Page 6 of A Temporary Bride for the Duke

Chapter Two

“Oh, look at that. I think they’re about to cut the rope!” Lady Emily Stanhope said, and Edmund was glad to have an excuse to look away from her.

The grounds at Vauxhall Gardens were teeming with people, all coming for the same purpose—to see and be seen. Edmund found it exceedingly tiresome, but he’d thought that his seven-year-old son Harry might enjoy the show.

He’d been enduring the dullest conversation he’d had in a while, all because his aunt, Lady Archworth, had introduced Lady Emily to him and exhorted him to engage her in conversation while she took Harry to the pond. He felt that he’d more than done his duty by his aunt’s friend but was at a loss as to how to extricate himself from the conversation.

“Oh, yes, it seems they are. Would you like to move closer?”

Lady Emily’s face lit up. “Of course! Shall we-?”

“Oh, I cannot.” He pointed towards the pond. “I cannot move too far from my son.”

Lady Emily’s face fell. “Oh.”

“But you should go right ahead,” Edmund encouraged while gesturing towards the clearing where the balloons were tethered.

He stepped back to give her room to pass him by on her way toward the spectacle. She hesitated, frowning at him discontentedly.

Edmund gave her a bow, pretending not to notice her unhappiness. Suddenly, Harry ran up to them. There was a huge smile on his face as he held up his hand.

“Look what I caught!” he cried.

Lady Emily screamed and jumped back, startling Edmund quite a bit. “Oh Lord, what is that?”

“It’s a frog,” Harry said, frowning at her with concern. “Can’t you see?” He thrust the amphibian at her, and she screamed louder, stumbling backward.

“Get that away from me, you wicked boy!” she squeaked.

Edmund’s brow furrowed with fury as he turned to glare at her. “You will refrain from addressing my son in such a manner.”

Harry turned to Edmund, looking troubled. “Did I do something wrong, Papa?”

Edmund immediately went down on his haunches so he could be face-to-face with his son.

“Where did you find the frog?”

Harry beamed. “In the pond. Aunt Regina said I did well.”

“She would,” Edmund murmured. He looked around for Lady Archworth and spotted her strolling towards them with a contented smile on her face. “Did she tell you to come and show it to me?”

Harry nodded vigorously, thrusting the frog at Edmund. “Do you like it, Papa?”

Edmund pressed his lips together. “Son, it is not recommended to grab frogs and carry them in your hands whilst at a public gathering.”

“Indeed,” Lady Emily sniffed. Edmund had entirely forgotten that the lady was hovering. He twisted his neck slowly just in time to see the look of disapproval on her face as she parroted his words, albeit in a sterner tone. “It is not recommended.This is the behavior of a wild child!”

Edmund glowered at her. “I thought you wanted to see the balloons.”

“Well, I can hardly leave now with your son brandishing that creature.” Lady Emily nodded her head haughtily at Harry, then hitched up the hem of her skirts ever-so-slightly, as if to indicate that even if she hustled away, she might not be capable of escaping the frog or its captor.

Edmund was appalled by her dramatics and fixed her with a frank stare. “Why ever not?”

Lady Emily harrumphed. “I cannot go because I was waiting for you to escort me, Your Grace,” she said wistfully.

Edmund’s right eyebrow hooked high on his forehead as he turned back toward his son and shared an incredulous look with Harry.

An unspoken conversation passed between the father and child.