Page 49 of The Duke In My Bed (The Heirs’ Club of Scoundrels #1)

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

Bray strode through the front door, taking off his gloves.

He threw them and his hat onto a side table.

He heard barking and looked up to see Saint heading toward him.

The dog jumped into his arms. Bray rubbed the top of his head and was happy to see Saint for about three seconds.

Then it dawned on him, What is the spaniel doing here?

Was Louisa so outraged with him that she took Saint away from the girls and brought him back?

Did she hate him so much that she would punish her sisters and not let them keep the dog?

This went beyond the pale, even for Louisa.

He would not have it. He kept Saint in his arms and picked up his hat and gloves.

He would show her who was in charge. He was taking the dog back to the girls, whether she wanted him to or not.

Saint was their pet, and she might as well like it—because the spaniel stayed with the girls.

“Your Grace,” Mr. Tidmore said, rushing into the vestibule. “I’m so glad you are home.”

“Not anymore, I’m not. I’m heading right back out.”

“But, Your Grace, didn’t you get my message?”

Bray opened the door. “No, but whatever it was, it can wait. I’m taking Saint back to the Prim sisters.”

“But the sisters are here.”

Bray quickly turned back to his butler. “What did you say?”

“The Prim girls are here—all five of them. They are in the dining room, having dinner. They arrived about midafternoon, and when it neared dinnertime and they made no attempt to leave, I didn’t know what to do except prepare for them.”

“Here? In my dining room?” Bray asked again, just to be sure.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Bray stuffed the dog, his hat, and his gloves into the butler’s arms. His mind was swirling with different possibilities as to why Louisa and her sisters might be at his house, but he was too stunned at the moment to make sense of any of them.

He walked into the dining room, and the most inviting and welcoming feeling he’d ever felt flowed gently over him like a pail of warm water, covering him from head to toe.

The girls immediately rose from their chairs and stood silently beside them. Flames crackled in the fireplace. A white cloth, lighted candles, and beautiful china, silver, and crystal sparkled on the table. Bray had never seen his dining room set for dinner.

His gaze lighted on Louisa’s face. She looked beautiful and wary, almost frightened, as if she thought he might throw them all out.

“Please, sit down,” he said. “Finish your dinner.”

“I’m sure they won’t be much longer, Your Grace,” Mr. Tidmore said behind Bray.

“We’ve just started,” Louisa said softly. “Would you like to join us?”

Would I?

Bray didn’t speak but went to the head of the table and pulled out his chair. They all sat down.

Mr. Tidmore said, “I’ll have your place set at once, Your Grace.”

One maid served the girls while another laid a plate, silver, and a glass in front of him. He kept looking at Louisa. He didn’t want to make any more mistakes. He didn’t know what had brought her and her sisters to his house, but now that they were here, he didn’t want them to leave.

He’d been at countless dinner parties with the finest china and silver, and the best wines money could buy, but he’d never sat down at his own table. He really didn’t know what to do, so he picked up his wine and sipped it.

After everyone had been served beef, potatoes, and something green, Bray noticed that no one picked up her fork.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked, looking from one sister to the next.

“You are at the head of the table, Your Grace,” Gwen said. “We are waiting for you to pick up your fork.”

“Oh, yes.” He knew that but had forgotten. Bray reached for his fork.

“Do I have to eat that green mash on my plate?” Sybil asked.

“You know you do,” Louisa admonished, and picked up her fork.

“I don’t want to eat it either,” Bonnie said.

“It looks like—”

“Sybil,” Louisa said, quickly cutting her off. “Mind your manners.”

Bray didn’t like the looks of the green food either. “Would you girls like to know what we used to do with food we didn’t want to eat when I was at Eton?” he asked, setting down his fork.

“Yes,” came the loud and collective answer.

“The rolls were always hard.” He picked up his roll and hit it twice on the table.

“Much harder than these, as I remember.” He took his knife and cut a hole about the size of a penny in one end of it and laid the piece of crust aside.

“After you’ve cut the hole, take your knife like this and scrape out the entire soft center. Be careful you don’t break the crust.”

The girls watched him with rapt attention, and so did Louisa. He kept returning his attention to her. He couldn’t believe she was actually sitting at his table.

“Once you have the bread out of the middle, take your spoon and carefully poke the green mash into the hole like this. You may not get it all in there, but you’ll get most of it.

Then shove the little piece of crust back into the hole like this to cover up the evidence.

See.” He turned the bread around and showed them there was no sign of green mash inside the roll.

They clapped and laughed.

“I’m going to do it,” Sybil said.

“Me, too,” Bonnie agreed.

“Do you know what you are teaching my sisters, Your Grace?” Louisa asked.

He looked at her. There was no reprimand in her tone or her expression. “Yes, Miss Prim, I do,” he said, and picked up his fork again.

The girls laughed and chatted as they worked on their rolls.

“May I speak, Your Grace?” Lillian asked.

“You can always speak in this house, Lillian.”

“I learned the score that plays on your music box. I can play it on the pianoforte for you after dinner if you would like.”

“Lillian, you shouldn’t—”

“No, wait, Louisa,” he said. She looked tentatively at him. He gave his attention back to Lillian. “You learned to play it after hearing it only a few times that afternoon?”

She nodded. “It was a simple tune.”

“Then yes, I’d love to hear you play it after dinner.”

“I can show you my button collection,” Sybil said while stuffing her green mash into her roll. “Louisa let me bring it with me so I would keep my hands to myself and not touch anything.”

He looked over at Louisa, and she smiled shyly at him. He smiled, too.

“I have some real old ones and some military ones you might like to look at,” Sybil continued. “And if you have a collection, you can show me yours if you want to.”

Bray laughed softly. “I don’t have a button collection, Sybil. I’ve never seen one, but I would love to see yours.”

“I have a doll,” Bonnie said. “You can hold my doll if you want to. Her name is Caroline. She’s a girl, but she won’t mind if you hold her. I’ve told her you’re a nice gentleman.”

“Thank you, Bonnie,” he said, and looked at Louisa. “I’m glad there is at least one young lady at the table who thinks I’m a gentleman.”

“You’ll like Caroline. She’s soft.”

“I’ve never held a doll, but I suppose I could learn how to do that, too.”

Bray sat back in his chair and thought, So this is what family dinner was all about: sharing.

“Gwen, do you have something you would like to show me tonight?” he asked.

She looked down at her plate, hesitating. “The only thing I brought with me is a letter from Mr. Standish. I think it will be all right if you read it.”

Good. The rake had listened to him. “Only if you want me to.”

“And what about you, Louisa? Do you have anything to say tonight?” he asked.

“I have a question for you, Your Grace,” Louisa said.

He looked at her and wanted to kiss her so bad, his hand tightened on his fork.

“Will you marry me?”

Gasps sounded all over the room, and the loudest came from Bray. He rose, almost knocking over his chair. “Hell yes.” He stopped and looked down the table at the girls and added, “That’s a biblical word, girls, and you might as well get used to hearing it.”

Louisa rose as well, and he wrapped her in his arms and hugged her to him as closely as he could. Damn, she felt good. He looked down into her sparkling blue eyes, thinking it would upset her, but he was going to have to kiss her right in front of all her sisters.

“I love you, Bray,” she whispered earnestly, softly. “I want to be your wife. I can accept that you only want me and don’t love me.”

He placed his fingertip to her lips and hushed her. “I do love you, Louisa. It must be love, and I love this big noisy family you have given me. I accept.”

“Does the hug mean you’ll marry Louisa?” Bonnie asked.

“Yes,” Bray said. “Now, all of you close your eyes because I’m about to kiss your sister.”

Bonnie, Sybil, Lillian, and Gwen jumped up and started screaming.

Bray kissed Louisa with all the love he was feeling for her.

Suddenly, he felt a set of small arms go around his waist, squeezing him, but he kept kissing Louisa.

Another pair of small arms went around him and then another.

He broke the kiss and looked down to see that all four girls were hugging him.

“Does this mean we will live here with you?” Sybil asked.

Bray reached out his arms and hugged all the girls to him. “Yes, all of you will live with us until you marry, but don’t scream,” he said, but it was too late—they were already squealing and jumping for joy.

Bray tuned them out and claimed Louisa’s sweet lips once again.