The Day of the Duchess (Scandal & Scoundrel, #3)

by Sarah MacLean

“You are being dramatic,” she said. The greatest of all sins. His heart began to pound. “My child is dead. My wife nearly so.” Her gaze did not warm. He should not have been surprised by the fact, and yet it made him want to rage. But dukes did not rage. Instead, he met her cool blue gaze and said, “Your grandchild is dead.” “A girl.” Heat threaded through him. “A daughter.” “Not an heir,” she pointed out, with cool dismissal. “And now, if you are lucky, you can begin again.” The heat became fire, rioting through him. Clawing up his throat. Suffocating. “If I am lucky?” “If the Talbot girl dies. The doctor says that if she lives, she will be barren, and so she shall no longer be of use. You can find another. Produce an heir. One with better pedigree.” His gaze narrowed, the words difficult to understand over the roar in his ears. “She is Duchess of Haven.” “The title means nothing if she cannot produce the next duke. That’s why you married her, is it not? She and her mother set a trap. Caught you. Kept you with the promise of an heir. And now it’s gone. I would be less of a mother if I did not wish you free of such a cheap woman.” He chose his words carefully. “In this moment, you could not be less of a mother. You are a cold, heartless bitch. And I want you gone from this house when I return.” She raised one elegant brow. “Emotion does not become you.” He left his mother then, because he did not trust himself not to unleash every ounce of his unbecoming emotions upon her....