A Most Unsuitable Earl (Regency Collection Book 3) (31 page)

“I can’t tell you.”

He grunted.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.  I know it sounds like something is wrong because I can’t explain it to you, but I promised him I
’d honor
him by keeping
his secrets.  Father,” she placed her cup back on the tray and reached for his hands, gently squeezing them, “can’t you trust me to know what’s best for me?”

His expression grew soft and he squeezed her hands in return.  “You’re right, Catherine.  I should trust you.” He paused.  “You really are happy?”

“Yes.”

He released her hands and let out a long sigh.  “I suppose it’s time I stopped thinking of you as a little girl who needs protecting and accept the fact that you’re a grown lady.”

She smiled.  “I don’t mind it if you protect me. 
Just as long as you understand Ethan also wants to protect me.  You two are very important to me, and I’d like for you to get along.  Can you please try to see Ethan for who he is instead of what his reputation says about him?”

“I can’t promise you that I’ll like him, but I will try.”

“Thank you.”

It was all she could ask of him, and since he was finally accepting the fact that she was happy with Ethan, she felt much b
etter about the future.

***

Late February
1816

Lord
and Lady
Edon’s Country Estate

Catherine
gave her father a hug as soon as he walked through the front door
.  “I’m so glad you came!”

“Of course I came,” he replied and kissed her cheek. 
“
How is my granddaughter?”

“
She’s doing well.”
She turned and saw E
than’s mother as she brought the
baby girl over to them.  “Ethan and I decided to name her Audrey.”

Her father took the week-old baby in his arms and stroke
d her cheek.  “
You named her after your mother?”

“I thought it would be a good way to carry on her memory.”

“It’s a lovely way to remember her,” he whispered, his smile widening. 
“
She’s so small.  I don’t remember you being t
his small, but you had to be.”

“All babies are small when they’re born,” Ethan’s mother spoke up.  “And thank goodness for that or mothers everywhere would be in trouble.”

Catherine couldn’t argue
with
Rachel’s statement. 
She was still sore from giving birth, and though Audrey seemed like a big baby when she was still in her womb, Catherine had to admit she was tiny when she first held her.  But as
her gaze fell to her child, Catherine
couldn’t help but think she’d go through childbirth all over again
just to have her
.  Glancing over her shoulder at Ethan who stood away from the group, she waved him over.

“I think we’d be more comfortable in the drawing room,” Ethan said.

“Oh, he’s right,” Rachel replied and motioned for everyone to follow her.  Looking at the duke, she added, “We’ll have your things brought in shortly, Your Grace.”

After they entered the drawing room, Ethan took Catherine’s arm and helped her get comfortable on the settee.  Catherine’s father sat in the chair across from them, not too far from the chair Ethan’s mother chose to sit in.

“This is so wonderful,” Rachel cheered, clapping her hands in excitement.  “I just knew this is what it’d be like when we arranged the marriage.  Audrey is a fortunate little girl to be born into this home.”

“Are you sure you’re not disappointed
that you didn’t have a grandson?” Ethan asked as the butler brought in a tray of tea and biscuits.  “Audrey won’t be able to inherit my title.”

“Oh, that’s easy to take care of,” she said.  She picked up the teapot and began pouring tea into everyone’s cups as the butler left the room.  “You and Catherine will have to keep having children until you have a son.”

“And if we don’t?  We could have thirty or more girls and never have a son.”

Catherine’s eyes grew wide.  “Thirty or more girls?”

Ethan glanced at her.  “It’s possible.”

She accepted the cup his mother offered her.  “I don’t think so, Ethan.  We might have all girls, but there’s no need to exaggerate their number.”

Catherine’s father
chuckled and tur
ned his tender eyes to her
.  “All you really need is one to be complete.”

Catherine smiled, pleased he chose to give her
such a high
compliment.

“Tell me,
Your Grace
,” Ethan began after he took a sip of his tea, “did you have a good journey?”

“I did.  The weather cooperated with me.” He arched an eyebrow and added, “I even brought my fencing gear, if you’re so inclined to take the risk.”

Ethan smirked.  “
You’re in for a rude awakening
.
  I’ve been practicing.  I dare say I might be good enough to have you running out of the room.”

Catherine’s father laughed, the twinkle in his eye indicating that he enjoyed the challenge Ethan
gave
him.  “Somehow I doubt that.”

“Then we’ll have to see, won’t we?”

Ethan’s mother bit into a biscuit, swallowed, and wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin.  “I think we can tell them
now
,” she told Catherine’s father.

Catherine took a sip of her tea and glanced at Ethan to see if he had any idea what his mother meant.  Since he shrugged, she asked, “Tell us what?”

“Well,” his mother began with a slight blush, “we wanted to wait until after Audrey was born to tell you the good news.  Catherine, your father and I began a correspondence once we left London.”

“Actually, she sent the first one,” her father clarified.

“It was only to assure him that you were doing fine,” she added.  “He sent me a correspondence in return, and soon I realized that we had a lot in common.”

“Oh no,” Ethan muttered, his face going white.

Eyebrows furrowed, Catherine studied him, wondering why he looked afraid of what his mother would say next.  Turning her attention back to Rachel, she pressed, “So what’s this news?”

“Your father and I are getting married when we go back to London!” his
mother announced.  “Isn’t that wonderful?”

Ethan swallowed the lump in his throat, and though he moved his mouth, no words came out.

Resisting the urge to giggle at Ethan’s reaction, Catherine nodded.  “It is wonderful.  You two will do very well together.”

“I told you they’d be happy for us,” his mother told her father before directing her attention back
to Catherine and Ethan.  “After the marriage, I’ll
live with His Grace, of course, but that doesn’t mean we won’t still see each other.  We’ll want to visit our granddaughter and any other grandchildren you’ll give us.”

“Even if there’s thirty of them,” Catherine’s father teased.

“Though,” Ethan’s mother quickly added, “you’ll have to allow us some time alone right after we marry so we can get to know each other better.”

Ethan, who’d been ready to eat a biscuit, shuddered and tossed it back onto the tray.  “Mother, please!  I’ll never eat again if you add anything else to that statement.”

His mother shook her head.  “I don’t understand why such talk should bother you.  It’s not like you’re innocent to the ways of the world.”

He clasped his hands over his ears.  “
If you won’t stop talking for my sake, will you do it for your granddaughter’s?
”

“To be fair,
” she countered,
“
it took you time to be alone with
Catherine to get my granddaughter
.”

Catherine giggled when Ethan groaned.  She tried so hard not to
laugh
, but given the fact that his mother and her father still thought he used to be a rake, his reaction to his mother’s bold talk was too much for her to handle.

“Rachel, the day is pleasant enough to take our granddaughter for a walk,” Catherine’s father said.  “Do you mind if we take Audrey out, Catherine?  We won’t be gone long, and we’ll be sure to bundle her up.”

“I think it’s a good idea, Father,” Catherine replied.

Ethan rubbed his eyes and muttered something under his breath as the two left the room.

Curious, Catherine placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned into him.  “Are you really horrified that our parents are getting married?”

Letting out a weary sigh, he dropped his hands to his sid
es and looked at her.  “How can
those two be happy together?  My mother has little sense of decency when she talks, and your father holds so rigidly to
propriety
.
”

“I suspect they’ll balance each other out, much like we do.”

He grimaced.

“It’s true, Ethan.  We complement each other very well.  You bring out the more exciting part of me, one I never knew existed until I married you.  And I bring out the part of you that wants to be a reputable gentleman, something you fought hard to avoid before you married me.”

“Well…that’s true.”

“I think we’re better
together
than
we are apart
.”

“I can’t argue that,” he replied.

“And they will benefit each other the same way.  My father closed himself off to love after my mother died.  He wouldn’t remarry because he couldn’t imagine enjoying a
nother
lady’s companio
nship
.  But your mother will make that part of him live again.”

“And my mother?  What does sh
e have to gain from such a union
?” Ethan asked.

“She’ll be loved as a lady desires to be loved.  Children are a blessing, but there’s something about having the love of an honorable gentleman that makes a lady feel complete.” She reached for his hand and kissed him.  “They’ll make a good match, Ethan, just like we do.”

Relaxing, he grinned.  “We do make a good match, don’t we?”

“No one could be matched any better.”

His smile
widening, he kissed her again.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.  He deepened the kiss, and the rest of the world faded away as she gave into the bliss of being with her husband.

Already
Available in the Regency Collection…

The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife

Caught in a scandalous situation, Lord Roderick marries a lady he believes tricked him into marriage. Miss Claire Lowell hoped her first Season would result in a marriage based on love, but her new husband hates her. Can she convince him she didn't trick him into marriage or will she be confined to the loveless marriage she fears?

***

Her Counterfeit Husband

The Duchess of Watkins’
husband just died, and her unscrupulous brother-in-law is ready to step in as the Duke of Watkins. In desperation, the duchess enlists the help of the butler, and the two agree to quietly
bury her husband and pretend he’
s still alive. It will be a secret they will take to their graves.

After burying him in a forest, they come across a gentleman who has been beaten and left for dead. And this gentleman happens to look exactly like her husband. Seeing this as the answer to their prayers,
they take him home in hopes he’
ll agree to be
the new Duke of Watkins. There’
s only one problem. When he wakes up, he doesn't remember who he is.

Dare they replace her husband with a counterfeit? And if they do, what consequences will come as a result of their lie?