Page 66 of The Duke's Indecent Match

Almost.

If only she had waited.If only she had not trapped him.

No matter what she did now, it did not make up for it; that underlying thread of the original deceit remained.

He could not forget it, no matter how much he wanted to.

He also had to wonder if what he was seeing now was more acting.More duplicity.The way she’d drawn him in at the house party.Not just him either.Christian.Astrid.Tiffany and Gregory.Delilah.They’d all befriended her.Enjoyed her company.Hell, Astrid and Tiffany had already forgiven her.

What her goal might be, he could not fathom, unless she was trying to ingratiate herself so that he would forget the antecedents of their marriage.Would that he could.

It was not until Julianna glanced at him with concern that he realized his smile had faded and he was gritting his teeth.Immediately, he traded out his expression for a more neutral one.Still, the joy he’d gotten from his sisters’ reactions had already faded when reminded of the truth.

Thankfully, the meal was coming to an end.

Normally, the lady of the house would invite the other ladies to withdraw with her, leaving the gentlemen to their libations.His wife paused, looking around the table, obviously uncertain of what to do.After all, this was a family dinner, not a formal one, and she did not know how the Hall normally operated.

They had not been so formal in years, not since long before Nathanial’s father had died.

Julianna saved her.

“Time to get ready for bed, Fiona,” Julianna said, smiling.

Normally, Fiona was not averse to going to bed, but the excitement of a new family member had obviously gotten to her, and she pouted, slumping down in her chair.

“I want to stay up late.”Obviously hoping that her new sister-in-law would be a softer touch than the rest of her siblings, Fiona turned to her with wide, appealing eyes.“Can I stay up late?Since it’s a special occasion?”

Nathanial could have interceded, but he was curious as to how his wife would handle the situation.

She only hesitated a moment before smiling kindly.

“Tomorrow is going to be averybusy day.I think getting as much rest as you can is a good idea.Besides, the faster you fall asleep, the faster morning will come, and the sooner we’ll be on our way to the shops.”

Rather than sulking at being denied, Fiona sat up straight with excitement.

“The faster I shall have my new dress!”She jumped up out of her seat and ran to the door before impatiently turning.“Julianna, comeon.” Then she disappeared down the hall, her footsteps quickly fading at the pace she was moving.

Laughing, Julianna got to her feet.

“She does not need me to help her get ready, but she likes the company,” Julianna explained.“I will probably follow her straight to bed.As you said, tomorrow will be a busy day.”

The smile that wreathed her face at the thought did make Nathanial’s chest loosen a touch.As did Emma’s smile as she got to her feet.

“I should like to make an early night of it as well,” she said.Truthfully, she was probably going back to her room to read before she went to bed.Any of the manuscripts or books that had been worth anything had been sold, of course, but that had still left a substantial portion of the library intact.Emma often had her nose in a book.

Nathanial valiantly suppressed the urge to tell her to stay, to keep him from being alone with his wife.It was not his sisters’ responsibility to manage his marriage for him.

“Good night,” he said, at the same time as his wife.He just managed to keep from glancing at her as his sisters left the room.

Sitting perfectly still, back straight, she looked at the dishes left on the table.Before she could say anything, Miss Milford came bustling in, probably alerted to the end of the meal by Fiona’s abrupt and rather noisy departure.She smiled and bobbed a curtsy.

“Are you finished, Your Graces?”

“Yes, thank you, Miss Milford,” Nathanial said, getting to his feet.To his left, his wife slowly rose to hers as well.Her plate was cleared, though she had not put much on it to begin with.Whether the meal had not been to her liking or if she’d just not felt like eating, he was not sure.

It would not matter to me except I need her to be healthy to bear my heir.

That was obviously why he cared.If she was experiencing some kind of emotional distress over realizing what marriage to him meant, which affected her appetite, surely that was the least of what she deserved.