Read Online The Duke's Shotgun Wedding (Entangled Scandalous) by Stacy Reid - Free Book Online Page A

renovation of Stonehaven. But when I left at noon he was still secluded in his library, working.”
    “No, no. That won’t be necessary.”
    “Papa?”
    “The Duke‘s solicitor paid me a visit this morning. It is all settled.”
    “Oh?”
    She shifted to fully face her father. She barely glanced at Victoria when she came in with Mrs. Winthrop and the refreshments. Her father was silent as he waited for the housekeeper to serve them.
    Jocelyn tapped her foot impatiently. “What do you mean his solicitor visited this morning?” she burst out after Mrs. Winthrop had departed. “Sebastian did not mention such a thing to me.”
    “Sit down, dear,” he said to Victoria. “This interests you, as well.”
    Jocelyn bit her lip, glowering at her father. Then she sat stunned as her father told them the details of the solicitor’s visit.
    Well , she thought in astonishment when he was finished. It seemed she must have pleased her husband, after all.
    …
    “Are you very disappointed that he did not share the financial settlements with you?”
    Jocelyn glanced up from a bench in her mama’s favorite garden. Its dark, luxurious beauty dotted with snow had done little to soothe her. She had visited with the twins and Emily, an occasion that had put her unease at bay for a while. But it had flared to life the minute she was alone. She had come outside to clear her head, feeling suffocated under the curious stares of her father and sister.
    Her smile was strained. “Not really. I do feel odd that he wouldn’t discuss something so important with me. But I realize I do not know him. He may not have thought it necessary to discuss it with me. I must remember we’ve only been wed for one day.”
    Victoria clasped her hand as she sat beside her. “Oh, Jocelyn, I could scarcely believe what Papa was saying. His Grace bestowed one hundred thousand pounds upon Papa for your hand! And Emily, Emma, and I are practically heiresses! Why do you think he provided dowries for us, or allowed Papa to partake in his latest investment scheme?”
    Jocelyn was just as mystified. “I do not know. I had planned to speak with him today about restoring Stonehaven. We hardly had time for any discussions yesterday. Everything happened in such a whirlwind.”
    “Not even when you returned?”
    “Especially then!” Jocelyn giggled at the scandalized gape that Victoria gave her. “I am so grateful to him. I came to him with no dowry but he made such generous settlements. Now I won’t have to worry about any of you. And, Victoria, You can have a wonderful season! And I will be there as Duchess of Calydon to sponsor you into society.”
    “What will be the first event you will host, Jocelyn?” her sister asked, gripping Jocelyn’s hands and practically vibrating with excitement.
    “At first I thought of a winter ball. But I am unsure where to start planning a grand event like that. Then I realized that Christmas is only four weeks away. I would love for us all to be under one roof as a family. So, I’ve decided I will hold a family dinner.”
    Victoria squealed, clapping her hands with glee. “That would be wonderful, to dine at the magnificent Sherring Cross. The twins and Emily will be so excited to have a magnificent Christmas dinner.”
    They looked wistfully around the gardens, sharing the same thought—a memory of their last Christmas dinner with their mother. They had never had another since, and it was something they had both always yearned for.
    “Oh, Jocelyn,” Victoria breathed. “It will be a beautiful holiday.”
    “I believe it will be, sister.” Jocelyn kept smiling through a twinge of unbidden foreboding. “I truly hope it will be.”
    …
    Jocelyn arrived back at Sherring Cross in time for the evening meal. The journey home had taken a couple of hours, though it had seemed much shorter with the riot of thoughts that had consumed her the whole way home.
    She dressed for dinner in her finest evening gown that had a low