Andrew’s low murmurings stirred Diana from her sleep. She kept still, playing possum, in the hopes he’d tell Great-Great-Great Grandpa Dansfield something important. Nothing but ramblings about the family estate unrelated to the one thing she most wanted to know. Would he want to make plans to see her again? If not, there might be a pity party for two later that morning.
Darn it all. Falling in love wasn’t in my five-year plan.
“Father and Uncle can bugger off if they don’t like it. If I can manage it, their opinion be damned.”
Diana silently urged him to continue, but it seemed he’d made up his mind. And Great-Great-Great Grandpa Dansfield wasn’t weighing in. She kissed the underside of his chin. “How long until the car comes?”
Wanting a moment in the bathroom, to at least brush her teeth, she attempted to ease from beneath the covers.
“We have less than an hour.” He tugged her back. “I’d like to make the most of it, but first I have a question.”
Her pulse raced. Did she dare hope? “Okay.” If he wanted to take home a jar of Sweet Tea and Lavender’s blackberry jam she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions. “Ask away.”
“Do you think I could see you again?” He kissed her temple, his tenderness conveying much more of his feelings than his simple request had. “I don’t know how we’d pull it off—”
Relief spread through her whole body. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” She hadn’t been wrong in making the leap into bed with him. After a quick kiss, she pulled away, grabbed her clothes from the floor, and dressed. They needed to at least make rudimentary plans before he and his uncle left.
“Neither my uncle nor your mother will see this as anything other than a betrayal.”
She slumped back to the bed. “I know.” Guilt knotted her stomach like cold, thick oatmeal. “We’ll have to be discreet.”
“Last night notwithstanding, discretion is my middle name.”
“Another tidbit of information about my mysterious lover.” Would she ever know any more about him than she currently did?
“No great mystery, simply a string of meaningless details.” He captured her face with his palms then kissed her slow and deep.
Jackie’s heartbreak tempered Diana’s joy. Her mother would need her more than ever. “Can we say our goodbyes here? I think under the circumstances it would be better if we kept things lowkey.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He kissed her again, making her hope they’d be able to contrive a rendezvous soon. Finally, she gathered the strength to pull away. “I’ll leave you to get ready.”
“What will you do?”
“Distract Mama. The last thing anyone needs is another scene. I, for one, have had enough melodrama to last a lifetime.”
“I’ll ring you tomorrow. We’ll make plans. Something firm. A date. A place.”
She nodded. They’d known each other a handful of days, so the amount of emotion bubbling inside her had to be from all the mama-drama. Squaring her shoulders, she slipped from the room and headed back to the family quarters.
Of course, on the other side of the door there had to be one of her chambermaids. “Good morning, Sally. The Azalea and Magnolia Suites will be vacant shortly, and you’ll be able to get in there.”
The young mom lifted an eyebrow. “Should I simply make the beds or put on fresh sheets.”
To make Greenbrier green, the rooms received new sheets only when a guest departed. “Please give both rooms a thorough going over.” A worry bloomed to life. “And if His Grace should leave any notes or tokens behind, please give them to me, not my mother.”
“Got it.” Sally’s knowing nod gave Diana all the information she needed. Every person in the mansion knew Mama’s wedding was off. By noon, the whole town would know Jackie had made a fool of herself. All along she’d wanted to avoid such an event occurring.
As she hurried through the hallways, Diana considered one diverting activity after another. She discarded shopping, horseback riding, or a visit with friends from the gardening club, all because they would remind Jackie of Neville. Finally, she settled on taking her mama along for the ride as she visited the recently damaged shop in Hattiesburg. Putting Mama to work resetting the store would help keep her mind off the duke.
But what would keep Diana from dwelling on Andrew?
“It wasn’t supposed to work out this way,” she reminded herself. “He’s unemployed, unfocused, and uncommitted.” One more person to look after was the last thing she needed. “Andrew and I aren’t any more of a match than Mama and Neville.”
But they weren’t attempting to make a match. Just keeping it casual. Long-term wasn’t in the forecast. They’d meet until Andrew found the right sort of woman to make heirs and spares with. Her heart ached at the thought. She paused in front of her mother’s bedroom. “Be realistic, Diana. You’re not Kate Middleton.” She wasn’t even on par with Prince Harry’s American bride. “I’m a Mississippi Miss. Good at business, backwoods camping, and baking biscuits. There are no titles in your future.”
Or her mother’s. She plastered a smile on her face and breezed into Jackie’s room. “Rise and shine, Mama. You’re riding shotgun with me today.”
The sight before her had her wishing she had a shotgun. The duke was leaning over Jackie, kissing her as she slept.
“I don’t know if you fancy yourself some Prince Charming type, but around here we don’t take kindly to macking on unconscious women.” She shoved Neville away, ready to defend her mother against his unwanted affections.
“I have you know, dear girl—”
Her mother sat up. “He wasn’t—”
Andrew entered the fray. “What the bloody hell is going on here? Uncle, we have a plane to catch.”
Diana jabbed a finger in Neville’s direction. “Before you take Hot Lips here back to his side of the pond where he belongs, he’s got some explaining to do. I caught him taking advantage of my mama while she was sleeping.”
“I was most certainly not.”
“I know what I saw.”
Fire lit in Andrew’s eyes. “Do you think my uncle is capable of doing such?”
“Di-ana Fran-ces.”
Her mother’s use of her full name, spit through clenched teeth stopped Diana cold. Most people had experienced the full-name treatment during childhood, but not her.
She froze in place, uncertain what to do. “Yes, ma’am?”
Jackie sat up in bed smoothing her hand over her dark hair. “Hush up and listen for once in your life. I was fully awake when you barged into my room. The duke recently left my bed and was offering me a kiss before returning to his room for fresh clothes. Had you barged in a sooner…”
Diana covered her face. “Sweet Jesus.” Amid the mental image she was trying to push from her brain, a question arose. Like Andrew and her, were the older couple sharing a last moment before parting? Surely after such a spectacular fight the couple couldn’t have reconciled so easily. A quick glance at Jackie’s left hand confirmed, yes, indeed, those two could bounce back.
“What about what you said yesterday?”
Andrew touched her shoulder. “Let’s table that for a moment. Did you think my uncle was capable of taking advantage of your mother?” His jaw ticked. “Is that the kind of family you think we are?”
For such an easygoing guy, he sure took family honor seriously. Her granddaddy would like that. “Sorry. I jumped to conclusions without having all the facts.” She turned to Neville. “Your Grace, I sincerely apologize for impugning your character. I’d offer you a duel of something.”
The duke waved away her offer. “Your apology is sufficient. Loving your mother as I do, I can appreciate one who’s as protective towards her as you are.”
“Now we have that settled, can you two please explain to me how you went from spitting nails at each other to…” She gestured to the bed, unable to say aloud what had so obviously gone on during the night.
“Couples have arguments, Diana, especially when they’re starting out, as the duke and I are. We’re both accustomed to having things our way and that’s something we’ll have to work on.”
“The most important thing is we’re committed to making things work. It will take compromise on both our parts, but I knew from the moment I met Jackie, she’d make the perfect duchess.”
A lucid response escaped her. Thankfully, Andrew had the presence of mind to ask, “So the wedding is back on?”
“It was never off, my boy.”
“Diana.”
What did they do now? She was fresh out of ideas. If Jackie’s tirade wasn’t enough to scare the man off…
“Diana.”
Andrew elbowed her. “She’s calling you.”
“Ma’am?”
“Give me a moment to shower, and I’ll meet you in the dining room for breakfast. We have a lot to accomplish in a short time.” Jackie wagged her finger. “In the meantime, I suggest you and Andrew might take a moment to decide if you’ll attempt another ploy to drive us apart or get onboard with this marriage.”
Twenty-seven years after giving birth was a little late for Jackie to begin acting like a mother. Stunned, all Diana could manage was another, “Yes, ma’am.”
Andrew tugged her out of the room. “They knew the whole time?”
“More importantly, who is that woman in there, and what did she do with my mother?”
“I have to give you that much. She was quite a different woman than I’ve seen previously.”
Diana reached into her jeans, finding her ever-present roll of antacids. “What do you think? Do we throw in the towel?”
The corners of his eyes crinkled. “I still have serious reservations, but I’ve never seen a more tenacious couple. Do you think my uncle would want to stay here in Mississippi?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. What about all those fancy parties my mama is going to have to host?”
“Bloody hell.” He ran his fingers through his hair.
Diana considered offering him one of her antacids. “I’ll help her as much as I can.”
His eyes widened. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
Well, all righty then. We’ve established I’ll be staying on this side of the Atlantic.
She clenched her fist, a sharp response poised on her lips. Before she could sort out which orifice she wanted to shove her offer into, Andrew pulled her in tight. A quick kiss and her anger evaporated. “On the bright side, this could make things easier for us.”
“There’s that.”
“I suppose I should cancel my flight. Again.”
“Do you think they’ll be happy?” she asked, when she really wondered, could she.
“To be honest, I still have my doubts about their compatibility. I’ve never seen two people fight and make up the way those two do. On the other hand, they seem determined.”
“Were we wrong to try to keep them apart?” Am I wrong to get involved with a man who’ll only cast me aside once the appropriate British maiden appears?
“Our intentions were good. What we did, was done out of love and concern for them.”
As much as her brain warned continuing with Andrew wouldn’t end with a wedding, her heart couldn’t get past the pleasant present. His optimism balanced her caution. He was quick to forgive and eager to try new things. Andrew brought on her best qualities and mitigated her worst. Everyone needed a friend like him, and as for his skills as a lover—her brain could shut the heck up.
“Where does that leave us now?”
“Busy. You’ve got a wedding to arrange.”
“I can do that in my sleep.”
Andrew waggled his eyebrows. “Who says you’re going to be getting any sleep.”
The prospect brought heat to her cheeks. “What about you?” she asked to keep her mind above her navel. “What’s on your agenda?”
“Sorting out some type of celebration for Uncle Neville.”
A hundred to-dos ran through Diana’s mind. Number one being slipping up to the Azalea Suite with Andrew for a few moments. But work came before fun. “All righty then. Flowers, preacher, dresses, bridal shower, and bachelor party.”
“Let’s get this wedding started.”