AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He said not a word, just watched her.
“There is nothing to celebrate. I do not want it.”
His fingers steepled, he was silent. Considering. “I want it.”
So it was true. Her fatherhaddemanded the dinner. Even now, despite her clear distress, he wanted it to proceed.
“No…please.”
He winced, and she regretted it, but she could not bear the thought of the charade.
“Kitten.” He cleared his throat. “No. Catherine. You are a married woman now. I must accept that and treat you as such.”
Her heart sank at the dismissal of her pet name. Did everything warm and loving need to be put aside?
“You have known your heart since you were young. You think I have forgotten when you ran into this very room and declared your love for Nicholas and swore you would run from me if I ever disapproved of it?” He chuckled. “I thought it the whimsy of a child, but you have never surrendered it. He left you when he did not have to do so, yet you waited for him. You waited year after year until—”
“Oh, Papa, it is not as it should be. I cannot stand before a room of guests and pretend otherwise.”
“You can, and you must. I will not have the world murmuring speculations, wondering if you are even now increasing with child. Your marriage was rushed. You didn’t even wait for your dear father to be present.” He waved off her protestations. “It is unseemly unless it was the product of haste due to undying love. If I had been here, I would have forbidden it until you found peace with Nicholas. But you did not wait. And so I will proclaim true love’s impatience at the dinner. I will not allow you to put forth otherwise.”
“What of Daniel? It is not proper. He is not yet cold in his grave.”
His face darkened, a storm of rage twisting his genial features. “Daniel? Daniel! You dare hold that man in esteem after everything that has happened? He thought nothing of you or of your love for Nicholas. He thought only of himself!”
“That is not true, and you know it. It was an untenable situation. Daniel merely tried to find a path that would benefit all. He loved as I do, deeply. You cannot deny his love.”
The bluster left him like a balloon deflated. She regretted the pain, but the words needed to be spoken. Her father had said little along the way, but he had shared her journey. He knew the truth.
“Daniel did not deserve you, kitten. None of the men in your life do, including me.”
“Oh, Papa, don’t say that.”
He pinched the crease between his brows. “I will declare my pleasure in your union at this dinner. No one will refute it. Not Nicholas. Certainly not Lord Woodfield. I have made clear the consequences if he dares stand in the way.” He wiped a hand over his face. “There are only two men left who know the truth. One of them is fighting in the Americas. God keep him safe.”
She didn’t want to stay for tea. Too much lay between them at the moment for idle chatter. She kissed him on the cheek. “I will do as you ask. You are a good father.”
He raised his hand to her cheek. “If I were a good father, you would not be in this position.”
She pulled his hand from her face and kissed its palm. “It is that same goodness that has put me here. No regrets for love, Papa. No regrets for love.”
