Page 91 of The Mistletoe Dare

The dowager’s mouth tightened. “You’ll never find your place as duchess, not as I did. No one will respect you, as they do not respect him.”

“If your place is to be alone in this room with a lot of frills and gewgaws and no friends, then I am of glad of it. My husband respects me, as do the people whose respect matters to me. I am sorry if you do not like the fact that we are happy, or that I am the new duchess, but I am afraid neither your opinion nor your words disturb me, but take heart. I have no wish to disturb you either. I doubt our paths will cross very much. Unless you wish to keep dining with your mama every month, Rochford?”

She turned to him, finding him looking a little stunned but with a smile curving his mouth.

“No, love,” he said, the smile deepening. “Mother always made it plain she did not enjoy my company, and I only did it out of duty.”

“I think you have done your duty,” Georgie said, taking his hand before turning back to the dowager. “Though if you wish for our company, you need only ask for us.”

It was clear Rochford’s mother was a spiteful woman who delighted in causing her son pain, and Georgie meant to put an end to that. If, however, the dowager wished to make amends, that could only be for the good, but it must be she who made the first move. Georgie would not have her husband feel rejected all over again.

“Well then, that’s the introductions done,” Georgie said, smiling up at Rochford. “Let’s go and make ourselves at home, shall we?”

Which was exactly what they did.

Epilogue

Dearest Georgie,

I was so thrilled to hear of your marriage to Rochford last week. A duchess no less! How splendid you are, and how lucky to be so blissfully happy with a good man. There seem few of that kind around, or at least, few that I do not regard as brothers or dear friends.

Do you know I had seven proposals of marriage last year? Seven! And four of them were over fifty. Disgusting old goats. The other three were acceptable on the face of it, handsome, wealthy, titled – but I did not want any of them. Oh, Georgie, if I don’t marry soon, I shall get a reputation for being a flirt or too choosy. No one likes it when they hear a girl keeps getting proposals and refusing them and there are enough among the ton who dislike Mama and me for all the other reasons that seem so important to them.

Only one man has caught my eye and I have decided he must be the one. I think you know of whom I speak. He is kind. I see it in his eyes. Kind and patient and gentle. I am tired of men who look upon me as an ornament, as something to be owned because they covet it. I know he liked me when we first met, and yet he keeps his distance. Indeed, I think he is avoiding me and that will not do.

I am on the hunt, Georgie darling, for the only man I think I could be happy with. Wish me luck.

―Excerpt of a letter from Miss Vivien Anson (daughter of Silas and Aashini Anson, The Viscount and Viscountess Cavendish) to Her Grace, Georgina Seymour, The Duchess of Rochford (daughter of Ruth and Gordon Anderson, The Earl and Countess of Morven).

The following Christmas…

25th December 1841, Wildsyde Castle, Scotland.

“Decrepit!” Mama shouted.

“No, no, wizened. It’s wizened,” Pa said, but apparently that was wrong too.

“Old!” Georgie said, giving a yip of triumph as Alden straightened with a nod and grinned at her.

His impression of a stooped old man had made them all roar with laughter. He was getting the hang of charades now.

“The old something shop… Oh!” Muir leapt out of his seat. “The Old Curiosity Shop!”

Everyone groaned. Muir kept winning and was far too good at the game.

“My turn,” he crowed.

“No! No more!” Pa protested. “I’m famished. It must be time for food.”

“Food?” Mama said, staring at him in outrage. “How can you be hungry after that feast you devoured earlier?”

“That was hours ago,” Pa said, getting to his feet and smothering a yawn. He clapped Alden on the shoulder and grinned. “Rochford here is about to faint, the poor lad is so enfeebled from lack of food. Ye cannae expect a man to play charades for hours on end on an empty belly, mo chridhe.”

“No, I suppose not,” Mama said gravely. “I’ll see what Mrs MacLeod has prepared for our tea, shall I?”

Pa nodded his agreement with this and gave Mama a playful smack on the behind as she went out, making her laugh and give him a flirtatious smile as she closed the door. Georgie saw Rochford grin as he too noticed, and he was still smiling when he sat down beside her.

“You were very good,” she said, taking his hand.