“You were there,” she protested.
“Not as much as I wanted.” He wouldn’t sweeten anything for her benefit. Not now. This was too important. “But I didn’t mind as long as it didn’t interfere with any major decisions in my life. I didn’t even resent the prospect of remaining single because there were no particular women of interest to me until I met Sophie.”
Behind him, Sophie sighed happily, and he wished more than anything that he could tuck her under his arm and take comfort from her closeness for the remainder of the conversation, but that would make his mother feel too much like they were facing off against one another, and he wanted to avoid that as much as possible.
“It wouldn’t have been fair of you to ask me not to marry her.” He met his mother’s gaze. “I won’t apologize for marrying the woman I love, and you shouldn’t expect me to.”
“You love me?”
The question didn’t come from Lady Blackwell but from Sophie.
Nicholas turned toward her, confused. “Of course I do. I risked my family and ran away to Gretna Green with you.”When she just beamed at him as if this was new information and she couldn’t be more thrilled, he strode over and pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Sophie Blackwell.”
She kissed him, her lips curving and a smile that couldn’t be denied. “I love you too.”
Lady Blackwell huffed. “This is all such a mess.” She rubbed her temple, then dug her thumbs into the muscles of her jaw and massaged them. She didn’t seem able to raise her eyes. “I never wanted to hurt either of you, Nicholas. I just…. Without your father, I don’t know how I would function if I lost my position in society.”
“Hopefully, you won’t have to.”
That came from Theo, and Nicholas was glad that he was finally speaking up because all Nicholas could do was gaze at Sophie and think about just how goddamned lucky he’d been that she hadn’t given up on him sooner.
“I’m… pleased you’ve found someone you care about enough to marry,” Lady Blackwell said to Nicholas. He could tell she was trying to put on a good front even though she was still worried. “I adored your father, and if you can find even a fraction of the love we shared, that’s a blessing.”
That got Sophie’s attention. She kissed Nicholas once more and stepped around him to address his mother.
“Lady Blackwell, you should know that I received correspondence from my mother, Lady Carlisle. While I didn’t tell her the precise details, she’s aware that there is a secret that you fear may harm your standing in society if it would come out. She has assured me that she and Lady Drake would stand by your side even if everyone else were to cut you.”
His mother sniffled and blinked rapidly as tears filled her eyes. “Ladies Carlisle and Drake have never been particularly close to me. Why would they do such a thing?”
“Because we’re family,” Sophie said simply. “And family stands together.”
Lady Blackwell’s expression crumpled, and her daughters-in-law sandwiched her between them, holding her as she sobbed out all her fears and many years of repressed emotion that Nicholas suspected she’d been holding in all this time.
“It will be all right,” Theo said as he came to join them.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with Nicholas, and his own chest felt tender and raw. Discussing the loss of their father was never easy. Perhaps he and Theo had let their mother down because they didn’t like to do so when maybe she needed to.
After all, she’d been wearing mourning colors ever since Theo had returned on that terrible day and broken the news that Lord Blackwell was dead. What else was that, if not a cry for help?
Nicholas would remember now, though. He wouldn’t fail her in that way again.
When Lady Blackwell finally calmed, she dried her eyes—or attempted to—with her sodden handkerchief and bared her teeth in a brittle approximation of a smile. She drew in a breath and released it on a shudder.
“I daresay I’m disappointed to have missed your wedding ceremony. Perhaps we might have a private ceremony within the family to celebrate.”
Nicholas’s heart swelled, and he swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. “I’d like that.”
It meant a lot to him that she wanted to participate and celebrate his relationship with Sophie even though it was clearly a struggle for her to relinquish the beliefs that she’d held for so long.
“Katherine can design a wedding gown, and we’ll get the minister from the next town over to officiate,” she continued, warming to the subject. “Not Mr. Norman, of course. He and his wife may be more civil than they used to be, but it would be best to avoid them, nonetheless.”
“I’ll also create a wedding portrait,” Kate said, smiling at Nicholas and Sophie.
“No, that sounds like far too much work for you,” Sophie protested.
Kate just shook her head, still smiling. “I’ll only enjoy it. I loved painting the family portraits for everyone else. And designing your dress will be a pleasure too.”
Nicholas mouthed a silent “Thank you” to his sister-in-law as he wrapped his arms around Sophie in a display of affection that would have been out of place in most households, but here, no one other than his mother looked the least bit surprised.
