Page 32 of I Never Forget a Duke (The Night Fire Club #1)

The furniture in the room was beautiful.

Adele was starting to feel the extent of Hugh’s wealth and the prestige of his family.

The room wasn’t showy, but the quality of the items in it led her to conclude that it had cost a great deal to decorate.

Adele opened a cabinet off to one side and saw it contained several bottles of whisky and wine.

There was also a writing desk that had been used regularly, as a shallow box of fine paper lay open, a stoppered ink bottle beside it.

Everything here was in good condition; nothing was dusty or worn or scarred the way everything in the Sweeney house was.

When Adele returned to the hallway, she heard voices and followed them.

“I cannot believe you brought her here,” the dowager said. “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that she needs a place to stay. Sweeney is selling the house, and her father does not own property in London. What would you have me do?”

“You should have left well enough alone. She does not belong here.”

“I intend to marry her, Mother. And I refuse to keep having this argument. Is this not better? You will have time to plan a grand wedding as befitting a Duke of Swynford, which I know you have long wished to do. I could have taken her to Scotland and married her quickly and not given you a say in the matter.”

“But this woman?”

“You do not even know her, Mother. I think that if you get to know her over the next few weeks, you will like her immensely.”

Adele leaned against the wall outside this sitting room and pressed a hand to her chest. She greatly appreciated Hugh’s defense of her, but the fact that the dowager still disapproved bothered her a great deal.

“I could arrange a more suitable wife for you,” said the dowager.

“You will do no such thing. I’ve made my choice. And I do not want to argue this point anymore. You are my mother, and I love you and value your opinion, but I am the Duke of Swynford, and so I have the final word here.”

Adele was startled by the forcefulness of his tone. She’d never heard him use a tone like that before, but it was confident and left no room for argument. Adele imagined he’d be quite intimidating in a fight.

Apparently the dowager did not feel she could argue either.

Hugh went on, “Adele will remain in the violet bedroom until after the wedding, and then she will move to my rooms. I ask that you stay here until after the wedding for the sake of propriety, but if you cannot accept Lady Adele, you can remove to one of the country houses. Although not Swynford House, for I intend to go there once the season is over.”

“You would throw me out?”

“No. I’m giving you a choice. Accept Adele or leave.”

“But what will your friends think?”

“My true friends will support this marriage. The rest of society can object all they want. It does not signify. Adele is a wonderful woman and I care about her a great deal. Marrying her will make me happy. The Marquess of Anglesy married a commoner a few months ago and did not become a social outcast.”

“I will not have the Swynford name sullied by that woman.”

“Then you have a very poor understanding of what it takes to sully a name. And, I repeat, if you do not like it, you can leave.”

Adele heard footsteps and ducked into the nearest empty room. She heard the dowager grunt with frustration as she fled the room. After she heard the dowager walk upstairs, Adele crept into the sitting room where Hugh sat staring up at a portrait of a man Adele did not recognize.

Adele cleared her throat.

Hugh turned and gave her a startled look. “Adele. How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough.”

Hugh nodded. “She will come around. It will take some time, but… she will come to see how good you are and will cease this useless protest.”

Adele walked into the room and sat beside Hugh on the sofa. “I will admit to a certain amount of naiveté regarding what makes the reputations of members of the ton . Will marrying me really hurt your name that much?”

“No. I… how much do you know of your father’s reputation.”

“He is a politician and people do not like him. I have seen some of the ugly rumors in the scandal sheets.”

Hugh nodded. “My friends think most of the stories told about Canbury are false and made up by his political opponents in order to ruin his reputation.”

“Father is ambitious.”

“Yes. And that level of ambition is generally frowned upon by the gentry. I do not much begrudge it.”

“Have you spoken to him?”

“Not yet. Owen—that is, the Earl of Caernarfon—is also a member of Lords and is trying to discern Canbury’s schedule so that I can meet with him.”

Adele nodded. “I don’t want to do anything to hurt you or your reputation.”

Hugh smiled. “You are not. Men marry women whose fathers have dubious reputations all the time. A woman’s father does not matter so much as the woman herself.

And so many ton marriages seem little more than financial transactions anyway.

Why, I believe Viscount Benton married the daughter of a wealthy commoner so that he could use her dowry to pay off some debts.

I believe my reasoning for marrying you is far more sound for a successful marriage. ”

Adele’s heart pounded. She reached over and took his hand. “And what is that reasoning?”

“I care about you. I enjoy spending time with you more than I do with any other woman of my acquaintance. When I think about our life together, I can picture it clearly.”

But do you love me? Adele wanted to ask. It was not often that men and women of their stations married for love, but it wasn’t a completely foreign concept.

Hugh answered her unasked question by leaning forward and kissing her softly. Adele sighed into the kiss. She loved the pressure of his lips on her, loved the warmth that spread through her body.

“I put you in the violet room because it is adjacent to mine,” Hugh said. “Mother’s rooms are at the other end of the floor upstairs.”

“Are you implying you’d like for me come to you at night?”

“I most assuredly would, but it is your choice. If you want to wait until the wedding, I shall endeavor to endure our nights apart.”

Adele smiled, cheered that he was giving her a choice. She needed a little time to adjust to the fact that she would be with him. They would be married! “We have our whole lives ahead of us.”

“That we do, my lady.”