…or at least, as much as she wanted to hate Dietrich.
“There is one clause to be aware of,” her father admitted, “but I’m sure we will be able to set it all to rights.”
“What is it?” Ella asked, not sure if she wanted to know, but more certain that she didn’t want to be surprised by it.
“It stated that you were to be married by your twenty-first birthday.”
“And how old am I?” Ella asked. Why hadn’t she thought to ask that before?
“You’re twenty,” he said.
“And when is my birthday?” she asked.
“Six months’ time,” he said. “So really, there is still plenty of time to figure it all out. I would rather see it settled sooner than later, however.”
“I would too,” Ella agreed. Six months was much sooner than she had anticipated getting married, much less getting married to some stranger.
In fact, she hadn’t really considered getting married before this, so the whole idea seemed a little terrifying, to say the least.
“Don’t worry,” the duke said, smiling gently. “I promise we won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” Ella said, pointing to his desk, “but whatever contract you signed all those years ago.”
Her father simply shrugged. “We will manage it one way or another,” he said. “I would not fret.”
“You’re not the one who has to marry a stranger,” Ella said with a nervous chuckle. “I think worrying should be allowed.”
Her father leaned in and placed a hand on her knee to stop its bouncing. “I promise, Ella,” he said softly. “I just got you back. I’m not going to lose you to something you don’t want.”
Ella looked into her father’s eyes and nodded slowly. She believed him. The question was, would he be able to enforce that, or would the contract he had signed force his hand?
Not that she knew much about contracts…but weren’t they meant to enforce following through on something? Surely that didn’t change, even if you were a duke.
She watched her father as he stood. “I will write to his family,” he said. “Don’t worry.”
“You keep saying that, but you just informed me I may be marrying a stranger,” Ella said with a nervous chuckle as she also stood.
Her father leaned in and gave her a hug. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you,” he said, “but I didn’t want it to be a surprise.”
“I am grateful that you did, because I think the surprise would have been worse.”
Much, much worse.
At least this way, she had time to come to grips with the idea.
Her father let out a chuckle. “I can imagine, which is why I was loath to do so. But all the same, I do not wish for you to worry. All will be well, I promise.”
She wasn’t quite sure how he could make that promise, but she wasn’t going to fight him on it.
“Thank you,” she said.
She still wasn’t sure what to call him. Calling him the duke seemed far too formal, since he was her father, but she didn’t know him well enough to call him father or his given name.
What was his given name?
The duchess called him “my love” or “darling” most of the time, and her sisters called him “Father,” all of which was very sweet, but did not help her in figuring out what to call him.
“You may go,” her father said. “Do not fret. I will take care of it for you.”
