Page 83 of The Duke’s Rejected Mate

With animated hands and talks of how else to wear the inappropriate fabric, they go back to their discussion of ribbons and dresses. Anne slides over, separating herself from the group, to sit by me, a somber look on her face. “There is a matter I would love to discuss with you. If you are amenable?”

“Of course,” I say with a smile as I make room for her to sit by me. “Anything. Though I do not know you as well as the others, you are family. My heart is yours.”

“I appreciate you saying that, but not everyone agrees with that sentiment.”

Concerned, I lean in. “Please speak plainly.”

“You see, Lewis, my husband, is having the most horrible quarrel with Norhaven. Not to put you at odds with him, it seems to be his concern for the family and duty that kept your husband from proposing sooner.”

Hurt and anger swell as I think back on all the times I was with the others, Lewis included. I was family. Or so I thought. “I see.”

“Please,” she begs. “Please don’t be wroth. My husband is a stubborn man. Family means more to him than anything.”

“Even though I was family?”

She winces. “Yes, but… Oh, I am making a muddle of things.”

“No,” I sigh. “It stings, but all has been made right in the end. What was it he found fault with?”

Again, her expression becomes pained. “Do not think of it like that. He truly did not know Norhaven had set his sights on you. The words he gave him were from a place of brotherly need to see Norhaven well and not succumb to any omega who might turn his head. Especially those with no rank who only wished to climb higher in the eyes of the Ton.”

“So it was my father’s low title that earned this disdain?” Though it pricks, it does make sense that Lewis would care for his family in this way.

“Please,” she begs. “I promise you. To hear him say it, it was not personal. He didn’t mean you. Norhaven, however, did not know that. I just…” She trails off, clearly distressed by the matter.

Reaching out, I pat her hand and give her a warm smile. “I understand. I hold no ill will. Please. Continue.” By now, the others gather, listening to her tale.

“This is all so muddled,” she cries out. “I wish for them to end this fight, to be brothers again, but I can’t seem to make him put down his pride. I was hoping you might have some insight?”

With a snort, I shake my head. “If I did, it wouldn’t do you any good. Charles is just as stubborn, if not more so than him.”

Augusta yawns. “They’re men. I say they duke it out, and the first one to fall should apologize.”

I blink at her as my mind turns. “What did you say?”

She perks up a bit. “Duke it out. You know. Fisticuffs. Go to blows.”

“Augusta,” I cry out, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “You’re brilliant!”

She smiles and waggles her brows before giving me a lascivious smirk. “That’s what Benedict says while he’s spanking me.”

As they all dissolve into giggles, I look over at Teresa. “Are you still good at your forgery?”

“No,” she declares, shaking her head so emphatically a few strands of hair drift to her face. “Oh no. I barely sat for a week after that one.”

“It turned out all right in the end,” Alessandra pipes up.

“Yes. No thanks to the stubbornness of your husband,” she quips back.

“Please, Teresa,” I cajole. “It’s different this time. No one is running away. No one will get hurt. Just two brothers forced to come face to face with each other.”

With a heavy sigh, she waves her hand. “I cannot believe I allow you to talk me into such nonsense. Do you have any samples of their writing?”

“It’s because you love us,” Augusta says as she claps her hands. “That, or because you also like not sitting for a week.”

“If only,” she murmurs, her eyes going a touch dim.

“Are you well, Teresa?” I ask.