“Happy anniversary, love.” Katherine kissed him on the cheek then looked down. “Agatha, sweetheart, why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
“Papa!” Agatha squealed. “No clothes too!”
Katherine glared at Benedict. He winked shamelessly and then she blushed from the roots of her hair down her glorious neck. He leaned forward to take a peek down her dress.
She pushed him away. “Those are the very things you should not be doing in front of your daughter. She already copies everything else.”
They both looked down at their grinning little girl and laughed.
Nanna came rushing down the stairs and scooped up Agatha, scolding her for running away during bath time.
“She takes after you,” Katherine said.
“Does not.”
“Does too! She runs around nak*d and ignores anyone’s pleas to do otherwise!”
“She also tried to kill me three times. So who exactly does she take after in that regard?”
“It was four,” Katherine argued. “And she didn’t try to kill you. They were all accidents. It wasn’t her fault you fell into the pond while taking her for a walk, or out of the tree when getting her an apple. You just need to be more careful.”
Benedict grimaced, careful and his daughter were not anywhere near the same thing. The more he coddled her, the more it seemed she wanted to do something daring.
Unfortunately, it reminded him of himself, which frightened him more than words could express.
Luckily, he had Katherine.
And with her, he could do anything.
“Why are you smiling?” Katherine put her hands on her hips, tilting her head.
“Why shouldn’t I be smiling?” His grin grew.
“You look like you’re about to do something…”
He grabbed her hands and ran into the study, shoving the door closed behind them and with little effort lifted her skirts.
“Benedict!” she scolded. “What are you doing! We’re going to be late!”
“Then we’ll be late. I am a duke after all.”
His argument to get away with anything.
She rolled her eyes and squirmed happily beneath his touch. “But it’s our anniversary and everyone is going to want to see us. Oh!” She leaned in and kissed him. “Maybe just this once.
“That’s my girl.” He kissed her firmly across the mouth.
And an hour later, when they arrived at the ball hand in hand, Benedict’s past reputation was merely a shadow on everyone’s lips. Had he really been all that bad? People wanted to know. For what they saw now was a man completely changed from the one he was before.
And it was all because his aunt loved him enough to trick him. God rest her soul.