Page 7 of Boxing With My Duke (A Sweet and Lighthearted Regency #16)

C atherine felt chilled, despite the hearty fire in the hearth next to their table in the dining room.

We’re married.

His startling revelation had shocked her to the core, but then her heart had soared with the knowledge that she and Carlton were married.

I love him.

She was certain of it. How could she not have fallen in love with Carlton ? He was kind, honest, courageous, handsome as the devil, and he made her laugh. He made her frustrated too when they debated a topic and their discussion turned heated. But most of all, he made her heart do somersaults when he kissed her.

But does he love me?

His kisses had made her tingle right down to her toes. But had he kissed her because he felt sorry for her or because he truly wanted to kiss her?

She was certain Carlton would want out of this marriage, having made his feelings about marriage very clear. He avoided it like the plague. And yet, she also knew that he would leave the decision up to her. He was chivalrous to the core.

But she could never force a man to marry her. No matter the risk to her reputation. She would never want to be married to a man who did not love her.

No matter how much she loved him, and she loved him so very much, she would not force Carlton to stay married.

“ Do my eyes deceive me?” Carlton asked, pulling her from her thoughts. “ Is that your brother and Serafina getting up from the table on the other side of the room?”

Catherine followed the direction of his gaze and gasped. “ It is!”

Carlton nearly knocked his chair over as he stood. Grabbing Catherine’s hand, he almost lifted her into the air and pulled her with him as he nearly ran across the room.

“ Edward , thank goodness we found you!” Catherine said, catching her breath. She hugged her brother tightly, relief washing over her.

“ Miss Serafina Davies ,” Carlton’s voice resonated, causing everyone to look their way.

The couple paled at the sight of them.

“ It’s not as it looks,” Edward blurted. “ I can explain everything?—”

“ Quiet ,” Carlton said in a voice that brooked no argument. “ We’ve already attracted the attention of every single person in this dining room. We’ll conduct this conversation in the privacy of my carriage.” He grabbed Catherine’s hand and strode out of the inn.

Catherine glanced over her shoulder and saw her brother and Serafina exchange a worried glance as they hurried after them.

When they arrived at the carriage, Riggs was already waiting for them, along with Morris , Brandon , and Yates .

“ We have a few matters to discuss,” Carlton said, taking Riggs from Morris and handing him to Catherine . He yanked open the carriage door and assisted Catherine and Serafina up the steps, and climbed in after Edward , before closing the door with a firm click.

“ Please , Your Grace , let us explain,” Serafina pleaded. “ I know this looks bad, but it isn’t as it seems. Even though Edward and I have only known each other a few weeks, we’ve fallen in love.” She looked at Edward and her smile reflected all the promises of young love.

“ But the journey to Scotland gave us time to consider everything,” Edward added. “ Including our families. In my haste to marry Serafina , I never considered what it might do to Mother , or you, Cathy . And for that, I am truly sorry.”

Catherine nodded as she stroked the sleeping pup on her lap.

“ And even though I’m sixteen and Edward and I come from different backgrounds—we don’t care.” Serafina gave a firm nod as she reached for Edward’s hand.

“ But I do care about Serafina’s reputation,” Edward added in a rush. “ And I would never compromise her, Your Grace .”

“ We never shared a room, Your Grace ,” Serafina added, glancing down. “ And we never…”

“ I get the picture,” Carlton said in a wry tone.

“ But we decided it would not be prudent for us to marry at this time. And so, when you saw us in the inn, we had already made our decision to return to Bath .” Edward looked at Catherine and then at Carlton . “ And when we return, I would like your permission to court Serafina , Your Grace .”

“ Well , that is quite the explanation,” Carlton said. “ I’m sure you realize what you put your sister and me through.”

“ We do, Your Grace , and we apologize,” Edward added in a rush.

“ We hope you can forgive us, Your Grace and Lady Campbell ,” Serafina said, clinging to Edward’s hand.

Carlton turned to Catherine , his brow arched. “ What say you, Lady Campbell ? Should we forgive them?”

“ Yes , Your Grace . I think that would be a fine thing to do.”

“ Well then, Lady Campbell has decreed that we forgive you. But we will speak about your courtship when we return to Bath .”

“ Thank you, Your Grace ,” Edward and Serafina said in unison.

“ Thank you, Cathy ,” Edward said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.

Serafina shyly thanked Catherine , as well.

Impulsively , Catherine placed the sleeping Riggs in his bed and leaned over and hugged the girl.

“ I see you got a dog, sister,” Edward said, scratching the pup behind the ears.

“ Yes , his name is Riggs . We saved him from a trap on our way to Scotland ,” she said.

“ It was love at first sight,” Carlton interjected. “ Between your sister and Riggs , that is.”

Catherine glanced at Carlton , confused at his comment. His voice had sounded odd, strained.

“ I need a breath of fresh air, Carlton said abruptly. I’ll instruct Brandon to retrieve your bags from the inn.” Carlton pushed open the door to the carriage and climbed out, not bothering to close it behind him. “ I need to take a minute and think,” he said, causing the others to stare in confusion.

Catherine heard him pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. She could only hear bits and pieces of what he was saying, including something about his best friend Damon and how happy he was with his new wife, Lydia —and how he had seen it coming when they bumped heads together.

Why is he upset over his friend and his wife?

A few minutes later, Carlton stuck his head in. “ Catherine , I need to speak with you for a moment. Can you join me outside?”

Confused , she nodded numbly and allowed him to help her from the carriage.

He began to pace again. “ This thing that happened to us. Maybe it happened for a reason,” he rasped before clearing his throat. “ People do strange things sometimes and there must be a reason for it.”

She glanced around them and noticed a few people were stopping to listen, but Carlton seemed oblivious to them.

“ Four days ago, you rampaged into my life, making all sorts of unfounded accusations about my ward, my business, my reputation. Despite that, I agreed to go on this wild ride with you.” He raked his hands through his hair as he paced. “ But along the way, something happened. I compromised a lot more than I ever have in my life. I put up with a stubborn, argumentative woman who insisted that a note tacked to a tree would be sufficient evidence for a magistrate to arrest a trio of highwaymen, cold-blooded criminals who would have killed us, given the chance. A woman who demanded that I stand guard while she attended to her private needs, but not too close for fear that I would hear something. A woman who worries after the fact that she may have used poisonous leaves and then asks me to examine one of them to make sure. A woman who insisted there was no time to wait for a magistrate to arrest those three highwaymen and then suddenly decides it’s perfectly fine to waste time trudging through the woods to search for a whimpering dog. What man in his right man allows this,” he signaled with a wild motion of his hand, “to happen?”

Catherine opened her mouth to protest, but he held his hand up.

“ Fine , you were right about the dog. But you weren’t right about me.”

“ What do you mean?” She had no idea where he was heading with this, especially after what he just said.

He stopped pacing. “ You never asked me how I truly felt about love when we spoke of such things early on. I want you to ask me now,” he whispered.

“ How do you feel about love?”

“ I never believed in it. I thought it was rubbish. I believed love was for fools.”

“ And do you still believe that?” She blinked back tears.

He shook his head. “ I was wrong. Love can hit you like a thunderbolt. And when it does, there’s no turning back. When you had that nightmare and you kissed me while you were still half asleep, that was the most incredible kiss in my life. And then the second one was even better.” He pulled her close. “ Double damn, woman . Don’t you see? I’m madly in love with you. And I don’t want this irregular Scottish marriage of ours to be annulled.”

“ I … I love you, too,” she whispered. “ Remember when you said it was love at first sight between me and Riggs ?”

“ Yes .”

She took a deep breath. “ I think it was love at first sight when I collided with you at your club four days ago. It took me a while to realize it. I love you so much, Carlton , and I don’t want our marriage annulled either.”

Carlton dropped to his knee. “ Lady Catherine Campbell , you are the most incredible, amazing woman I have ever met. Will you make me the happiest of men and marry me…in a regular way?”

She shook her head. “ I don’t think so.” She placed a finger on his lips as he was about to protest. “ However , I will if you take me to Gretna Green and marry me over the blacksmith’s anvil.”

Catherine dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “ You stole my heart when you agreed to come on this wild ride with me and you put up with everything I threw at you. There is nothing regular about you , my love.”

Carlton gave a loud whoop as he picked her up and twirled her about in his arms. “ Here comes kiss number three.” He grinned as his lips claimed hers.

Applause erupted, and they pulled apart to see Edward and Serafina , Morris , Brandon , and Yates cheering them on, along with a sizeable crowd that had gathered around them.

“ Are you ready for another adventure, my love?” Carlton smiled. The love shining in his eyes made her heart soar.

“ I’m ready, my love.” She smiled through her tears and pulled him down for kiss number four, knowing it would be the best one yet.