“I am your mother. Since you have taken on a wife without even consulting me first, I think at the very least I have a responsibility to make sure that things are done properly moving forward,” she hissed.
“I have gone on just fine without your counsel for the last ten years of my life. I do not think I need it now,” Christopher said through gritted teeth.
“Stop that. You are being silly. It is my duty as your mother to ensure that you fulfill yours. And that includes meeting your wife and providing her with guidance.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near my wife or my nephews.” Christopher’s words were firm—there was no room for argument.
Teresa’s eyes narrowed. “Your nephews are a disgrace. But since you’ve taken them in, they will need proper education. They need to be raised with discipline and decorum.”
Christopher laughed bitterly. “Discipline and decorum? Like the kind you showed Peter and me? No, Mother, you had your chance to educate your sons. You don’t get a second one.”
Teresa’s face tightened, and she looked on the precipice of an outburst. “You are making a mistake, Christopher. Your father was weak, and it seems you have inherited his softness. The twins will tarnish the family name if they’re not properly guided.”
“I will not let you ruin their lives as you did ours. Stay away from my family.”
My family.
It was the first time that Christopher had referred to Frances and the children as his family. Even though it had come out in an emotionally charged moment, it felt like the right thing to say.
They were his family, and he was going to stand by them no matter what.
Teresa took a step forward, her voice low and menacing. “I am your mother. It’s my place to help the new Duchess with her duties. She needs my guidance.”
“Why do you wish to impart your words of wisdom now?” Christopher challenged. “Besides, you underestimate Frances. She is stronger and wiser than you would believe. I do not think she requires any sort of help, especially from you.”
“You are being foolish and fickle,” the Dowager Duchess hissed. “Has she asked you to say this? Is this how you are going to behave with your mother, whom you have not seen in so many years?”
Christopher held back a laugh. “Please, Mother. I think you and I both know that you lost the privilege of being referred to as my mother long ago.”
The Dowager Duchess’s eyes flicked to Phillip, who was till now only a silent spectator. “Duke, you are a man from a respectable family and have a good reputation in Society. Is this any way for a man to speak to his mother?”
Phillip opened his mouth to speak, but Christopher stopped him, glaring at his mother. “There is no need to drag Phillip into the mess that you are so eager to create.”
“Quite the contrary. I am here to clean up the mess that you have made by marrying someone whose lineage does not impress me. Did you really think you had a shortage of women who would have done anything to marry you? All you had to do was ask me, and I would have presented you with a line of them the very next day.”
Christopher resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew that his mother would inevitably bring this up. It was not as though Frances was not from a respectable family. More so that the Dowager Duchess’s expectations were impossible to match. She wanted a daughter-in-law who descended from royalty or came from immense wealth that matched theirs.
“Not everyone is so driven by superficial matters as you are, Mother,” Christopher pressed. “To me, Frances was the best choice possible.”
“Then you surely underestimate yourself.”
“And you consider yourself far too self-important to be saying this to me.”
The Dowager Duchess was about to reply when Christopher held up his hand. “I have had enough of this conversation. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go look for my wife.”
“May I have this dance?” Christopher asked as he approached Frances, who looked surprised to see him.
She looked back to her sister, Esther, and then nodded. “Of course.”
He quickly led her to the dance floor. What he needed right now was a distraction from the venom his mother had just spat at him. The music began playing, and the two synced their movements.
He could see that people were watching them as they danced, including his mother, to whom he was determined to prove a point.
He leaned close to Frances. “Remember when you said earlier, that we must put on a convincing act?” he whispered in her ear.
“Mhmm. Indeed, I do.”
“Well, my dear, I would like for you to put on your best performance now,” he purred, noticing the way it caused a small shiver to run through her.
