“Grandmother…”
She smiled warmly. “I love you so very much. Your parents would be proud of you.”
Lewis shook his head. “No. You see; my life belongs to Bridget. These few days without her have been agonizing. How can I live my life when I have done such an awful job of keeping her happy?”
“Love changes people,” his grandmother said. “But we all need a challenge sometimes.”
“Bridget is certainly a challenge,” Lewis said, smiling.
“Then, you must do whatever you can to find her,” his grandmother said. “You must let her know how much you love her.”
“Morington said something earlier,” Lewis said. “And you are both right. I had hoped to show Bridget that I respect her, so I hesitated. I thought she would seek me out. But the truth is that I cannot know what she thinks or feels unless I ask her.”
His grandmother nodded. “Yes.”
“Now, I just have to learn where she is,” Lewis said. “I know that her brother is with her, but they might be anywhere.”
“Or not!” Morington declared, as he entered the study. “Apologies for intruding. Wheelton, I decided to wait until you were finished speaking with Her Grace. I read the news while I waited.”
Lewis raised an eyebrow, uncertain why the scandal sheets would have been brought to his house. He guessed that Bridget read them. “And?” Lewis asked.
“And the Duchess of Greenway has given birth to a healthy baby boy,” Morington said. “If your wife is anywhere, I would guess she is at Gerard’s townhouse, tending to her sister.”
Lewis’s eyes widened. “That would explain why Reeds left so suddenly, too!”
Morington nodded. “Yes.”
“Then, you must go to her at once,” Lewis’s grandmother said.
Lewis bolted to his feet, his body humming with newfound energy. He had not felt so alive since she left. A small, traitorous thought that she might not want to see him echoed inside his mind, but he mentally shoved it aside.
Bridget had wanted affection from him, and he would give her all the affection she wanted and more. Whatever it took, Lewis would find a way to make amends and win her love again.
CHAPTER 39
Bridget sat in the drawing room, book in hand, but she had not read a single word. Her thoughts kept wandering away from her, making it impossible to focus. After days of anxiety, hurried steps, and raised voices, the townhouse was suddenly quiet. The household had adjusted to the arrival of Alexander, the future Duke of Greenway.
Dorothy slept in her bedchamber.
Catherine had returned to her husband.
Elias and Gerard had taken refuge in the latter’s study.
Bridget was left alone for the first time in days. It was a blessing, for she had felt herself stretched too thin in the chaotic arrival of Dorothy’s son. It was a curse, for it left her with too much time to think.
“Your Grace, you have a visitor.”
Bridget glanced up from the book. Gerard’s butler stood at the room’s entrance. At Bridget’s look, he dropped into a stiff bow.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“The Duke of Wheelton.”
Bridget froze. He had finally come for her.
“Oh,” she whispered.
“Shall I show him to you?”
