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In fact, she looked ridiculouslyelated.

“Well, where is she?” she demanded. “Where is my new daughter-in-law?”

Of all the times his mother chose to cross the lines he’d established—both physical and emotional—it had to benow.

Hudson fought the urge to express his deepest frustration as Diana Margaret Barrow, the Dowager Duchess of Wolverton, glanced up at him expectantly. When her eyes landed on Scarlett, they flashed with the light of a thousand suns.

Hudson wished it had the force to incinerate him on the spot as well. Perhaps then he would not have to deal with this debacle further.

“Mother, you are mistaken,” he growled at her just as Scarlett blushed in horror and shook her head.

“Oh no, Your Grace!” she gasped. “His Grace and I are—well, we arenotgetting married!”

The Dowager Duchess deflated faster than a punctured balloon. “You are not?”

The redhead laughed, the sound strangely hollow despite the brightness of her features. She shook her head gently and smiled. “No, Your Grace. We are not getting married.”

The Dowager Duchess planted her hands on her hips and glared at Hudson. “Is it his fault? It’s his fault, isn’t it? Hudson, I told you?—”

“No, no, it is not His Grace’s fault at all!” Scarlett exclaimed. “It is just a misunderstanding, you see, and… well, we have resolved it, His Grace and I.”

The Dowager Duchess looked at Hudson suspiciously, her gaze softening when she looked back at Scarlett. “You are certain, my dear? Well, even if it was amisunderstanding, as you say, it could still be a fortuitous?—”

But Scarlett firmly shook her head. “His Grace and I… well, we are not a good match, I’m afraid.”

Hudson narrowed his eyes at the redhead. Just what game was she playing now?

Earlier, she could not have been more eager to jump into a fake betrothal with him, and now she was taking it upon herself to dissuade his mother? The most stubborn creature on God’s green earth?

He should be pleased. In fact, he should beecstaticthat the impudent creature had apparently changed her mind—and so quickly at that—but how could she so easily dismiss him? Him, with his wealth and his rank? All the not-so-innocent ladies he’d actually ‘ruined’ would never even dream of dismissing him. If anything, they chased after him.

“Oh.” His mother—the very woman who gave birth to him—proceeded to ignore him and took Scarlett’s hands in her own, patting them affectionately. “In any case, I shall still have the delight of your company, my dear.”

“What the hell do you mean by that, Mother?” Hudson growled.

His mother simply waved him off. “Have you looked out the window, Hudson? There is astormout there. Poor Lady Scarlett will be drenched to the bone if you insist on sending her off in this weather!” She narrowed her eyes shrewdly at him. “You will not refuse, will you?”

As if to underscore her point, thunder boomed across the estate. If Wolverton Estate had not been built as solidly as it had been, it would havequaked.

Hudson took a deep breath. Clenched and unclenched his fists.

“One night,” he bit out. “And not a moment more.”

“Splendid!” His mother happily clapped her hands. “You and I are going to have such a fantastic time together, dear Scarlett—you do not mind me calling you that, do you?”

Scarlett flashed him a look. Was thatgloatingin her eyes?

Maybe if he had not been so busy trying to swim his way out of their vivid blue, he might have been more certain.

“Not at all, Your Grace.” Once again, she was the very picture of the charming young lady. The darling of the ton. The Diamond of every Season for three years in a row now.

“Splendid!” The Dowager Duchess beamed at her and linked their arms. “I shall now relieve you of my son’s dreary company and show you the rest of the manor…”

The women had scarcely taken five steps when Hudson’s hand shot out and wrapped around Scarlett’s arm. She looked at him in alarm.

“Is something amiss, Your Grace?” she asked, her eyes wide.

Damn those eyes. He felt like drowning in them every single time he looked into them.