by Fanny Finch
Myles pulled back his lips and raised his eyebrows. “I am afraid I cannot do that.”
“Oh?” Sir Henry’s face was turning red. Myles could tell how upset he was getting.
“Yes, sir.”
“And why is that?”
Myles looked at him like he had utterly lost his mind. “Because you are courting the woman I love and I cannot have that. You do not love her. You are only interested in her money. That I understand, coming from you. But she does not deserve a life with a man who cannot control his urges. You will run her and her family down into the gutter, the way you have your own.”
Sir Henry was seething but when he spoke, it remained in a quiet, level tone. Myles could tell why he was not a good card player. His face would reveal everything. He was not a man who could bluff.
“I beg your pardon, sir,” Sir Henry replied. “There is no reason to be confrontational.”
“It is necessary,” Myles responded quickly. “As I have no intention of letting you take this woman as your bride and sell off all her properties.”
He saw Lavinia’s eyes widen. She had been taking in their conversation with a shifting face of emotion. He could tell how much she loathed Sir Henry. He was glad he could rescue her from such a fate.
“Who told you such a thing?” Sir Henry hissed. “I have no intention of doing any such thing.”
Myles turned to face Sir Henry directly and leaned down slightly so that he was up close with the man. “You, sir, are a liar.”
He watched as Sir Henry choked and spluttered, wanted to say something but unable to get out the right words. “H… how dare you, sir?” He was finally able to get out the question. Myles did not have to look down to see if Sir Henry had balled his hands into fists. He was sure he had.
“I suggest that you keep yourself under control, Sir Henry,” Myles said quietly, standing up straight again but never taking his eyes from the man. “You do not want everyone in this place to know what you have done.”
“I have done nothing,” Sir Henry insisted.
Myles’ eyebrows shot up, disappearing behind the stray dark hair that had come forward on his forehead. “Oh? You have mounted up piles of gambling debt on your family and instead of paying it back, you gamble some more. You know of your sister’s blackmail problem but have done nothing to stop it. You have played with this woman’s heart only for monetary gain. You have no intention of being anything other than a greedy rake.”
He stopped and cleared his throat, scanning the room around them with his eyes. No one was paying any attention to them except Anna, who was standing in a corner, looking at her brother with a sneer on her face. Sir Henry had followed his eyes and was glaring at his sister, hatefully.
“You are a nasty man, Sir Henry,” Myles said. “You must be aware that anyone in this room who happens to look at you right now will see how you are looking at your sister. Are you not ashamed, sir? Do you have any shame at all, sir?”
“You have no right to come in my home and speak to me this way,” Sir Henry seethed. “I will have you thrown out and banned.”
“You do not want to do that, sir. If you think I will not protect Miss Bronson and Miss Astor from your wrath by telling everyone I know about your gambling debts and the reason you are really marrying Miss Bronson, you are wrong.”
Myles complimented himself silently for not doing what he wanted to do, which was punch this sneering, sniveling man directly in the face. He resisted, though he had to keep unballing his hands, which kept curling into fists.
“You would not dare do such a thing,” Sir Henry replied, turning his eyes to look out the window. Myles could tell he did not want to look directly at him.
“You are a coward and a rake,” Myles said. “I will have no problem allowing everyone in the ton to find this out. Do you suppose anyone will believe you over me?” He decided to use a conciliatory voice that came out as condescending as he hoped it would. “I suppose you may have a point. Hardly anyone really knows me. I have spent a great deal of time on my own, avoiding these social events.”
He paused, glancing at Lavinia for inspiration. She looked beautiful in her gown, with her long braid down her back. He admired the way the dress revealed just a bit of her shoulders. Her skin looked soft. He imagined himself placing a kiss on one of those shoulders and had to redirect his brain to go back to his reason for being there.
“I will tell everyone, Sir Henry, in order to save these two women from your ire. You could very well have me removed from the premises. But I know one person who will not allow that to happen before I have said my piece.”
Myles purposefully turned his eyes and looked at Miss Astor. She was still watching them. A companion must have said something to her because for a moment, she turned and said something to one of them. But then her eyes came right back to them.
He knew she had to be dying of curiosity by now. She pointed to herself and then to him. He shook his head. There was no need to get her involved at this time. She nodded slightly, moving her eyes so he could see she was looking at Lavinia and her brother.
He turned his eyes back and looked down at Sir Henry. “What say you, Sir? Are you willing to be a gentleman and relinquish your tie to this woman? You know that she does not love you. You certainly do not love her.”
“I do not have to do anything you tell me to do.”
Myles was a little shocked by how child-like Sir Henry sounded. Even his demeanor was changing, showing him weakening in his stance. The Marquess knew all he had to do was continue to hound the man and he would eventually give in.
He was holding all the cards and he knew it.
“Sir Henry, you will be ruined when I tell everyone what you have done and what you are continuing to do.”
Sir Henry was bristling. Myles could tell he was feeling quite “explosive” which was how several of the club members had described Sir Henry when he lost at his card games. He did not know what to say.
It surprised him when one side of Sir Henry’s lips lifted in an ugly sneer. “You cannot say anything, my lord, as it will devastate my sister for our personal family business to be revealed. This will not only hurt my sister, it will hurt her best friend, who happens to be Miss Bronson. I would be very surprised if you were willing to destroy one innocent woman’s reputation and hurt your woman’s feelings at the same time.”
Myles would have been very angry at the words Sir Henry was saying but when he referred to Lavinia as “your woman”, he was caught off guard by how much he liked to hear that. He was momentarily speechless, causing Sir Henry to believe he was contemplating his words with any seriousness.
He turned his eyes and looked at Lavinia, taking in her beauty with soft eyes. She looked fearful, as if she thought he might be giving in to Sir Henry. His lips trembled as he tried to resist smiling at her. There was no way in the depths of Hell he was going to let Sir Henry have her.
She was his.
She would be his wife for the rest of his life.
He would make sure of it.
Chapter 33
Lavinia watched the exchange between the two men, staying quiet. She had nothing to contribute. It would not matter what she said anyway. She knew Sir Henry would not listen to her and the Marquess could handle things all on his own.
What she really wanted to do was escape. She wanted to grab Anna and go back out on the terrace. But then she would not hear what was being said and whether or not her life was going to be saved.
Sir Henry’s words had made an impact on the Marquess somehow. She wanted to blurt out that although it would sadden her for Anna’s information to be revealed to the ton but she was not sure she wanted to sacrifice a life of happiness with the Marquess because of it.
And if she knew Anna the way she thought she did, Anna would not want that either.
She resisted the urge to say that when the Marquess did not immediately answer Sir Henry. But as she searched the Marquess’ face, she could tell he was not thi
nking what she thought he was thinking. She could see his lips twitching as he tried not to smile.
That simple act reassured her and the words he said afterward comforted her more than he would ever know.
“My dear sir,” the Marquess said, his voice amused. “Our dear Miss Anna will soon be receiving a marriage proposal from a dear friend of mine. I believe you know him, Miss Lavinia. His name is Jasper Federline.”
Lavinia felt chills cover her body. She did not know Jasper Federline was acquainted with Anna. She was delighted by it and a smile quickly lifted the corners of her lips. “I surely do, my lord,” she said in a soft voice.
The Marquess smiled back at her. “Your sister has nothing to fear. Her marriage to Lord Federline will secure her reputation and keep her safe from the likes of Sir Franklin and even men like her brother. Such a shame. But you, sir, you have something to fear. What say you now?”
Sir Henry stuttered his response, unable to get anything out. The Marquess lifted a hand and patted him on the back. “I do thank you for planning this grand event for Miss Lavinia. It is wonderful that our engagement party was put together by her best friend and is being held in this house.”
He pulled in a deep satisfied breath, looking around him. “I am afraid you will spend many lonely days in this house, sir, alone and unhappy. Soon you will be completely flat and will not be able to pay your bills. Then you will begin selling everything Miss Anna cannot keep you from selling. And you will die in a house with no furniture and no decorations.”
He shook his head, holding his arm out to Lavinia. She glanced at Sir Henry and very purposefully slid her hand around the Marquess’ arm. She could not believe the way the evening was turning out. She was almost ready to faint with shock. He had come to rescue her.
He had come to marry her.
He truly did love her.
As the Marquess led her to the dining room, as dinner had finally been called, she squeezed his arm, getting his attention. “My lord,” she whispered. “You have come for me.”
He looked down at her. “I could not stay away, Miss Bronson. You should not be marrying anyone but the man who loves you.”
“And that is you?”
He grinned. “Yes, that is me.”
Lavinia felt an overwhelming rush of passion for him. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and stay safe there for the rest of her life. It flabbergasted her that she actually had that possibility now. He was finally going to be hers.
“What about…”
She stopped talking when the Marquess shook his head.
“No, Miss Bronson. We will not speak of those things until later. Suffice it to say, I have discovered all I need to know about what is going on. I know who is at fault and you have done nothing wrong. I will make sure everyone knows it.”
“I wish to kiss you, my lord. Right now.”
The Marquess chuckled, to her satisfaction. She could not resist the smile that was so large it was hurting her cheeks. He patted her hand that was wrapped around his arm.
“There will be plenty of time for that in the future, my dear, and I promise, there will be plenty of it. If you will have such an abominably foolish man for a husband.”
Lavinia dropped her head slightly, biting her lip. She could feel her cheeks burning hot.
“For now, I must save the reputation of my future wife and her best friend.”
Lavinia squeezed his arm just before he detached her. They stood in front of their chairs, waiting for everyone to be at the banquet tables.
“Dinner is served,” the butler said, prompting everyone to take a seat.
Everyone except the Marquess and Anna. Sir Henry was nowhere to be seen. Lavinia looked curiously at Anna after searching the room for her brother. Anna shook her head, smiling ravishingly. Lavinia thought about Anna and her good friend Lord Federline. She could scarcely believe they would still be so close, as their husbands were best friends, too.
It seemed everything was going to work out.
It was hard for Lavinia to believe.
“I want to thank everyone for coming to our… my home today,” Anna said when the conversation died down and everyone was looking at her. She looked down at Lavinia, a bright glow on her face that made Lavinia wonder if she knew about Lord Federline already. If she had, why would she not have told her best friend?
Lavinia could not think any more about it. She was too busy listening to the Marquess and Anna as they spoke to the guests.
“We have a special announcement for you today. This is something I have been waiting for and I am very excited to be a part of. Please, if you would, my lord?”
Anna lifted one hand to the Marquess and smiled, taking her seat to let him be the only one standing in the room.
“I also thank you all for attending this special day,” the Marquess started out. “I want to thank Miss Anna Astor for opening her home to me today. I must admit, it was quite a surprise when I received your visit the other day to invite me. I thank you for that.”
Anna grinned at him, nodding.
The Marquess looked out over the tables spread around the room. Every eye was on him. He was standing in front of Sir Henry’s chair and as far as Lavinia could tell, no one in the room was looking for the man.
She turned her attention back to the man in front of her, the man she would marry, the man she would spend the rest of her life with. Her heart pounded in her chest and when he made the announcement, she felt a little faint.
“I have asked and been accepted,” the Marquess said, looking down at her. “It is my intention to marry Miss Lavinia Bronson in one months’ time.”
Anna shot back to her feet and lifted her glass in the air. “May I raise a toast to the Marquess of Kent and my good friend, Miss Lavinia Bronson.”
Everyone in the room raised their glasses and took a sip. Lavinia could see their surprise and wonder. Several of the women looked at her with jealous eyes. Several others had genuine smiles on their faces. Even more wore looks of relief.
She wondered just how much those women knew.
The men were fairly neutral in their reaction to the announcement, though Lavinia would have sworn at least two or three of them were now looking for Sir Henry, who had probably told them his intention to announce his own engagement to Lavinia at the party.
Lavinia thought Sir Henry might need to skip town. Those men looked like they were very unhappy about the announcement and she did not think it was because of her. They cast no ill glances toward the Marquess. They were discussing it quietly to one another, searching around the room with their eyes but not seeing the man they sought.
She focused her attention back on the Marquess. He was gazing at her with such love in his eyes, she felt a warm glow in her rapidly beating heart. She could not wait to be in his arms.
Once and for all.
For the rest of her life.
Lavinia was beside herself with joy as Anna helped her prepare for her wedding to the Marquess. He had chosen the parish chapel that sat very near the Bronson estate.
The Marquess had expressed his intention to wait an additional week so that his one of his sisters would be able to attend. His other sister lived out of the country and was unable to come, though she was delighted for her brother and expressed her congratulations and well-wishes through correspondence.
The sister that was attending, Katherine LaCross, had an adorable 7-year-old daughter, who would act as Lavinia’s flower girl. At first, the thought of having a child she had never met walking before her to spread the flower petals and herbs was a bit unnerving. What if the child was unruly or unable to follow directions?
The Marquess had laughed when she mentioned this, saying that his niece, Patricia, was the sweetest child he had met and was extremely smart.
“She will do the job nicely, my dear,” the Marquess assured her. “Do not worry yourself about such petty things.”
And when Lavinia met the child, she knew her future husband w
as right. The little girl was not only petite and pretty, she was smart as a whip.
“Oh, Anna,” Lavinia sighed, looking in the mirror at her long, white gown. “I am… I am…”
Anna laughed, gazing at her friend in the mirror. “I know, Lavinia. I am excited for you, too.”
Lavinia could not help but share in her friend’s laughter. “I cannot believe I am finally here, Anna. I cannot believe it is really the Marquess that I am marrying.”
Anna scrunched up her nose and giggled. “I know!”
They both laughed softly. Anna turned and picked up the small bouquet of white daisies tied with a yellow ribbon. She handed it to Lavinia.
“It is nearly time. Here is your bouquet. I just know you will have such a wonderful life with him, Lavinia. I am so very happy for you. Come! We must go to the chapel so you can be married!”