Lord Thomas and his bride (The Duke's Brothers Book 3) by Fiona Miers (smallest ebook reader .TXT) 📗

“You are not the one who is at fault, Rebecca,” Thomas said, and placed his hand over hers. “My mother was born into a very noble family, and she continued her life as a very titled lady when she married my father. She was not raised to despise others who were not her peers, but it seems it came as second nature to her. She greatly disapproves of Abigail and Julia as well, because they were not born into noble families either.”

“Does she approve of them now?”

“Certainly not, but she does tolerate them. Perhaps she realised that there was not much she was able to do in regard to changing the situation. She has not accepted it, but her contempt is much less.”

“It sounds very unfair to me, if I must be honest.”

“I agree with you, Rebecca.”

Although he did not show it, Thomas was furious that his mother would attempt to go to such lengths to ensure that Rebecca was not a part of his life. It made him incredibly angry that his mother was under the impression that such behaviour was acceptable.

And although the Dowager Duchess would most certainly use the excuse that she wished to protect her sons from women whose intentions were not pure, Thomas couldn’t help but be angered by her meddling.

“I am sincerely sorry for my mother’s actions. While I would not like to think that she would go to such extremes to get rid of you, it does not surprise me. My mother has controlled all aspects of our lives since we were young, and it likely gives her a sense of importance now.”

Rebecca shook her head and bit her lip. “It still does not justify her actions towards me.”

“I agree,” Thomas said, wishing he could kiss her frown away. “And I am truly sorry if she offended you. I did not mean for it to happen, I assure you.”

Rebecca nodded slowly and she cocked her head at Thomas.

Her eyes were filled with sorrow and confusion and Thomas was filled with guilt. “What is it, Rebecca?”

“Your mother showed me an article in the newspaper this morning,” she said. “About us.”

Thomas grimaced. He had hoped she would not come to learn of the article, but thanks to his mother, she now had. A stupid wish, considering all of Weymouth would soon have read it. But he had desired to keep the pain of the disclosure from her.

It also would have been better if she had heard it from him and not from anyone else. Especially not his mother.

“Rebecca...”

“You were aware of it,” she said, her eyes widening in surprise.

“I was, indeed. But I only saw it earlier, when I was in the kitchen with the cook,” he said. “Have you read it?”

“Only the headline of the article. Your mother did not give me much chance to read beyond that.”

Thomas breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. “Perhaps it is better that you did not get the chance to read it.”

“I would like to,” she said.

Thomas glanced at her for a moment, shocked at the mere thought that the lovely young woman sitting in front of him would willingly wish to read the terrible details of the article, which was written by someone who did not possess an inkling of moral direction.

Of course, he was not in a position to refuse her as she deserved full disclosure, but he also wished to protect her. The last thing he wished to do was upset her more.

REBECCA STARED EXPECTANTLY at Thomas and raised her brows. She was not quite certain why she wished to read the entire piece, because she knew it would be terrible. The reporter for the Weymouth Bay Post was a cunning man who often resorted to pure sensationalism when writing articles. There was seldom truth to anything he wrote, but people did not care whether it was based on facts. They simply wished to be entertained by salacious tales of scandal and excitement.

For this quiet seaside town, rumours and scandals based on lies were the only entertainment available.

Even her father had been the subject of a minor scandal upon their move to Weymouth, but he quickly cleared up those rumours with an honest and very anger-filled letter to the editor of the newspaper. A public apology was published in the newspaper on the front page, revealing the allegations regarding the reason as to why Dr. Morton and his daughter moved to Weymouth were false.

Of course, this now made the residents, especially the females of the town, very interested in her father. Rebecca had found it amusing at the time, since her father was now the most eligible man in town. She had even granted him permission – not that he required it – that she would approve if he wished to remarry, even if it were only for companionship and not for love.

But her father still desperately loved his late wife and their infant son, and no woman would ever enter his heart again. He’d told her that he simply lacked the capacity to love another.

Rebecca cocked her head and stared at Thomas, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Thomas,” she said and exhaled slowly. “Please allow me to read the full article.”

“Rebecca, I do not wish to grant your request.”

“And why not?” Knowledge was always best, no matter what pain it caused.

“The reporter is a merciless man, and I do not wish for you to read what he wrote. It is simply preposterous, in my opinion.”

“Does it include details of our kiss?” she asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Indeed, it does,” Thomas answered. “Amongst other things.”

“Such as?”

“I would rather not say. As I mentioned before, it was written in a crude and revealing nature, riddled with lies and untruths.”

“Sensationalism at its best, no doubt.”

“Indeed,” Thomas said and lowered his gaze.

“Thomas,” she said, her voice tender as she attempted to not reveal how upset she was.

Perhaps upset was not entirely correct, as she did not feel angered