“Nicky, I’m so sorry about today. I didn’t forget, and I’d hoped that maybe I’d make it back in time, but it turns out there isn’t an airport near Gretna Green. We’d driven all night to get there, and I didn’t realize we couldn’t just grab a flight to come home. I hope the visit went well, anyway.”
Nicky glowered at his sister but said nothing. I slid my hand into his and squeezed.
“Margaret.” The Duke addressed his daughter by her formal name, which I figured meant that his patience was gone. “This is ridiculous. You can’t just run off to marry a man you don’t know, whom you only met last night. What were you thinking?”
Daisy’s back stiffened. “I was thinking that I was in love and wanted to do things the right way, Daddy.”
“This is going to be a nightmare. You know that it’s already hit the newspapers, don’t you? The headlines are cringe-inducing.”
“I did see some of them.” Daisy shot me a smile. “Knocked you right off the front page, Ky. You’re welcome.”
I winced and tried to make myself as small as possible, leaning into Nicky’s side.
“And why does it matter, anyway? If I were just plain Daisy Westhampton, the granddaughter of a ... of a mechanic and his wife, who would care that I eloped? Why should my family’s name and position make a difference?”
“Because it does, Daisy, and you know this.” Alex sounded exhausted. I saw for the first time that she had dark circles under her eyes. “Rail against fate all you like, but it doesn’t change facts.”
“The fact of our family’s title and who we are has nothing to do with my disappointment in you, Daisy.” The Duke gazed at his youngest daughter with something akin to compassion. “This was not a good decision, no matter what your name might be.” He exhaled. “However, it’s easily remedied. We’ve already talked to the Bishop, and we’ll be able to arrange an annulment quickly and quietly.”
“But what if I—ifwe—don’t want an annulment?” Daisy demanded. “You can’t force us into anything. Roc and I are both adults.”
“You are,” her father agreed. “And two adults such as yourselves surely can see that this is a very grave mistake.” He was silent for a beat. “Daisy, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t see, em, Roc again. I’m not trying to separate you. But starting a marriage this way is ludicrous. It’s a recipe for heartbreak and disaster. Take some time. Get to know each other, and then, if you both feel the same way and decide you’re suited, you can marry with our blessing—with your family around you. The right way.”
“Who’s to say how we got married wasn’t the right way for us?” Daisy challenged.
On the sofa adjacent to our seat, Jake, who sat with his arm around Alex, rolled his eyes. The Duchess heaved a deep sigh. And next to me, Nicky muttered into my ear, “It’s going to a long night.”
It was indeed a long night. At some point near midnight, I nodded off to sleep on Nicky’s shoulder, exhausted by the day’s events. I had already left a message for my assistant that I wouldn’t be into the office until the afternoon, if at all, so when Nicky finally woke me and pulled me to my feet, at least I knew that I could stay in bed as long as I wanted the next morning.
“What happened?” I asked Nicky drowsily as he led me out into the damp dark of very early morning. “Where did Daisy go?” I hadn’t seen her or Roc as we’d left the Westhamptons’ apartment.
“She went home, to her apartment.” Nicky shook his head. “What a mess she made. What a little idiot my sister is.” But he spoke with a weary tenderness, and I knew the worst of his mad with Daisy had passed.
“Did she ... what are they going to do?” I blinked, holding tight to Nicky’s hand. Our cottage was just around the corner from the Duke and Duchess’s apartment, an easy walk even in the middle of the night.
“I’ll tell you in the morning. Or later today, I guess. Right now, I’m too exhausted to form unnecessary words.”
At home, we both discarded our clothes and fell into bed together, asleep nearly before our heads hit the pillows. It was nearly noon before I opened my eyes again.
“Good morning, sleepy head.” Nicky was sitting at the small desk in our bedroom, his laptop open. “I thought you were never going to wake up.”
“I was so tired.” I stretched my arms over my head. “I can’t believe you’re awake. How long have you been up?”
“Only about an hour,” he confessed. “I had a meeting scheduled that I needed to postpone.”
“Ah.” I sighed and kicked off the covers. “Have you heard anything about Daisy and Roc this morning?”
Nicky grimaced. “No. I didn’t expect to hear anything, actually. She was very upset when she left my parents’ home. But she’s going to do the right thing.”
“They’re going ahead with the annulment?” Frankly, I was amazed. Daisy was strong-willed and stubborn. I’d expected her to dig in her heels for at least a little while.
“Yes. It took a good deal of coercion, but my mother and father finally convinced her that it was the only way.” Nicky was quiet for a few seconds.
“How did they do it?” I rolled to my side to watch his face as he answered me.
“My father pointed out that what she’d done by running away had hurt my grandmother, and that continuing to demand her own way in this would only make it worse. He pointed out that Granny is quite old, and that she cannot stand shocks like this.”
I frowned. “I forget sometimes that the Queenisactually pretty old, isn’t she? I don’t see her as weak or fragile, though. The opposite, in fact.”
