The Luck of the Bride (The Cavensham Heiresses #3)(100)
He refused to glance her way. With one look, he’d be on his knees—leveled from the pain.
“Can you imagine a girl turning into a woman overnight? Everything she expected for her future turned upside down because she was responsible for three children when she was still a child herself?” His mother exhaled loudly. “She knows it’s in their best interests if she leaves them since she can’t protect them anymore. She believes her presence puts their social standing in jeopardy. Envision the love and trust she must possess to give them up to you. A family she’s loved her entire life.”
“Perhaps it’s justice,” he whispered.
Her brow crinkled in perfect lines as a fierce scowl marred her face. “No. It’s a woman who loves deeply. A woman who loves her family, but more importantly, a woman who loves the man sitting beside me.”
“You see things that aren’t there, Mother.”
March held Bennett’s full attention. The light caught the glistening tears on her cheeks as she talked with him. The boy’s face was near colorless. March was saying something, and the boy nodded with a bowed head. Gently, March tugged his chin until she held his gaze. The sight so raw and crushing in its pain, he turned away.
His mother blew a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. “She raised that boy. She taught him everything she knew. He’s a wonderful, loving, and an extremely talented human being. And your March shaped him into a person who will grow into a fine man who will do great things in his lifetime.” She took a shuddered breath, then released it. “I can’t help but wonder what she would do with her own child now that she’s matured into the woman before you.” His mother placed her hand over his. “And she’s entrusted Bennett’s care to you. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is, son.”
He squeezed her hand, hoping she’d stop. However, his mother possessed a strength that could defeat Napoléon and his forces with one stare.
“We Cavenshams pride ourselves on doing the right thing. We try hard to help others. But your March”—she bent her head and stared at their clasped hands—“is in a category all by herself.” His mother smiled, but tears threatened. “When I picked her up that day from Mademoiselle Mignon’s, she’d been embarrassed by several women in the shop. On the way home, I made a comment that you should have told her we would pay for everything. I was really quite upset with you.”
His heart grew heavy at his mother’s affectionate smile.
“Her defense of you was blinding in its warmth and respect. It was then that I knew she loved you.”
Through the pain, he returned the smile, then shook his head. “Madame, are you telling me that I’ve made a mistake?”
“I’m telling you that no matter your doubts, you must discover the truth for yourself.” Much like March with Bennett, she captured his gaze as she continued. “You’ll not be able to live with yourself otherwise. I don’t want to see you or March hurt.”
He clenched his eyes shut. Never did he think he’d share his shame so honestly with his mother, but with his heart and soul bleeding, he had no choice. The woman he loved was leaving him and her family. He had never allowed himself to consider the truth of his feelings, but today they couldn’t be denied. Nor would they stay quiet. He loved March so completely he doubted he’d ever recover if he lost her. However, he had no idea how to right this wrong. With his heart ready to fly apart in anarchy, he nodded.
He swallowed the thickness in his throat. “Mother, I don’t know how I can discover the truth. Even if I had years, I can’t do it. I only have this evening, and the task is too great for me.” He covered his hands with his face, then forced himself to face her. “I can’t add more than three numbers together.”
Tears streamed down his mother’s face. “I know, my love.”
“It’s an impossible task. I shouldn’t even be allowed near the duchy’s accounts.”
She raised her hand for him to stop. “My heart broke countless times when I saw how you struggled, but you learned to compensate.” Her eyes searched his as if encouraging him to listen. “But don’t ever doubt your ability or right to run the duchy. You have an undeniable strength that masters your weakness. You look beyond someone’s mistakes and see their worth. Can’t you try to do that for your March?”
McCalpin chanced another glance outside. The Lawson family were gone. A hole caved in his heart. He didn’t get the chance to see March leave. She was his. God, how could he stop her?
“Examine her conduct and judgment as you wrestle with her motivations. If you don’t think she deserves that courtesy, then that’s your decision.” His mother’s eyes glistened with more tears. “But I would hate for the opportunity of a lifetime to be missed because you doubt your own worth and ability. We all have weaknesses. A brave man knows how to work around his.” His mother tapped lightly on the roof, and the carriage lurched forward to return them to Langham Hall.
How in God’s teeth could he discover the truth about who was embezzling from the estates? The weight on his shoulders grew by a hundred stone.
Then the truth hit him square between the eyes. He was going to lose March and couldn’t prevent it from happening. A blinding pain cascaded through him.
Before the carriage slowed to a halt beside the Langham Hall mews, his father jumped into the carriage and joined them. Without a glance at McCalpin, he drew his wife into his arms. “Ginny, I would have come for you.”