Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom(82)

Justine went white around the lips.

“Dominic, I swear I will kill you some day,” Griffin snarled through clenched teeth.

Naturally, Dominic didn’t bother to respond. Vivien, however, cast a worried glance between the two of them before getting up to sit on the other side of Justine.

“Dearest,” she said, clasping Justine’s other hand, “it’s not just your reputation you have to think about, although of course that is the most important thing. It’s the rest of your family, too. There’s your brother to be thought of, and Viscount Curtis and your cousins, too. Imagine what all this ugly gossip would do to them.”

Justine pulled a trembling hand from Vivien’s grasp and held it to her forehead. It just about killed Griffin to stay where he was, rather than sweeping Justine into his arms and out of the room.

“It would kill my uncle,” his bride said in a tight voice. “He’s so high in the instep about this sort of thing, and his health hasn’t been the best in the last year.”

“I don’t imagine it will do your brother’s legal practice much good, either,” Dominic stated quietly.

“Believe me,” Aden interjected in a sympathetic voice, “facing it head-on is the only way. Once things die down, you can then take stock of your situation and make some decisions.”

“That’s right, my dear,” Lady Thornbury said in a coaxing voice. “There’s no need to decide every detail of your lives together—”

“Or apart,” Griffin interrupted in a grim voice, taking in the haunted look in Justine’s eyes. He knew she was feeling trapped, just as he was, but her distress clearly bordered on panic. Griffin might loathe the idea of life in the ton, but he was beginning to realize that he had no quarrel with having Justine in his life—either in the short or the long term. She clearly didn’t feel the same about him, though, and that bothered him more than he cared to admit.

“Yes, exactly,” Lady Thornbury said with an encouraging smile in Griffin’s direction, intentionally misunderstanding him. “Nothing about the future need be set in stone. But we do need to stop the gossip in its tracks and convince the ton that your marriage is both real and eminently respectable.”

“As you are eminently respectable, Justine,” Vivien chimed in.

Dominic leaned forward and took Justine’s hand, his craggy features softened by genuine affection. “Think of it as a short-term tactic rather than a long-term strategy. Once the gossip has died down and society has accepted you back into its arms, then you can decide what you want to do with the rest of your life.”

He looked at Griffin, silently asking for help. Griffin crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to manipulate Justine any more than she already had been. The decision had to be hers and hers alone. He would do whatever she wished, no matter how much he hated it. That much, at least, he could do for her.

Sighing, Dominic looked back at Justine. “Once we’ve gotten to the other side of this, I promise I’ll help you do whatever you want. But for now, I ask you to trust me.”

Halfheartedly, Justine tried to argue with him. But Griffin knew the battle had been lost the moment she realized her family would be deeply affected by her actions. For no matter how little regard she might have for herself or her security, Griffin had learned she would do just about anything to protect the people she loved.





CHAPTER Thirteen



“Now, missus, you leave everything to me,” Rose said, bustling Justine toward her bedroom door. “Mr. Griffin won’t want his new bride taking care of any babies tonight. I’m sure he’s got his mind on other things to do with little mites,” she said with a sly grin. “Like making them.”