Dukes By the Dozen

She looked up, silently begging his understanding. Knowing she had no right to it. Knowing too that this was the moment she reached the crossroads and set off on her path alone.

“The problem is that Lully has no right to a title of any kind.”

He went very still.

“Why?”

It was all she could do to keep her eyes open. “Because Jamie and I never quite managed to marry.”

CHAPTER 6

GEORGIE THOUGHT she would never see another human as shocked as Adam Marrick. He opened his mouth, but for the longest time couldn’t seem to manage words. She swore she could almost hear the thoughts whirling in his head.

“Jamie never told me.”

She flushed miserably. “No. He wouldn’t. I had hoped he could get home in time to rectify the matter.”

A shrug completed the thought, the truth that would never change.

This time it was Adam who gained his feet much faster than he should have and began to pace, his cane thumping and his right leg dragging just a bit. Georgie remained where she was, a miserable lump of shame.

“Who knows?” he asked, not bothering to turn from where he was pouring another tot for himself.

Georgie almost asked him to simply bring the bottle over. She didn’t have enough courage left.

“My parents. Hattie Clark, my companion.”

He stopped. Looked up. “That’s all? Not even your brother or his wife?”

She shrugged. “What would have been the point? There was no consequence to the lie. We fully assumed we would spend our lives tucked away out of sight.”

“But what about when Lully came of age? She must be presented.”

Georgie lifted an eyebrow. “Must she? You saw what happened when my father found out where she was. Do you think he would be any more considerate if I were brazen enough to try to pass off my daughter among the ton?”

He downed the liquid in his snifter and refilled it before heading off again, his limp increasing with every step. She was close to begging him to sit for his own sake, but she knew how necessary movement was sometimes when shock was suffered.

“I’m sorry,” she managed.

Which brought him to a dead stop right in front of her. “What in the name of God are you apologizing for? This was as much Jamie’s fault as….”

She shook her head. “He never knew.”

Adam stared. “He certainly did. I never received a letter without a recitation of every achievement you shared of his brilliant daughter. He evidently went on a two-day drunk when she learned to walk. He wasn’t there, you see, and...”

Tears welled again in both their eyes. “Of course he knew about her. He was over the moon.”

Adam dropped back into his chair. “Then what?”

She drew another breath. “He thought I had permission for the marriage. When we stood before the priest. I was under-age when we married in Portsmouth before he sailed that first time. When my parents found out they disowned me.”

He blinked a couple of times. “That’s it? You had a license and a priest and everything?”

“Banns read. But in Portsmouth where my father wouldn’t find out. I...forged his signature.”

“But there is a license? It is recorded in a church?”

“It doesn’t matter. My father was happy to tell me he he would be delighted to announce my crime if I dared try to tout my supposed marriage. They took the license. It is undoubtedly ash long since.”

For the longest moment Adam just watched her, his eyes dark, thoughtful. And then, amazingly enough, he smiled.

Then he laughed. Georgie stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“Not only are you married,” he told her, taking hold of her hand. “But Lully is as much a duchess as I am a duke.”

Georgie tried to pull her hand away. He wouldn’t budge.

“Impossible...”

“No.” He actually lifted her hand and kissed it. “All you need is permission. We can easily obtain that. ” His grin grew piratical. “And even if the permission is after Lully is born, it changes nothing about her title.”

“Of course it does.”

He shook his head, laughing outright. “Not with a Scottish title. Believe it or not, the title is valid if the child is born out of wedlock, as long as the parents normalize relationships. Your Lully is a duchess, whether your father wishes it or not.”

It was Georgie’s turn to leap to her feet. She backed away, as if space would impose reason. “He will never allow it. Think of the scandal.”

“Don’t be silly. The scandal will be if a certain duke spreads the tale that because your father was so hateful, his granddaughter was not only forbidden her rightful title, but labeled a bastard when any loving and supportive parent would have blessed a wedding between his child and a lost war hero.”

She gaped at the mad look in his eye. “You would never.”

“Of course not. But your father doesn’t know that. The only thing he knows about me was that I came looking for you in order to secure Lully’s title. Imagine his reaction to my threat that I would happily divulge the truth if he fails to assure all and sundry that your wedding to the man who should have become the Duke of Kintyre went forward with his blessing and approval. Especially with your brother as witness.”