Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Clearing her throat, she stammered, “T-that was a lovely meal.”
Alyssa glanced meaningfully at Warren before answering Mary with a warm smile, “I’m honored you think so. I hope it means you’ll be joining us for more dinners in the future.”
“O-of course,” Mary answered shyly, returning the older woman’s smile. But after that, another bout of awkward silence fell, one that had Rathe’s face hardening.
“Shall we move to the drawing room for a drink?” Alyssa asked quickly. The undercurrent of tension in the room was impossible to ignore, and she was desperate to prevent father and son from having another disagreement. Dear Lord, anything but that, Alyssa prayed. Not when the two had just seen each other after such a long time.
Warren frowned. “That would be good, but...” His gaze swung to Mary and he asked abruptly, “I apologize if this may sound rude, but you are old enough to drink, aren’t you?”
Rathe snapped, “She’s eighteen, as you well know.”
Warren’s face remained impassive. “It was a perfectly reasonable question—-”
“You know. Because I also know you, Father, and I’m sure you had her background checked.”
“If you did know,” Warren said icily, “then why bother taking her to my home? You should have known I wouldn’t consider her proper—-”
“Warren!”
Rathe shot up to his feet. Looking down at Mary, he bit out, “We’re leaving.”
Mary scrambled up to her feet as she took the hand Rathe offered. So many questions brimmed on her lips, but she held them back, Right now, she had a feeling Rathe needed her to side with him at all costs.
A second later, she knew she had been right to do so, the way Rathe’s grip on her hand tightened almost to the point of pain.
Glancing up at Rathe, she saw his face devoid of any expression at all and her heart cried for him. Because she knew him so much better now, she knew that the colder he looked, the more he felt.
After dismissing the servants with a quick nod, Alyssa hurried to Rathe’s side. “Son, please, let’s not—-” Her voice trailed off when Rathe shook his head.
“I should have known better than to come here.” Without looking at his father, Rathe said bitterly, “He’s even worse than I’ve thought. I never thought of him as a hypocrite—-”
“Rathe,” Mary protested, taken aback by the harshness of his words.
Warren suddenly appeared behind Alyssa. Pulling his wife to his side, he stared straight into Rathe’s eyes as he said, “You can think whatever you want but I’m not going to take my words back. I’m the one who’s thinking sensibly—-”
“Sensibly?” Rathe let out a humorless laugh. “I suppose that’s how you excused your action, when you made Mother sign the pre-nup contract between you.”
When his parents’ faces whitened with shock, Rathe said grimly, “Yes. I know about it. And after tonight—-”
His worst memory came back, Rathe a twelve-year-old whose eyes were finally opened to the truth of his parents’ marriage.
He had been called to the estate by his grandfather for the very first time. Then, he had thought the Duke of Wellington was finally interested in meeting his other grandson. But instead, it had been the opposite.
Rathe had been left waiting in the corridors for almost an hour when the butler finally said he was allowed to go inside.
Nervously entered the dimly lit drawing room, he buried his hands deeper in his pockets as he took his first close look of his grandfather.
The Duke of Wellington was seated in a black and gold wingback chair. His grey hair and thin frame showed his age, but the elderly man’s eyes blazed with cunning intelligence.
Unease made Rathe’s steps falter. Was he truly doing the right thing, meeting with his grandfather without his parents’ knowledge?
They had long warned him not to meet the duke, but when he had received the invitation from the duke’s chauffeur outside the school gates, he had been unable to resist accepting it. He was hoping today would allow him to be a bridge for his parents and grandfather to mend fences.
But looking at the duke’s cold face, Rathe was beginning to doubt it.
“I’ve been hearing reports about how tremendously well you’re doing in school—-”
“Yes, Your Grace—-”
“I’m not yet done speaking.”
The sharp tone caused Rathe to shut up. Hurt, fear, and confusion made him want to take a step back. It had finally dawned on him that, for whatever reason, his grandfather held him in dislike.
But even so, pride made him stay in place and Rathe fought hard to keep his face expressionless as he waited for the old man to speak.
“You have some backbone,” the duke wheezed. “I’ll give you that.” Contempt flashed in his eyes. “But it’s not enough. Nothing you do will be enough, and perhaps after this meeting, you will be more mindful of your position and treat my real grandson the way he deserves.”