Page 33 of The Duke’s Lessons in Temptation

Cora left the room and found Jeremy and her mother standing in the foyer. “I have agreed to allow Blythe to woo me.”

“He will marry you.”

She frowned at her angry brother. “I know you are upset, but I will not marry any man because he feels obligated to do so. “

Cora rushed back up to her room. Jeremy called after her, but her mother said, “Let her be. It was you, the most, who encouraged her to find love.”

A curse word rang out from her brother. She reached her bedchamber and entered. She knew he was upset, but she needed to know that Damion was marrying her for the right reasons. Well, the only one that mattered, love. Hope filled her that all would be fine.

***

Damion stood in Stanton’s study, wishing he could call Cora back, but he understood her point. She didn’t want to marry because of an impending scandal. She wanted more, and he would give her just that.

Stanton stalked back in with his mother. Damion rubbed at his jaw, which he’d taken a blow to twice this evening; still, he felt optimistic. His friend fixed him with a withering glare. “I trusted you.”

“I love her.”

The dowager duchess sighed at the romantic declaration, but his friend was having none of it. “You ruined her. As you said yourself, it will be in the papers tomorrow morning.”

It would be. Harrington would make sure of it. The man spread gossip uncontrollably. “I have a plan. I want to host a party at my country estate. I will propose to her there. The grand event will quell the gossip, but more than anything, it will make Cora understand how much I adore and love her.”

“What if she still refuses?” the dowager duchess asked.

“I won’t give up until she understands that I love her. Cora cares for me but fears that I’m trying to be honorable. I’m not. I want her. It is that simple.”

“I thought your heart was permanently dedicated to your first wife.”

He grimaced, regretting letting society come to their own conclusions about his previous marriage. “My wife was a good person, but she and I didn’t love each other in the way we should have. I know what society gossips about, but it isn’t correct. When she became sick, she was leaving me for someone else.”

Sadness flicked across the dowager duchess’s face. “I always wonder how true the gossip was. Still, I’m sorry.”

“I swore I would never love again because I didn’t want to be hurt. Cora changed that.”

“When did you even get to know each other?” Stanton asked.

The back of Damion’s neck went hot. “It is complicated.”

“None of it matters. Blythe needs to depart. I imagine he will be busy setting up this ball for your sister. I shall convince her to attend.”

Jeremy looked at her mother with a mixture of outrage and confusion. “You are fine with all of this.”

She patted her son on the cheek. “Love is messy. It kind of reminds me of how your father and I met.”

“You met in a scandalous situation.”

The dowager duchess snorted. “Don’t be such a prude. Blythe loves her, and I suspect your sister loves him too.”

Damion smiled at her, grateful. “Thank you, Your Grace. I do, and I am more than happy to declare it as loudly as I can.”

Stanton sighed. “When will this grand event be?”

“In a week. It will be a weekend party, starting with a ball. My estate is only an hour from London, so everyone can come dressed for the evening event and then stay for another few days. If there are no other questions, I will take my leave.”

Both Stanton and his mother shook their heads. He made it to the door before Stanton called out his name. Damion turned back, and Jeremy said, “I love my sister. Make her happy.”

“I swear that I will spend the rest of my life attempting to do so.”

Chapter 14