Unfortunately, no further questions for his coin presented themselves to him.
“I am sorry,” Lady Johanna said, straightening again, groping for the napkin.That was something he could do—Matthew handed the napkin to her.“Thank you.I am so sorry.”
“Not to worry,” Matthew said, getting back to his feet from the awkward crouch he’d been in, patting her shoulder.“I ah… is there anything I can do?”He would much rather she not start crying again.Maybe he should send for one of his friends, one with a wife.A woman other than his grandmother, since she expected Matthew to take care of this, and he was clearly not very good at it.
“You have already done everything… I just… there is so much food, and I started thinking about my family.”She was turning weepy again.
How to stop it?
“Christian will see to it that they are fed,” he quickly reassured her.“I promise.”
That was an easy promise to make because he knew his friend.Christian would provide for their travel and their food the whole way to London, and Matthew would happily pay him back if Christian allowed.Which he might not.He would consider it part of his duty.
It should have made her happy, but she started crying again, this time holding the napkin to her face as her shoulders shook.He looked at his grandmother with a helpless plea in his eyes, and she sighed, shaking her head.Finally, she got to her feet and came around.Matthew quickly stepped back to allow her to take his place at Lady Johanna’s side.
“Do not fret, my dear,” his grandmother said soothingly, rubbing Lady Johanna’s back.Oh.Maybe that was what she’d wanted him to do.He could have rubbed her back if he’d realized.“The boys will take care of everything.Your family is going to have plenty to eat from now on, and you need to eat to keep up your strength until they join us here.”
Apparently, that was the right thing to say.Lady Johanna nodded, hiccupping, before getting herself under control again.His grandmother patted her back before returning to her place on the other side of the table, and Matthew sidled back to his seat.
Lady Johanna had more color to her face now—pink cheeks and eyes, the tip of her nose a delicate red—but she was as beautiful as ever.Matthew smiled at her, trying to appear reassuring, but she had ducked her head and was not paying attention to him.
Ah, well.They’d have the opportunity to get to know each other better once they were married.
Hopefully, there would be no more crying at breakfast once her family arrived, and she had no reason to be sad anymore.
“Once you are done breaking your fast, we shall go shopping,” his grandmother announced.
Matthew understood he was not included in that ‘we,’ thankfully.He had his own plans for the day, such as procuring a special license and tracking down Drake to pepper him with questions.
“You shall need to be properly outfitted as befits a duchess.Matthew tells me that you are to marry as soon as your family arrives.”
Lady Johanna glanced at him, and he nodded.
“First thing on my agenda is the special license.”He smiled reassuringly at her.“Feel free to get whatever you need.Grandmama knows there is no budget for this.”
Violet eyes widened, and she appeared at a loss for words.It was very generous of him, but he could afford it, and there was no reason his duchess should appear anything but top of the nines.Besides, he wanted to ensure no one would mistake her for the young woman in the brothel last night.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she whispered after a moment.
He smiled encouragingly at her.
“Now, let us talk about the wedding,” Grandmama said.
Matthew nodded and pulled out his coin, much to his grandmama’s obvious displeasure.
ChapterFive
Matthew
Directly after breakfast, Matthew went to the mews to get his horse.Casper was a pure white stallion with strong lines and a good horse for London with his even temper, which was quite unusual for a stallion.Some gentlemen would have considered it a defect, regardless of whether they were in the city or the country, but Matthew liked Casper’s steadiness, especially when in London.Plus, the coin had chosen him when Matthew had been picking out a horse.
He’d been brought to London from the Netherlands by a gentleman who had subsequently lost a horse in a game of cards to Matthew.He’d gone through the man’s stables, one by one until the coin had picked Casper.
Casper whickered as he was brought out, his head bobbing up and down.Grinning, Matthew held out his hand to feed the horse a sugar cube before taking the reins from the stableboy.
First stop was the Archbishop of Canterbury for the special license.Thankfully, Charles had always had a soft spot for Matthew and was happy to issue one without any convincing needed beyond a donation to the church.
With that done, he headed for Drake’s home.He could have stopped on his way to the archbishop’s office, but he’d felt it was too early to call.Securing the special license had not taken much time, but at least it was a little later.