Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

T he more Samantha listened, the more she felt that it was a story and nothing more. It couldn't have been true; nobody hated their children that much, even her father.

"That sounds terrible," she whispered. "And I suppose it never improved?"

"It was truly awful for a while," he explained. "William and Andrew seemed to join forces with Nicholas and do everything in their power to destroy me, but when it did not work, they both stopped. I have not seen them since our father died, and I think it is for the best. Nicholas, on the other hand, never stopped."

"Which is why you believe that he blackmailed us?"

"Yes. It is why I told you that he will stop at nothing to even slightly call my reputation into question. There is no appeasing him."

"I am sorry," she sighed. "I shouldn't have been so difficult about your plan. I simply did not know, and my own sister would never do that to me. It did not make sense to me."

"It would not make sense to you because you have never had to handle such a situation. It is a sort of naivete that you have, and I have to admit that it does grate on me at times."

Samantha was not surprised by this. She had always thought that she was worldly and wise, but the Duke was right. She was naive when it came to people with bad intentions, and he had every right to dislike it.

"I apologize. I do not mean to be aggravating deliberately."

"There is no need to apologize. You couldn't have known. In truth, it makes me want to protect you because Heaven knows you wouldn't know if someone did it again."

This was a different side of her husband to the one she had seen before. There was a passion and sincerity about him that she had not once considered that he might have. She enjoyed it a great deal, far more than she dared tell him.

"It is rather late," she said suddenly, noticing that the sky was becoming dark, and the sun was dipping.

"Oh, so it is," he agreed. "I shall return you to your home."

It was so simple, so matter of fact, but suddenly Samantha did not wish to return home. She was perfectly happy where she was, and it was not helped by the fact that she did not want to return to her unbearable father though she tried to ease her concerns by telling herself that she would be seeing him far less frequently.

Once inside the carriage, sitting more closely together than they ever had before, Samantha tried to tear her eyes away from him. It had been so sudden, but she could not deny that there was an attraction there. She tried to tell herself that it was because he was kind and nothing more than that, but she knew that it was untrue. Whatever was making her feel this way, it was not stopping, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

She did not want to leave the carriage, and when he tried to help her out, she practically collapsed into his arms rather than gracefully taking his hand. He steadied her, his face agonizingly close to hers, but she did not dare act upon anything.

"Thank you," she whispered, "for protecting me."

"You need not thank me. It is my duty."

"Yes," she sighed gently, "Your duty and nothing more. In any case, I will do better. I will be more suspicious of others from this moment on."

"No," he said quickly. "No, do not do that. Please do not do that."

She wanted to ask him why, but she could not bring herself to. She could not bear the thought of what the answer might have been. He went to enter the carriage once more, but she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.

"Yes?"

Suddenly, she could not think of a single thing to say to him.

"It is only that I — well — Diana was hoping that we would join them for dinner tomorrow evening."

"That is rather short notice."

"It is, but that is my fault. I have had a good while to tell you, but I have been forgetful and —"

"It is perfectly fine. We shall attend if that is what you wish."

She could only nod in response and then pretend not to feel her heart aching as he left.

Her father was not invited to the dinner. Samantha had arrived before Graham, at her sister's request, so that they could speak without what Diana called ‘listening ears'.

"So, how are things with your duke?" Diana asked, eyes narrowed slightly.

"How are things with yours?"

"Do not play coy. You do not seem half as frightened as before."

"Well, that is simply because I am not," Samantha explained. "He is not a bad man, Di. In fact, I would say that he is quite kind to me. I suppose I judged him too quickly."

"As he did you, yes. He is not forgiven for that, you know."

"I do not think that he expects forgiveness, but he will prove that he has changed. Truly, he has."

"Has his opinion of you changed or of people of our status as a whole? That is an important distinction to make."

"Sister, you are a duchess. You are hardly of my status."

"I am not ashamed of where I come from. We are from humble beginnings, and it makes us bearable. My point stands: we were not born into the same life as he was, and so he sees people like us in a certain way. Has that changed?"

"You shall have to see for yourself as he has only truly met myself and our father, and whilst his opinion of me has changed, I cannot say the same for his opinion of our father."

"Well, that is to the surprise of nobody. Very well, I shall give him a chance. Beyond that, however, how does he make you feel?"

"Perfectly fine."

"And is that all?"

Samantha blinked. How could she tell her sister that she found him rather attractive but did not dare act upon it because it was utterly impossible that he would feel the same, and that was only if that was how she truly felt, and it was not simply because he was kind to her? She had never kept secrets from Diana, but there was nothing to tell until she knew what it was she wished to say.

"That is all for the moment."

"But you see it changing?"

"That is what happened to you, is it not?"

Diana blushed slightly to which Samantha looked at her triumphantly.

"In any case," she continued, "he is a good man and will be a good husband, and I shall have my freedom. Who could ask for more?"

"You must always want more when it comes to matters of the heart."

"This is not a matter of the heart," she lied. "This is a practical solution for our problems and nothing more."

"If you insist."

If Samantha had not pitied Graham when he told her about his childhood, she certainly did when she saw how Diana and her husband Colin looked at him when he arrived. They were more like wild animals than hosts, and she did not know whether or not Graham was affected by it.

"So," Diana said as pointedly as Samantha had ever heard, "you intend to marry my sister, yes?"

"That is my intention," Graham replied carefully.

"And might you have any other intentions besides that?"

"Diana!" Samantha hissed, but Graham seemed unfazed.

"I intend to take care of her if that is what you mean. I am aware in general of how the two of you were raised, and you must know that I wish to take that pain away from her."

"And what of your childhood?" Colin asked, leaning forward. "I must say, I am not familiar with your family name."

"That is for the better, I suppose. I am not particularly proud of where I come from, but I prefer to rely on the name that I have made for myself rather than the one that I inherited. As a duke yourself, I am sure that you know the feeling."

This seemed to satisfy Colin, who promptly sat back in his chair.

"My sister tells me that you will try to enroll her in university," Diana continued. "Will this be before or after you have children?"

"At first, I said it would wait until after, but I soon changed my mind. If it is what your sister wants, then it is what she will have at any cost. Money is no object to me. If anything, I wish to burn through it as quickly as I can."

"So, you are untrustworthy with money?"

"Not at all. I have simply been left an inheritance that is worth more than I know what to do with, and I am more than happy to spend it as I see fit, and if my wife wishes to have tutors or attend university, then let me simply say that it can and will be done. I want her happiness every bit as much as you do."

Samantha wondered how Diana would take that. For years, she had been the only one to want Samantha's happiness, and for someone to say they wanted it just as much as she did was rather dangerous.

Fortunately, Diana liked this response and at last sat back in her chair like her husband.

"Very well," she accepted. "In which case, it is wonderful to meet you, and I simply cannot wait to get to know you more."

At last, Diana was back to normal. They all laughed gently, and Diana sighed and took a deep breath.

"My apologies," she smirked. "I only asked because I doubt that my father has, and I cannot have my sister running away with a man that does not have her best interests at heart."

"I would not marry her if I did not."

"You need not say such things. My sister has explained your situation, and whilst I am surprised that she managed to make such a blunder, I will tell you that we understand your position more than you might think."

Samantha tensed. She knew that her sister was not trying to infer anything, but it still did not feel nice to have Diana speaking so brazenly about what had happened. She felt like a child and as though she had to sit quietly while those of age spoke with one another.

The three of them began discussing matters that Samantha did not know too much about, and for the first time in her life, she felt as though she were not truly a part of things when she should have. At the party Lord Drowshire hosted, she did not know anyone in attendance, and so it was perfectly normal to feel different, but now? She was sitting with her fiancé, her sister, and her brother-in-law, and she could not think of a single thing to say. All that she could do was watch them converse and wish she knew what to say.

Diana made Graham laugh. She made him really, truly laugh. Samantha had never seen him so happy, and she did not know how to feel. They had enjoyed each other's company and talked about their childhoods and all that they had faced and overcome and needed, but was that enough? Would she make her husband happy, or could he find someone better suited to him? It was nauseating.

A few hours later, Graham thanked his hosts and left. Samantha stayed behind, and Colin quickly made himself scarce so that the two sisters could speak with one another.

"You seemed rather tense," Diana said gently, "Were you all right? I should have asked sooner, but I did not wish to make a fuss."

"I was perfectly fine. It was rather unnerving to see you both change so drastically when you were speaking to him."

"Surely you understand why we did that? We had discussed it beforehand, that we were going to try and intimidate him. Do you suppose it worked?"

"I do not believe so, no."

"Then that is perfect. We cannot have you married to a gentleman that cannot hold his own, and as far as I am concerned, he most certainly can."

"I'm nervous, Di," Samantha said suddenly.

"That is to be expected. Your wedding is in two days. I would hope you feel something, at least, else it would be proof that you did not care at all. Everything will work out beautifully though, you will see, and if it does not, then you always have us. I promise."

Samantha thought about her sister's words as she travelled home. She had always had Diana, but that evening, she had felt ignored, and even after she had come to her with her problem, it almost felt as though Diana had dismissed her. She had never done that before, and Samantha hated it. She could not help but feel as though she was losing her sister, the one constant in her life, and all because she was to be married. It was unfair, but she tried to remain calm. If this was how it was going to be, at least she would have a husband that cared for her.

That was, if he did.

Regardless, she did not have time to be concerned. She was to be married, and whether she liked it or not, there was no way out of it. The contract was signed, and the event was merely a formality.

She did not wish to be confronted by her father when she stepped inside. She did not wish to answer his questions about what they discussed and why he was not invited and when he would receive an invitation as she knew the honest answer was that he never would, but she did not dare tell him that. Instead, however, he seemed all too happy to see her which somehow frightened her even more.

"You shall never guess who is attending your wedding," he smirked.

"The Queen?" she asked, and he laughed in her face.

"No, it is someone far more important to me. To both of us."

"I do not know, Father. I really ought to go to sleep now, though, as the final preparations are to be done tomorrow, and I cannot be overtired for them. The wedding must be perfect after all."

"Yes, especially now."

Samantha froze.

"Why now?"

"Because," he grinned, "your brother has sent word. You shall be meeting him at last."