The Duke's Ugly Duckling: Regency Romance (Regency Fairytale Romance Book 2) by Charity McColl

Author:Charity McColl [McColl, Charity]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PureRead
Published: 2016-08-24T18:30:00+00:00

7

A Most Noble Man

Albert stared at Stewart, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I have brought up my daughter with the help of a nanny, from when she was born. Florence was always a happy child, with a big heart and very obedient. Many of the things we made her do, she did with blind obedience, never once questioning the decisions we made on her behalf.”

“She sounds like a wonderful young woman. How old is she?’

“She turned eighteen six months ago, and four months ago I lost my wife, her mother.” Stewart took a deep breath. “From the moment Florence was born, her mother rejected her, shunning her for the whole of her life. Monica wouldn’t come near our daughter, not even once. So Florence grew up living in the same house with a mother who never once expressed a desire to see her.”

“But why?”

“My daughter was born with a harelip, and that was imperfection according to my wife. It was sad because to me she is the most precious girl on this earth. Over the years I would hear of different treatments for the defect and take my child to London, spending a considerable amount of money, but none of the doctors restored her face. If anything all it did was give her more ugly scars on her upper lip. When Florence turned fifteen I felt she had had enough so I stopped seeking further treatment.”

“That must have been hard for a young girl, seeing herself with all those scars.”

“We didn’t have mirrors in the house, except of course in my wife’s bedroom. Florence never saw her own reflection until the day her mother died, when she was eighteen. It was a great shock to her and for a while I thought I would lose her too.”

The deep emotion in the older man’s voice told Albert that he was dealing with a father who loved his daughter very much. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Well,” Stewart laughed briefly. “I didn’t come here to talk about my family tragedies. As I said, I have a proposition for you. On my way in I saw that you have a lovely home, and it could be well kept if only you had the means. And given the life that you have chosen to live after your accident, I believe you and I could come to an agreement, if you’re willing.”

“I’m listening.”

“I won’t lie to you, Florence’s face is badly disfigured, but other than that she is a normal young woman in every way. Even though the doctors weren’t able to remodel her face, at least one of them enabled her to speak and eat normally, not like before.” Stewart looked at Albert but he said nothing. “My proposition is that you take my daughter as your wife, and she comes with a very large dowry, for I am a man of considerable means. The Lord has been good to me over the years and all my businesses are flourishing and quite successful. As

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