Page 70 of Denying the Duke (Lords and Ladies in Love 3)

Alex reached for her, but she stopped him. “One more thing. Had you seen fit to tell me about Loverly, I would not have been so foolish as to slip away from the footmen. I truly want the type of marriage where we are partners. I know that is unheard of, but I have had my fill of being told what to do.”

Alex pulled her to him and kissed her a gentle, caring kiss. “I love you, and if any forgiveness is needed, it is on my part. I never should have allowed you to witness that. I should have had Hawk remove you to the carriage right away.”

She smiled softly. “A lot of should haves.”

“And I agree. I have been somewhat heavy-handed with you, assuming I know what is best. I realize now that is not the type of marriage I want, either. But I cannot guarantee that I won’t always put your safety first, and do what I feel needs to be done.” He paused. “Can you accept that?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now I shall have my say.”

“I thought you already had.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Please allow me my moment, wife.”

Shifting so he faced her, he said, “As you said, Loverly was a horrible person. I had tracked him down in America and brought him back to England to face his fate. Most likely after a trial that would have scandalized his daughter—who by the way has disappeared—he would have been publicly executed. Beheaded.”

Patience winced.

“I don’t tell you that to frighten you. What I want you to understand is I was under orders from the War Department to kill Loverly, not bring him in. Once they had gotten all the information they wanted from him before he had escaped, they had no desire to face the circus of a public trial with all the War Department’s secrets and failings bandied about.

“But. And this is important, Patience. Despite my orders, at the time I was not certain I would kill Loverly. Something about a man on his knees begging for his life stops you cold. However, he reached into his pocket a mere second before I shot him. It was later determined he had a pistol. He would not have escaped with his life since Hawk, Cam, and Templeton were all there, in possession of their own pistols, but he would have killed me, and there was the possibility he would have aimed the pistol at you to punish me.”

Patience closed her eyes, all the blood draining from her head.

They both remained silent, holding each other for a few minutes.

“I want to return to the Abbey.” Alex’s words tore the ugly images from her mind and brought happiness to her heart.

“Truly?”

“Yes. I will take up my proper place in Parliament for the next session. I am still finding my way and need to spend some time at the Abbey and then travel to all my estates to see them and decide what needs to be done. I want to make it the wedding trip we never had.”

She drew circles on his chest. “I would like that.” She hesitated for a minute. “Um, there is one issue that needs to be taken into consideration regarding any future plans.”

“What is that?”

“I think I’m with child.”

Alex’s shout was heard throughout the townhouse, and most likely all of Mayfair, as well.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are generous people, and I happen to be blessed with an entire group of helpful writers of historical romance, particularly Regency romance. Born and bred a Yankee, life across the pond in some ways escapes me. That’s when I turn to the lovely ladies and gents of the Beau Monde RWA Chapter, who have so much information on the time period, and are so willing to share it. Thank you all so much for your tips and advice, and keeping me from making glaring mistakes. Any mistakes you do find are mine, and mine alone.

A huge thank you to author Allison Lane who walked me through several scenarios that would work with the story I wanted to tell. Your assistance was invaluable.

As always, thanks to my family who put up with me behind closed doors as I tap away on my laptop. Your support makes this fun job of mine even funner.

Editor bar none, Erin Molta, as always, did a super job of slashing those wandering sentences and rearranging my twisted verbs. Those two-page, single-spaced, editing emails always make my day. (Not really, but now that the book is finished, I’m feeling generous.)

About the Author

Callie Hutton, the USA Today bestselling author of The Elusive Wife, writes both Regency and western historical romance with “historic elements and sensory details” (The Romance Reviews). Callie lives in Oklahoma with several rescue dogs and her top cheerleader husband of many years. Her family also includes her daughter, son, and daughter-in-law. And twin grandsons, “The Twinadoes.”