“I apologize,” Bridget said quickly. It was not intention to trouble anyone, especially not her younger sister.
“Yes,” Penelope uttered.
Bridget could not tell if that was an apology from her mother to Margaret, or if her mother was agreeing with Bridget’s apology.
“I will change as quickly as I can and join you all in the sitting room,” Bridget said.
“No, there is no time now.” Margaret shook her head. “There has been enough delay, and you look fine. I am the one getting married, and if you don’t look your best, then I look better for it.”
Bridget smiled, and the tension was broken. She did not care how she looked before any man, and if she could make her younger sister look better, then she would gladly do it.
“Yes, let’s return to the sitting room,” their mother added.
The three women strode confidently through the manor. They might fight and bicker, but the events of the past few years had brought them closer together. The main cause of any tension in the manor was the fact that one of them would soon be leaving.
It would be both sad and joyous.
They reached the sitting room, and Margaret entered first. She was followed by Penelope and then Bridget.
Bridget looked straight at the man on the settee, and her eyes widened.
“You!” she exclaimed, pointing at him.
CHAPTER2
A Scandalous Man
Bridget stood in the sitting room with her finger pointed toward the man she had encountered on the moors.
“Bridget, what are you doing?” her mother demanded.
Bridget found herself caught in a rare situation where she had no control over anything. She had walked into a room, pointed at a man, and shouted at him. She struggled to comprehend what was happening.
She lowered her arm and looked around, spotting Michael, the man her sister was to wed. Yet, the gentleman from earlier was here, too, and it made no sense. Perhaps he had stumbled upon the estate and stopped for some hay for his horse, but why would he be in the sitting room with her family?
The mystery man was the first to react. He rose from the settee and approached Bridget, extending his hand. She had no option but to take it, and she found herself feeling his strong, warm hand around hers as he introduced himself.
“Allow me to introduce myself. Nicholas Harrington, the Duke of Sheffield,” he said.
Bridget had heard that name somewhere before.
“My brother is to marry your sister,” Nicholas continued.
It all made sense again.
“Yes, yes,” Bridget stammered. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.”
“She is surprised to see me again,” Nicholas explained to the room, still holding her hand. “We met on the moors earlier on my ride here. I did not know who you were, or I might have introduced myself then.”
“His Grace was able to make it here on time,” Penelope noted.
Bridget looked into his green eyes once more, knowing the handshake had gone on far too long. She might not know much about him, but she could see he was a man who liked to make trouble and got what he wanted. He was also a man she was now inextricably linked to.
“I did not realize you were Lord Michael’s older brother,” Bridget said, withdrawing her hand.
“There are so many Harringtons in the area now that it can be hard to keep track of who is who,” Nicholas admitted.
Bridget tried to remember where she had heard that name, and as she was thinking, she became painfully aware that she and the Duke were still standing in the center of the room, and they were also still the center of attention.
