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CHAPTER TWELVE

“ D on’t go too far,” Lysander called after Aurelia and Lenora as they ran across the field and toward the small forest. “And don’t go in the forest! Girls!”

“Oh, let them have the fun of it,” Margaret chuckled.

Lysander grimaced, still watching his daughters chase after one another. They were laughing and enjoying themselves and having as much fun as could be, and she could see in Lysander’s expression that he appreciated this fact. But she could also see his worry.

“I’ll let ye in on a wee secret.” Margaret shuffled closer to Lysander and took his hand. He did not pull away, but she hadn’t expected him to. “The easiest way to make a child do what ye wish is to not tell them what to do.”

He scoffed. “So, I should just let them run about like a couple of wild animals?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she laughed. “My meaning is to nae be so strict on them. The more you try to pull them toward you, the harder they will push back. They are children, Lysander. Rebelling against the authority of their kin is what they do.”

“Not Aurelia and Lenora,” he protested. “They know better than that.”

She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. At least he is listening to me for a change. Times were that he would have assumed my advice to be purposefully argumentative, rather than admitting that all I am trying to do is help. That in itself was a huge step forward.

And indeed, Lysander looked across the field after his two daughters.

His expression was pained with worry, and she could see how desperate he was to shout out for them not to go too far.

She kept hold of his hand, watching closely, able to see the moment when he finally admitted to himself that perhaps Margaret was onto something.

“They better not go too far…” He turned away from them.

“They will nae,” she said, smiling with pride because she could not believe that he was so willing to do as she had suggested. Without a fight. Without rancor. It was wild to her how quickly a person could change. “Trust me, as soon as they see that we are nae watchin’ them, they will come back.”

“You better be correct.”

She winked. “When am I ever nae?”

It was a beautiful day, made even better by this little interaction.

In the grand scheme of things, it was nothing and would be forgotten before the day’s end.

But it spoke to the larger picture of the changes that were happening before Margaret’s eyes; changes that both she and the duke were embracing.

The morning had started with a surprise announcement from Lysander, the suggestion that the two of them, as well as Aurelia and Lenora, go for a picnic together.

The Dukedom of Windermoor was made of acres of lush fields and verdant pastures, and he thought it would be nice to settle in somewhere cozy and take advantage of the weather, for it was a bright and sunny day.

Margaret had taken less than a second to say yes.

After what had happened between herself and the duke in his study the previous evening, Margaret had worried that the situation between them might become more confused.

A part of her had worried that when she woke the following morning, he would treat it as a mistake and then commit to sending her away at once. He was stubborn like that.

As it turns out, I had nothing to fear. For once, it seems that Lysander and I are of the same mind on what we want. As to what that is? Each other, by the way he looks at me.

“How did you sleep last night?” Lysander asked her. They were sitting on a picnic blanket together, hands still ensconced, separated only by a small basket filled with snacks for later.

“Very well, thank ye,” she said with a warm smile.

“Oh, that’s a shame,” the duke said, frowning.

“It is?” She blinked and leaned back, surprised.

“Well, yes…” He smirked, and his eyes roamed her body hungrily. “I would have assumed that after yesterday, you might have spent the night tossing and turning. But I supposed that’s my fault.”

Margaret’s eyes widened in surprise, and she had to resist the urge to look away with embarrassment. “Is that what ye think? Someone certainly has a high opinion of himself.”

He laughed. “Am I wrong?”

Margaret’s heart was beating quickly again, her mind drifting to the previous evening. They had not spoken directly of what happened between them yesterday. But moments like this one told Margaret that there was no need.

“Ye are nae,” she said, a sheepish smile as she met the duke’s eyes.

“Good,” he said, dropping his voice low. “If I have things my way, you might never have a good night's sleep again.”

“Do not tease me, Your Grace,” she laughed.

“You will know when I am teasing you.”

Is this what I am ta expect for the rest of this Season? Nights like the previous? The duke is unable to control himself around me? If so, this marriage might not be nearly as bad as I thought.

It was a relief in many ways that the two had come to this understanding. She no longer had to behave herself. She was no longer wary of overstepping in a home that did not feel like her own. And if she dared to get on the duke’s bad side… let us call that a happy accident.

This, of course, raised a new question, one that Margaret was not quite ready to contend with. That being, when the Season did come to an end and she was set to return to Scotland, would she be able to do it?

“Father!” From just behind Lysander, Aurelia’s voice cried out. “You weren’t looking at us!”

Lysander continued to gaze at Margaret, letting the tension between them build. Letting the implication of their conversation resonate. He drank her in fully, breathing deeply as if it was her scent that infused him, before turning around just in time to see the two girls come toward them.

“Was I supposed to be?” he said simply.

Aurelia swept toward them, jumping as she reached them to land on the blanket with a playful cry. “You missed it,” she pretended to pout.

“You missed it, father!” Lenora echoed as she too arrived, out of breath and red in the face.

“And what exactly did I miss?” he laughed.

“I did a handstand,” Aurelia said, her eyes wide and wild with excitement and untamed eagerness. “For thirty seconds, I held it. Did you not see!”

“Oh no,” Lysander said, feigning to be upset. “I must have missed it, sorry.”

“Truly, we thought the two of ye would be long gone by now,” Margaret laughed. “Through the forest, never to be seen again.” She winked at Lysander, letting him see how right she had been. To ignore the girls was to see them return because all they wished for was attention.

“If only,” Lysander chuckled.

“Father!” Aurelia turned on him in shock. “You do not mean that.”

“Maybe I do.”

Lenora threw herself at Lysander, and he wrapped her in his arms and lifted her onto his knees. “Liar! Liar, liar, liar.”

Aurelia, seeing her little sister on her father’s knees, leapt forward and jumped on them both.

Lysander cried out and fell back, and the two girls giggled as they climbed all over him.

He pretended that he could not push them away, begging for them to yield, but they continued to climb on him, laughing joyously the whole while.

Margaret laughed along as she watched them.

Her heart swelled and she smiled more than she had in a long time than she could remember. Sure, the duke and she might not have properly discussed the future. But for now, she reasoned that she was happy with where things seemed to be.

What was more, this little scene right here was one that she had spent her life dreaming of.

Her, the duke, and the two girls felt like one big family.

A happy family. It was all she had ever wanted in her life, an ambition which she could see manifesting right before her eyes.

Although the thought brought its own sadness, for she was not a part of this family, and if things stayed how they were, she never would be.

Nae, do nae worry about that. This marriage is not supposed to go down that path, and such a thing was never promised. Be glad that you and the duke have found a place of comfort. That is the best outcome I can hope for.

It was a bittersweet realization to have.

Margaret had always wanted a family of her own.

But if this marriage ended as it was set to, she likely never would.

How was she meant to feel about that? She could not say.

Then again, being confused seemed to be her life of late, so why should this be any different?