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William briefly recounted the story of finding the contract buried in a stack of his late father’s papers, which he strongly suspected that Thomas had never even touched. Once William finished, Hamilton whistled between his teeth.

“What a surprisethatmust have been. But you chose Lady Catherine over Lady Dorothy?” Hamilton asked. “Would she not be a far better maternal presence in the lives of your sisters? I know that Lady Dorothy has sworn herself to spinsterdom, but I cannot imagine that she would deny the Duke of Sarsen.”

“No,” William said. “Eventually, she would have done as I asked.”

“But?” Hamilton inquired, arching an eyebrow.

William shrugged. “I chose the younger sister. She seemed like she would be more suitable, and she agreed to marry me with significantly less complaint.”

Privately, he thought about howintriguinghis wife was. It was rare that anyone had the courage to defy him, and there was something admirable about that, especially given that the courage had come from such a young lady. Reeds was a duke in his own right, but even his shows of defiance had been small and easily quelled. His wife—his duchess—was something entirely different.

“Interesting,” Hamilton said, downing the rest of his brandy. “Perhaps I do not know your bride as well as I thought.”

William grunted. “You know her well enough,” he said warningly.

Hamilton laughed. “I meant nothing of it. There is no need to try and intimidate me.”

William took a sip of his brandy and narrowed his eyes. “No?”

“No,” Hamilton said warmly. “You are my friend, and I would never do anything to sully the reputation of either you or your duchess. Do you not know that by now?”

William frowned. “I trust you.”

He was not quite sure that was true. Hamilton was the only person around whom William really felt that he could be himself. Around Hamilton, William could abandon all pretense and not worry about howhemight look or how thedukedommight look, and yet he knew his friend’s reputation well. Hamilton had bedded a married woman before. A newly married duchess might be a prize that was difficult to resist.

“Good. You had better,” Hamilton said, placing the empty glass upon William’s desk. “After all, I have done nothing to earn yourdistrust.”

“Not yet,” William said.

“Not ever,” Hamilton replied, grinning. “And I never shall. I will not keep you from your fascinating papers, though. I know how you can be.”

Hamilton stood.

“What do you mean by that?” William asked. “How I can be?”

Hamilton shrugged. “I mean, that when you are working, you are often reluctant to quit. You can be rather terse if kept away from manners of business for very long.”

“That is untrue.”

“It isentirelytrue. If you do not believe me, ask anyone. Ask your wife,” Hamilton said, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “I would warrant that you have not yet even spoken to her this morning.”

Indeed, he had not, but William had no intention of giving Hamilton the satisfaction of having predicted his behavior so accurately.

“You are mistaken,” William said smoothly.

Hamilton bowed. “Enjoy your afternoon.”

After the man departed, William glanced at the empty glass. Maybe he did work a little more than he ought to, but someone had to save the dukedom. Thomas had left a mess of things, and sacrifices would have to be made if the Dukedom of Sarsen was to be whole and prosperous once again.

CHAPTER12

Aweek had passed since Catherine became the Duchess of Sarsen, and she had not truly seen her husband since that night of shared passion. Had Catherine not known better, she might have thought that she had imagined the wedding entirely. It was as if she had married a ghost.

“Your embroidery is quite exceptional,” Catherine said, looking at the delicate, purple blossoms that Hannah had added to the edge of her sampler.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Hannah said, her lips twitching into whatmighthave been a half-hearted attempt to smile.

Your Grace. Catherine forced down the lump that rose in her throat. The title was a persistent reminder of what she had become and who she had married. It was a strange feeling, being married to a man whom she barely knew but who also consumed her thoughts.