Spinster and the Duke by Jillian Eaton

Author:Jillian Eaton [Eaton, Jillian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-09-24T05:00:00+00:00

In the parlor, their voices hushed and their expression worried, Dianna and Charlotte discussed Abigail’s unusual behavior.

“She has been acting odd for days,” Dianna confided. Biting her lip, she set aside her untouched glass of lemonade and began to pace the middle of the room, her shoes sinking silently into the thick Persian carpet. “I never should have told her the Duke of Ashburn was returning to England.”

“And let her receive the shock of her life when he turned up on her doorstep?” Charlotte arched one russet brow. “I would think not. You did the right thing. Now we have to decide what to do next.”

Needing to do something with her hands, Dianna plucked a crystal swan off a side table and absently stroked its long feathered back. “I do not know if we should interfere.”

Charlotte snorted. “So says the woman who dragged me to an illicit masquerade ball so I could woo a stranger into marrying me.”

“It worked, did it not?”

A warm smile captured the corners of Charlotte’s mouth, curving her lips upwards even as she rested a hand over her growing belly. “It certainly did. You know her better than I, but I would imagine there is a reason she never married even after all these years and it is not because she is unattractive or ill suited. Why, your aunt has to be one of the most intelligent women I know.”

“She is absolutely wonderful,” Dianna agreed without hesitation, “and most deserving of her own happily-ever-after. I just wish I knew if Ashburn is the one meant to give it to her.”

Charlotte was quiet for a moment before she said, “I of all people know how it feels to be pressured in marrying someone you do not love. I can imagine that pressure is tenfold when you are destined to inherit a dukedom. I am sure Ashburn did what he thought was right at the time, even knowing it would cost him the woman he loved. And he could have come back and tried to make her his mistress, but he stayed away all of these years.”

“Do you really think Aunt Abigail is the reason he lived in France?”

“Why else? His family and his holdings were all in England. True, his wife was from France, but it is customary for the woman to follow the husband, not the other way around, especially given all of the political drama between our countries.”

Dianna sat heavily on the edge of an ivory chaise lounge. “I never thought of it that way. It makes sense, however. Thirty years without a word. You would think he forgot all about her, wouldn’t you? But then his wife passes and he is on the first ship back to England.”

“Highly suspicious,” Charlotte agreed.

“And romantic, if you forget he broke her heart. Poor Aunt Abigail. She loves him still. I know she does.”

“We have to do something.”

“Yes, but what? She does not want to see him. I think she is afraid.”

“Afraid? Afraid of what?”

“Of going through it all again.

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