Page 86 of The Scottish Duke's Deal

“That, or your handwriting’s gotten worse,” she said dryly.

He gave a huff. “I didn’t expect you to come even if it reached you in time.”

Lady Fraser folded her hands in her lap. “You didn’t expect me to want to see you marry?”

“I didn’t expect you to forgive me.”

Her head tilted. “For what?”

“For leaving. For being gone so long. For not writing as often as I should have.”

She seemed to consider that. “I’m not so frail I require daily correspondence, Ramsay.”

“But I left you alone. After all you’ve done for me.”

Lady Fraser’s expression softened—barely, but he caught it. “I didn’t raise you to stay tethered. I raised you to survive. And you’ve done that. You’ve more than done that.”

He let the silence stretch. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t easy, either.

“Your friends are asking for you,” she said after a pause. “Niall’s boy got married. Robbie’s joined the navy. Your old horse took ill, but he’s still breathing, stubborn as ever. And the rest… well, they’re waiting. They want to know when you’re coming home.”

Ramsay looked at the floor. “I don’t know if I am.”

“You’ve been saying you would since you left.”

“I know,” he said. “But this—” He gestured vaguely. “This isn’t what I thought it’d be. The title. The estate. I didn’t think I’d care, and now, I do. I didn’t think I’d stay, and now, I?—”

“Do.”

He nodded once.

“And does that include your duchess?”

He looked up sharply. “Don’t.”

Lady Fraser blinked. “I meant no harm.”

“Then don’t talk about her like she’s a burden.”

“I didn’t,” she said, voice calm. “I just asked.”

“She’s the reason I don’t hate it here,” he said after a moment, quieter now. “London. The whole bloody aristocratic circus. She makes it tolerable. No. She makes it…” He trailed off. Couldn’t quite say it.

Fraser watched him closely. “You love her.”

He smiled at her. “You’re infuriating, woman.”

“Your duchess and I have that in common.”

He looked up. “You like her?”

“I find her sharp. Self-possessed. And entirely too clever to let someone like you off the hook.”

He let out a breath that might’ve been relief. “Her grandmother’s intolerable.”

“Agreed. She thinks the world owes her an audience.”

“She thinksIowe her an apology.”