“I suppose,” she replied, shrugging. Knowing that their arrangement was only temporary, Louise did not want her mother to be too invested. That way, she would not be so disappointed when they inevitably had to go their separate ways.
ChapterTen
“What is this letter, boy?” the Duke asked, picking out a letter from the stack of papers laid in front of him.
Callum picked up the missive and tore it open. “It is an invitation to a ball tonight,” Callum said.
The Duke nodded. “I expect you to be on your best behavior then. I do not want to have to look for you for hours like the last time,” the Duke said.
Callum sighed in exasperation. He and his grandfather could not see eye-to-eye on many things, and he could tell that their current discussion would delve into a disagreement soon enough. “I will try, grandfather,” Callum said, eager for the conversation to be over.
“You will not try, Callum,” his grandfather said, “I want you to act with propriety for once. Get to the ball early and stay till the end instead of gallivanting around with different women.”
Callum rolled his eyes. “I do not frolic around with different women.”
“You must think me a fool then, Callum,” the Duke said.
“I do no–.”
The Duke held up a hand. “I have heard enough of your excuses but I will tell you this, I am tired of you living recklessly. How do I comfortably leave you to be the next Duke when you have not shown any sign of maturity?”
“Grandfather, I have been working tirelessly to make you proud since I was young. You know this,” Callum said in frustration.
Nothing he ever did was good enough for his grandfather.
“If you call living a wayward life working tirelessly,” the Duke replied. “While your peers are taking brides and establishing themselves as responsible young men, all you do is gallivant around as a rake,” the Duke continued.
“I ...”
“Can you not emulate your friend? He has announced his engagement and will soon be married. Yet, you have done nothing to show that you are worth the position of a Duke when I am gone.”
Callum had lived with his grandfather most of his life, and at this point, he knew that trying to explain himself to him would be futile.
“And now, you have embarked on your most ridiculous endeavor yet,” the Duke said, “would you like to explain to me why you have been seen courting Lady Louise?”
“You wanted me to be more like Felington, didn't you?” Callum asked.
“I certainly do. However, I am not asking you to marry just about any lady,” the Duke said, “there are other ladies who are better suited for you than Lady Louise.”
“And what if Lady Louise is the one I want?” Callum asked.
“Then I will have no choice but to talk sense into you,” the Duke said.
“You would rather I continued to be a rake than marry Lady Louise?” Callum asked.
“I am certain these are not the only options that you have. We have a lot of eligible ladies this year and a handful of them are from affluent homes. These ladies would be happy to marry you,” the Duke said.
“Grandfather, are you saying that I should look for the most affluent woman and marry her?” Callum asked, slightly miffed.
“Certainly! What do you think everyone in thetondoes?” the Duke asked, “oh, do not tell me that you believe we marry whoever we love.”
“I would suppose that people at least marry people that they found agreeable,” Callum said.
The Duke laughed heartily. “Did you think that your Grandmother and I loved each other before we got married?” he asked.
Callum shrugged. “I would not know, especially as the both of you really did not show any affection toward each other.”
“When I met your grandmother, everyone could tell she could not stand me. I did not particularly love her either but she was from a good home and I knew that an agreement with both of our families would maintain and strengthen our bloodline,” the Duke said.
