuade my husband that the boy needed patience instead of correction. That confidence could not be forced.”

The dowager's smile faded.

“But when he realized my husband would not be convinced... he simply stopped arguing.”

“What did he do?”

“He stepped in himself.”

Warmth settled quietly in Rosalind's chest.

Of course he had.

“He spent hours with Algernon,” the dowager continued. “Reading aloud. Walking through the gardens together. Inventing games that encouraged conversation without making him feel self-conscious.”

Rosalind could picture it with startling clarity.

Her father slowing his own pace without drawing attention to it. Waiting patiently while a frightened little boy searched for the next word.

Never finishing the sentence for him. Never pretending not to notice. Simply waiting.

It sounded exactly like him.

“Eventually the stammer improved,” the dowager said. “Though I have always believed the confidence your father gave him mattered far more than the speech itself.”

Rosalind sat quietly with that thought.

She had known her father was kind. She had not realized the depth of his influence upon another family. The realization made his absence seem somehow even larger.

The dowager gave a soft, almost embarrassed laugh. “I am not certain why I am telling you all this.”

Rosalind looked at her. “Because you miss him too.”

For a heartbeat, the older woman's composure faltered. “Yes.”

The dowager gave Rosalind's hand the gentlest squeeze before letting it go. “The Season is nearly at an end.”

Rosalind nodded.

“When London empties, society will find another scandal to occupy itself. People always do.”

“My mother believes otherwise.”

“She is frightened.”

“She wishes me to stop searching and begin thinking about finding a husband.”