Page 41 of From Unwanted to Duchess
“It sounds as though that is exactly what he deserves. Let me guess—after he had a second child with his second wife, Frances became obsolete?”
“Yes. And as I told you, I was wrong to leave it as long as I did. I should have intervened much sooner. Which is why I am so pleased that you and she are getting married. Even if I do not quite understand the circumstances. I take it this is not a love match? Frances was rather tight-lipped about the details.”
James smiled. He appreciated that Frances had been discreet.
He adored his godmother, but he didn’t want her to know the state of his finances. There wasn’t anything she could do anyway. Best to keep one’s own counsel on such matters.
“It is not. I have decided that being married is practical. It will help my standing, and perhaps I will gain more influence in the House of Lords if I am seen as a stable person who will have—” He stopped himself.
He had told others that he hoped to continue the line, but he couldn’t tell his godmother that because, of course, there wasn’t going to be anyone to continue the line. That was an illusion for Somerset Trust.
“That is to say, I thought it was good for both of us. You are right; she needs a husband. She needs to get away from her horrid family,” he said.
Truthfully, he was beginning to feel a little more confident that this was going to benefit Frances.
“Well,” Aunt Eugenia said as she patted his shoulder, “I pray that you both find happiness in whichever way you can.”
A carriage pulled up outside, and James looked out the window. Marianne and Charlotte stepped out, followed by Evelyn, who then raised her hands to help.
Arms clad in white sleeves appeared first, before Frances emerged from the carriage.
James paused for a moment, his breath catching. She was a vision. An absolute vision. Her hair shimmered as she stepped down, and her dress flowed around her like water.
She was beauty itself. There was no denying it.
He was beginning to understand that the way he was looking at her, the way he was beginning to feel about her, was entirely contrary to his so carefully laid plans.
Confound it all.
