He could not do anything about having inherited a dukedom.But hecoulddecide what sort of duke he intended to be.The one society expected?Or a man who, as his mother phrased it, sought happiness?
“I am no longer on the hunt for a bride,” he said softly.
Joy lit her face.“Youfoundone?”
“I did not.”
Confusion lined her brow.
“I’ve no intent to take a bride, now or ever,” Donovan said gently.“If you truly wish for me to find happiness, then please understand that I am much happier now than I would be in some loveless marriage.”
“I never wished you a loveless future!”
“And, with luck, I shan’t have one.As much as it pains me to once again disappoint you, I fear I shall not be providing you with another daughter-in-law.Bernard has done his duty with grandchildren.At least one of us have lived up to your expectations.It shall have to be enough.”
“Oh, darling.Look at you, with your piles of correspondence and shelves of duty and sleepless smudges of purple beneath your eyes.How can you believe yourself a disappointment when you constantly outperform every other peer in all ways but one?”
“The most important one,” he reminded her dryly.
“No.”Mother reached across the desk to take his hands, smudging the fresh ink of his letter in the process.
Donovan gritted his teeth and tried not to grimace.The letter would have to be rewritten, and now there was only a short window in which he could—wait.What had his mother just said?
“Securing the lineisn’tthe most sacred duty of all?”he asked carefully.
“As you pointed out, Bernard has managed that part already.Did I hope for more grandchildren?Of course.But even more important is ensuring the happiness ofmychildren.If you would rather postpone marriage for a few more years—”
“Or never bother at all?”
“Or…never bother at all,” she repeated with a sigh, “I won’t say another word, if you swear to me this choice brings you peace.”
“It does,” Donovan said firmly.“Peace and joy.”
“Practically Christmas,” his mother said with an odd little smile.“What else could a mother ask for besides joy for her children?”She let go of Donovan’s hands and rose to her feet.
“That’s it?”he asked in surprise.“No further argument?”
“I suspect the battle was lost long ago.”She paused at the doorway to glance over her shoulder at him.“I should have listened the first three hundred times you said you didn’t want a bride.I was so certain all you needed was to find the right person.But Bernard said…”
Donovan’s throat tightened.“What did my brother say?”
“He said you already did.”She stepped out into the corridor.“Give my regards to Geoffrey.”
The door closed behind her before Donovan could formulate a response.
She knew.Or at least, she suspected.And this was her way of telling him that she would not stop him from pursuing love, however that might look.That his family valued Donovan’s happiness over society’s expectations.That he had, indeed, found the right person.
Which meant the only question that remained was how to make Geoffrey stay.Donovan wanted to woo him, to spend every remaining hour begging on his knees, but his duties conspired against him.There was no time to sleep, much less for romance.
It was Geoffrey’s final night under Donovan’s roof when at last he could put down his pen, step away from his desk, and have a moment to breathe without the weight of his endless responsibilities smothering him like a thick blanket.
A glance out of the study window indicated night had fallen.Donovan had once again taken his supper at his desk—a terrible habit that consisted mostly of half-remembered sandwiches and spoonfuls of tepid soup—in order to have done with his duties as quickly as possible.
He strode quickly from his study to his private quarters, eager to put work behind him and spend what remained of the evening with Geoffrey, who would be leaving on the morrow.And this time, Donovan would not be chasing behind his valet to beg for one more fortnight.
He had already asked, and Geoffrey had politely, but firmly, declined.He did not wish to skulk about in constant trepidation of receiving the sack for a third time.And who could blame him?Geoffrey deserved so much more.
Tonight, what Donovan could offer him was pleasure.
