The Duke I'm Going to Marry(102)

She sighed and turned to him. “In truth, that tragedy still defines him, for he won’t allow himself to get past it. I want to help him, but I’m not certain how to do it. I’ve never experienced anything but love from our family. He’s never known anything but pain. Caring and affection are new sensations for him. He isn’t quite ready for them. I suppose that’s why he’s suddenly clawing the air as though suffocating and needing to escape his tomb.”

Her father nodded. “Are you afraid he’ll look upon your marriage as that tomb and wish to escape from his confinement, wish to escape from you?”

“I don’t know. He seems reconciled to marrying me. He wants to marry me. I think he’s afraid he’ll disappoint me as a husband.” She paused a moment and swallowed hard. “He won’t, of course. I love him, and won’t ever love another man as I do him. I don’t regret a moment of the time I’ve spent with him, and hope we share a lifetime together. I think he wants the same, only he believes he’s undeserving. He’s having a hard time accepting a partner. Me.”

“Lily always thought you were the smarter twin,” her father said, putting his arm around her once more as he kissed her on the forehead. “I’m sure he’ll come around. He isn’t a fool.”

She relented and rested her head against her father’s shoulder. “Thank you for being so patient and wonderful with me. Papa, I love you very much.”

He let out a soft laugh. “What’s this? You haven’t called me Papa in years, not since you and Lily started considering yourselves all grown up.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Your mother and I feel much the same about the five of you. We’re quite proud of all of you. Especially you, Dillie.”

She gazed at him in confusion. “Me? Why?”

“There’s a quiet, loving strength about you. I believe the duke recognized that strength when he first met you. Thinking back, it’s no coincidence that he always seemed to be close at hand when you needed help.”

“Not always, Father. He wasn’t stalking me like prey.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Of course not, he isn’t the slimy sort. What I’m trying to say is that he noticed you, seemed to enjoy your company. Seemed to care about you and wished to protect you.”

“Indeed, he did just that when Charles Ealing, the clunch, tried to seduce me.” She rolled her eyes. “He got what he deserved. He and Lady Mary will keep each other unhappy for the rest of their arrogant lives.”

Her father cleared his throat. “Yes, well. You properly put Ealing in his place. Be that as it may. I was wrong to worry that the duke was marrying you merely out of a sense of duty. I noticed the way he looked at you this morning. All morning long. As though he were drinking you in and it still wasn’t enough to satisfy his thirst.” His expression turned affectionately mawkish. “I look at your mother that way. Always have, from the first day I set eyes on her.”

Dillie blushed. “He hasn’t said he loves me.”

“He’s never encountered a force of nature such as you. I’m sure he doesn’t know what to make of you. He just knows that he’s been hit and doesn’t stand a chance. I give him no more than a few months before he’s on his knees before you, proclaiming his love.”

Dillie rolled her eyes. “I doubt it.”

He grinned. “Fathers are wise and all knowing. He will, mark my words. Now, stop wasting time talking to me and go find him. A man shouldn’t have all that much time alone. He might find out he likes it.”

Laughing, she threw her arms around him. “I do love you,” she said in an emphatic whisper.

He returned her hug. “You can conquer worlds, Dillie. Your mother and I were so worried about you when you were a toddler, a twin to Lily, who could read and write by the age of three. She had mastered Newton by the age of eight. How could anyone compete with that? Much less her twin? But we saw something remarkable happen between you girls. Lily knew facts, but she relied on you for knowledge about life. She always turned to you, looked up to you, even though you were the youngest.”

Dillie snorted. “By all of five minutes.”

“Lily followed you around like a little puppy, marveling at your brilliance. You never failed her. We knew then that you would be just fine. Better than fine. That the man who captured your heart would be fortunate indeed. Now, run along. Remind him just how fortunate he is.”


***

“Ugh! Ian, I’m stuck!”

Ian was sitting under a sturdy oak, his back resting against the tree’s hard trunk while he gazed into the rushing waters of the stream and thought of James, when he heard Dillie call out to him. He turned toward the stone wall that separated the Swineshead gardens from the stream and saw her impertinent head sticking up over it. Her fingers were gripping the smooth top stones while she tried to gain a foothold atop those stones, no easy task with a bruised ankle.