Page 78 of Stolen and Seduced By the Duke

Margaret laughed, her eyes bright with amusement. "That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me."

Pierce looked at her over Hugh's head. "Do not become accustomed to it."

"I shall treasure the occasion."

"Naturally." He looked down at his son again, unable to keep the faint smile from his face. For once, he did not care whether Margaret teased him.

A moment later, his valet approached across the lawn carrying several letters.

"Your Grace, these arrived only moments ago," the man said, extending the correspondence respectfully.

Pierce glanced at the sealed envelopes and then back at Hugh, who had settled peacefully against his chest.

"Later," he ordered, dismissing the valet with a gesture. The man bowed and retreated without question.

Margaret watched Pierce with quiet surprise. "You have just ignored your correspondence."

"Yes."

"You?"

"Do not sound so astonished."

She smiled. Pierce looked down at Hugh once more, feeling the small weight of his son in his arms. Nothing was going to steal this moment from him. Not letters, not business, not secrets from the past, and certainly not the rules he had once believed mattered above everything else.

CHAPTER 19

Margaret had scarcely finished her morning tea when the sound of wheels upon the gravel announced visitors to Ravenfield Manor. She hurried into the drawing room with an eagerness she could not quite disguise, and the moment the doors opened, she found herself smiling at the sight of Iris and Camelia.

"You have come!" she exclaimed, crossing the room to embrace them both.

Iris kissed her cheek and held her at arm’s length, inspecting her from head to toe. "Of course we have. We have come to rescue you, though you look suspiciously settled for a woman who has been married only a week."

Camelia laughed as she embraced Margaret next, while the young lady behind her waited politely. "And I have brought Lady Pamela Harrton. Raph's niece."

Pamela curtsied gracefully, her nineteen-year-old face bright with curiosity. "It is a pleasure, Your Grace."

Margaret smiled warmly and took her hand. "Please, nothing has changed. Call me Margaret."

Pamela laughed. They settled into comfortable conversation.

"The weather has been absolutely delightful these past few days, hardly a shower," Iris said.

"Indeed, the sunshine has been a blessing," Margaret said.

"So much so that the promenade has become quite the scene as of late. Why, you know, the other day Lord Harper was walking along the banks of the lake and a large dog pounced on him so cheerfully that Harper lost his balance and fell in," Camelia said.

The ladies laughed.

"It has been the gossip at every dinner I have attended," Camelia continued.

They continued discussing the journey, the weather and the latest ridiculous rumor circulating through the ton, though Margaret's thoughts kept returning to one subject.

She could hardly wait to show them, Hugh." You must all meet someone," she announced suddenly, her expression brightening. "Mrs. Norris!" she called towards the doorway. "Would you please ask the nanny to bring Hugh down?"

The women barely had time to exchange amused glances before the nanny entered with Hugh in her arms.

Margaret's entire expression softened at once. "There is my darling boy," she said, rising as though drawn towards him by instinct.