Moonlight and the Duke (Cherish and the Duke #2)

Chapter Fourteen

C onnor had allowed his children to stay up late so they might join him and Eden in celebrating their betrothal. It was hours beyond their usual bedtime, but they were too excited to care. He even allowed the boys a glass of champagne each. Priscilla took a sip of Eden’s, but she did not like it when the bubbles ran up her nose.

“Yick,” she muttered, unimpressed by perhaps the finest selection from one of the most revered chateau vineyards in the Champagne region of France.

But he’d never seen happier children, and knew their lives would forever change for the better now that Eden was to become a part of their family. In truth, they had accepted her years ago.

His namesake, young Connor, hugged him fiercely. “Thank you, Papa. You made the best choice.”

Alex was next to hug him. “Took you long enough,” he grumbled, and then hugged him again.

Priscilla tore at his heart and also managed to insult him. “I wished so hard upon every star at night, hoping you would make Eden our mama. We all loved her so much, and she loved us. Why did you wait so long, Papa? You made Eden so sad. But it’s all better now.”

Yes, it was better.

And he was never going to be so foolish as to hide loving Eden ever again. She would get his affection by the bucketful.

After the betrothal announcement, and once the children scampered back upstairs to their bedchambers, he and Eden took his mother and her parents into the study for a moment of privacy. The food and champagne flowed freely and would keep their guests happily occupied. If that wasn’t enough, the orchestra hired throughout the week was playing a lively reel, and the card room was open for those who wished to play instead of dancing.

Connor closed the door to the study to allow the five of them privacy. He hoped against hope that Eden’s parents could behave like adults for the next ten minutes while details of their betrothal and wedding were discussed. As for his mother, she had quite the smug expression on her face.

“What is that look about?” Connor said, arching an eyebrow as he settled in a chair beside Eden, facing the three parents, who sat in a row on the sofa. His mother sat between Eden’s parents, of course. It was never safe to have that battling duo within arm’s reach of each other.

“I was beginning to despair you would ever come around,” his mother said. “So I had to prepare a battle plan.”

He nodded to acknowledge he had been quite difficult these past few years. “I suppose you had reason to despair that I would marry again.”

His mother cast him another smug look. “Oh, I knew you would eventually. But I fretted that it might not be to Eden. You see, I knew it had to be Eden for you. No one else would ever do.”

“Me?” Eden’s eyes widened. “This was your doing all along?”

Connor regarded both in confusion. “All right, I am being dense again. Why invite every simpering peahen to this party if all you wished me to see was Eden?”

His mother cast him a long-suffering look. “The two of you have been in front of each other all along, and neither would say a word to the other. I had to shake things up, make both of you open your eyes and find the courage to reveal your feelings.”

Eden shook her head and laughed. “It was no coincidence that my parents arrived at Chestnut Hill on the same day, was it, Evelyn?”

Connor’s mother, looking every inch the elegant and wise dowager duchess, cast her a warm smile. “No, my dear. I hope you will forgive me for forging your signature to those letters inviting each of them here. I knew they would never behave, and this would chase you straight to Lynton Grange to escape them, and hopefully into my son’s arms.”

She turned to each of Eden’s parents. “Do forgive me, Lord and Lady Darrow. But I love your daughter and had to do something drastic.”

“You are quite forgiven,” her parents said at the same time, perhaps the only time they had ever had a compatible thought.

Eden was obviously pleased they approved, but not above gently admonishing them. “Let it be noted that you did not fail Duchess Evelyn. Indeed, you behaved exactly as she’d hoped. Mama, you almost killed Papa within minutes of your arrival.”

Her mother’s chin shot up in indignation. “He should have ducked.”

“He survived and the matter is concluded,” Connor insisted, not wishing to dredge it up again when they ought to be talking about wedding plans.

His mother cast both of her parents another apologetic look. “Well, I did not wish for your mother to almost kill your father. But I was truly afraid my son would never let Eden know what was in his heart. And I knew she had always loved him.”

Eden blushed. “You did?”

His mother cast her a doting smile. “Yes, my dear.”

“How could you know when I did not always know it myself? I would never have acted upon my feelings or acknowledged them while Connor was still married.”

“My dearest, you’ve been in love with him since you were two and fell into that fishpond.” She turned to study Connor, and he felt the force of everyone’s gaze on him. “And as for you…”

“What in blazes did I do but pull her out of that pond?”

“A mother feels these things… Well, I certainly did. It was in the way you looked at her.”

Connor was still confused. “How did I look at her?”

“As though you had silently resolved in your heart that you were always going to protect her.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I was barely fifteen, and she was an irritating two-year-old. I made her cry because I told her that if she fell in again, I would let the fish eat her.”

Eden gasped. “You said that to me?”

He grunted. “Well, I didn’t mean it.”

She playfully swatted his shoulder. “All these years, I remembered you as my savior and protector.”

“I was always going to protect you,” he said. “But you were sobbing and howling in my ear, so I told you the first thing I could think of to make you stop crying. Gad, you were such a little duck. Pudgy cheeks and pudgy legs that held you up as you waddled around. You had the brightest red hair. Biggest hazel eyes.”

He laughed in recollection and continued. “When you stopped crying, I assured you I would always rescue you if you fell into the pond again. You made me promise. You did not know a lot of words, since you were so young, but promise was one of them. So I did.”

“The two of you were still stubbornly staring at each other as we all rushed to you,” his mother added. “A fifteen-year-old marquess being stared down by a strawberry-haired, stubborn two-year-old. I knew it then. You two were going to fall in love.”

Connor tried to deny it, but his mother would not hear of it. “I was so happy for you both, so hopeful that in the fullness of time you would realize you were in love with each other. But my biggest heartbreak happened several years afterward when you went off to fight Napoleon.”

“I had to do it,” he said. “Was it not my duty to defend England?”

“Others had bought their way out, but I knew you never would. You were always courageous. And always had a strong sense of duty. This is why you chose to marry Mary, out of duty to the ducal title. I understood why you decided to, for there was a great risk you would be killed in battle, and you wanted to secure the Lynton line.”

“You got three beautiful children from the marriage,” Eden said. “They were meant to be. It was all part of a divine plan, I suppose.”

“One I almost wrecked because of my refusal to recognize my obvious feelings for you,” he muttered.

“How was I any better? I was so afraid to say anything to you, so terrified it would destroy our friendship if you did not feel the same about me. I could not bear to lose you completely.”

“This held me back, too. You were not the only coward.” He arched an eyebrow and grinned at Eden. “But I was not going to let the situation continue beyond the yuletide season.”

Eden stared at him, no doubt wondering what his grin was about. “You weren’t?”

He shook his head. “I had it all planned out, my own grand scheme to get you to notice me.”

She chuckled. “Notice you? Dear heaven, everyone noticed you. I was a stuttering idiot every time you approached me.”

“So what was your grand plan, Connor?” his mother asked. “And why did you not tell me about it before I went to all the trouble of putting together this house party?”

“Serves you right for scheming behind my back. I am a grown man, too old to confide in my mother. But as I said, yuletide. I was going to have mistletoe positioned in every room of the house and kiss Eden the moment she walked under one of the sprigs. Not just any kiss, either.”

Eden laughed. “A Silver Duke kiss?”

He nodded. “Only the best for you, love.”

“I liked my plan better,” his mother insisted. “Inviting wholly unsuitable girls to a country house party at Lynton Grange so you could see what a gem Eden was and finally do something about it.”

“Right, and I almost lost her to Lord Aubrey, who also happened to fall in love with her,” he grumbled.

His mother did not appear repentant in the least. “Whose fault is that? Certainly not mine. I’ve been trying to get you and Eden together for the past two years, to no avail. Honestly, you were both so stubborn. And Aubrey was a cad, wasn’t he? He was only pretending to admire Eden.”

Connor turned serious. “No, there was not a word of truth to the gossip. He fell in love with Eden at first sight.”

Eden’s mother spoke up. “But I saw him flirting with both Miss Wallingford and Miss Applegate just this evening. Who knows how many other girls he set his cap for? The man is an unworthy rake.”

Connor never thought he would be defending his rival, but he had to speak up. “Lady Darrow, he sincerely cared for Eden and was ready to marry her.”

His mother groaned. “Oh, dear. That was not foreseen in my plan.”

“Why would it be?” Eden said. “I was firmly on the shelf.”

“Never, Eden,” his mother insisted. “There is no one more beautiful or charming than you. Now, it is time we discuss betrothal terms and make wedding plans.”

“No negotiation,” Connor said. “Eden gets whatever she wants and keeps full control over the assets she brings into the marriage.”

Eden smiled. “I don’t want anything from you but your love. I have all the material wealth I will ever need. Your assets are for your children.”

“Including any we may have from our marriage,” he said with a satisfied nod.

“Yes, ours.” This caused her to blush, especially as everyone immediately turned speculative eyes on her at the mention of producing children.

Well, it was no one’s concern but his and Eden’s.

“As for the wedding,” Connor said, clearing his throat, “I intend to obtain the license first thing tomorrow morning and marry Eden within an hour after that. Any objections, Eden?”

She grinned. “None whatsoever.”

Connor spared a glance at the elders, waiting for any objections, but none were voiced. “Good. All settled. My cook already has the ovens at full blast preparing for tomorrow’s round of entertainments. We’ll just turn it into a day-long wedding breakfast. My boys will enjoy the chance to stuff their faces until their spleens burst.”

After another round of congratulations, Connor’s mother and Eden’s parents left to rejoin their guests and share in the evening entertainments. Now finally left alone, Connor took Eden’s hand in his, rubbing his thumb softly over the top of her hand. “I know I was highhanded in making these plans.”

“I would have said something if I had any objections.”

“Then you are all right with marrying me tomorrow?”

She reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I can think of nothing nicer than having a Silver Duke in my bed tomorrow evening.”

He cast her a rakish smile. “Why wait until tomorrow?”