by Gill, Tamara
“Hmm,” Ava said, narrowing her eyes on Evie. “Are you certain about that choice? If you told Carlisle of your circumstance, I think you would find that he would break off his engagement with Lucy and marry you. You do love him, do you not? Why not fight for him instead of running away to Europe?”
“Could you imagine what society would think if they found out what I had done. To them, I slept with my sister’s betrothed and fell pregnant with his child. I cannot let anyone know what I have done, not if I’m to protect the child I’m carrying from being labeled a bastard, among other things.”
“People will ask questions. Are you prepared for those?” Ava asked.
“I will have some months to prepare myself for those questions while we’re in Europe. If I have to see my family or Lucy and her husband, I shall ensure my child is safe at home, and I shall only visit sparingly. I cannot see them together. Even to imagine Finn lost to me forever is a pain that I cannot bear.”
“You love him so very much, Evie. Please tell him the truth. I know the duke shied away from society, the gossip and scandals all because his father was normally the very one who created them, but he would throw all of that aside if he knew that you were having his baby. He loves you, I’m sure, and does not wish to marry Lucy. You really ought to give him the opportunity to choose.”
“I did give him the opportunity to choose, and because of my sister’s scheming, her reminder of the scandal, the duke chose her. No child in my womb should alter his choice. He either wishes to be with me, or he does not.”
“He does love you, though,” Molly said. “The other night at Lord and Lady Hood’s ball, I watched him most of the evening. He did little but stare at you, his eyes following you about the room like you were the only woman present.”
“I know the duke cares for me, but he has chosen to honor his understanding with Lucy, and no matter what Lucy has done, I do love her and never wish to see her shunned by society. Not simply because she was fooled by a man who lied to her.”
“I like your sister too, Evie, but she chose to run away. Had her beau not run away, she would already be married to him. The duke and yourself need to remember that when you’re deciding to live separate lives. Why should you both suffer the consequences of someone else? Yes, Carlisle should not have offered to Lucy, but neither did she have to agree to his offer when all along she was in love with someone else.”
“And had no intention of marrying the duke,” Molly put in, her lips pursed.
“What do you mean by that?” Ava asked, looking at Molly before turning to Evie.
Evie sighed, knowing Ava deserved to know the whole truth. “The night before Lucy ran away with Mr. Brown, she asked me to seduce the duke, or at least convince the duke that he’d made a mistake in asking for her hand. She asked me to help her break off the understanding in some way.”
Ava gasped, her hand clutching the pearls about her neck. “Tell me this is not true. Your sister asked this of you, and you’re still willing to let her marry the man you love and who loves you in return. I cannot allow their marriage to occur. It would be a mistake and one they both will pay the price for the moment they’re expected to consummate the marriage.”
The idea of Lucy sleeping with the duke made Evie’s stomach turn, and she took a calming breath. “All that you say is true, I know that, but it doesn’t change anything. The duke may love me as much as I love him, but he offered to Lucy first, and now she is in need of his name to save her reputation. I will not stand in the way of that.”
“You also need the duke’s name to save your reputation, Evie. And if you think for one moment that Carlisle will be pleased that you did not tell him that you’re carrying his child, you are acting a bigger fool than you already are.”
“Ava,” Evie said, a shard of hurt piercing her heart at her friend’s words. “That is unkind.”
“I’m being honest. Carlisle will hate the fact that his child is now illegitimate because you did not tell him the truth. He will find out, Evie. The truth always has a way of coming out.”
“That is very true,” Molly said, nodding in agreement.
Evie looked between her friends. They meant well, but Lucy was her sister. How could she ruin her sister’s only chance of keeping her reputation intact? No one knew outside their friend set that Evie had been intimate with the duke, loved him beyond reason. Her reputation was safe, so long as she could disappear into the wilds of England with her baby somewhere, never to return.
“I know what you’re saying, and I love you for your honesty, truly I do.” Evie reached out and clasped both of her friends’ hands, squeezing them a little. “But I have made up my mind, and I’m determined to allow the duke and Lucy to continue on with their plans for a future together. I will be happy to remove myself from society and not be in anyone’s way.”
Ava shook her head, her lips pulled into a disapproving, thin line. “I do not agree with this. You’re Evie, our impulsive, fun, determined friend. You ought to fight for your heart and happy future.”
“I may have lost the duke,” Evie said, loving her friends for their support and honesty. “But I shall not be heartbroken. I will have a little part of him when our child is born, and that child will be my greatest love. A sign that what we had together was real, even if it were only fleeting.”
Molly sighed, smiling wistfully. “That is truly lovely, but we still do not agree. You need to tell the duke the truth and now, before it’s too late.”
“I agree,” Ava put in. “And if you do not, Evie Milton, be warned, that I shall.”
Chapter 16
Finn paced Earl Tinley’s drawing room at His Lordship’s yearly ball, the muffled sounds of music and conversation seeping into the room. The ball was far from an enjoyable night out, it was a crush out there, too many people in attendance, the stifling heat from the compacted bodies and the numerous odors were enough to make him want to leave, get on his horse, and return to Wiltshire.
He swore, running a hand through his hair. Tomorrow was his wedding day. A day that he could not go through with. He’d tried to do as Evie asked him, to steel himself to marry Lucy, but he could not. He could not marry a woman he did not love, nevertheless know.
Especially when the woman whom he did love was right at this moment gracing the ballroom he’d just left, her eyes bright with excitement as she talked with her friends, her face as sweet as he remembered it. The time that they had been apart having been torture, and he would no longer be a party to such pain.
He loved her.
Wanted her and damn it all to hell, he’d damn well marry her, no matter what she thought on the issue. No matter that he’d made a mistake in asking Miss Lucy to be his bride. He should never have worried about Lucy’s reputation or the scandal to their families should he cry off. She’d run off with another man, for heaven’s sake. He was a fool to even think to salvage such a union.
The door to the drawing room opened, and he turned to see Lucy, giggling and clasping the hand of a gentleman he had not seen before. The moment she saw him, her steps faltered, her cheeks turning a bright red that did not suit her at all.
“Your Grace, I did not know you were in here.”
He raised one brow, staring down at her and not giving the gentleman a second glance. “So it would seem,” he drawled.
Lucy glanced between the man at her side and Finn, working her bottom lip between her teeth. She oozed guilt, and Finn’s temper stirred.
“Pray do tell me, Miss Lucy. Who is your acquaintance?”
Lucy’s eyes welled with tears, and within a moment of his question, she was seeking a handkerchief from her pocket, her cheeks wet with tears. “I’m so very sorry, Your Grace. This is Mr. Brown and the man that I love. He came back for me, you see.”
“Did he now?” Finn drawled, fisting his hand at his side before walking up to the tall, spindly looking fellow. He punched him straight on his nose, sending him careening backward before he landed hard on hi
s ass. Lucy screamed, kneeling beside her fallen rogue, her handkerchief now in use of cleaning up the bastard’s bloody nose.
“You broke my nose,” the man mumbled, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
“You broke his nose,” Lucy gasped, dabbing at the man’s face with little effect.
Finn flexed his hand, shrugging. “I do apologize, but I think it was long overdue.”
Lucy stood, fisting her hands on her hips. She glowered at him, reminding him of Evie for the first time since he’d met the chit. His stomach clenched, knowing he’d lost Evie and all because of this fickle little troublesome wench before him. He should have thrown being a gentleman aside, allowed her to ruin herself due to her foolish actions, and married Evie as he wished.
Instead, he’d allowed Evie to shoulder her ruination by herself. He did not care that she was of similar age to him, or if she could not give him children. He only wanted her, and if Miss Lucy did not cry off the understanding between them, then he damn well would.
“I cannot marry you, Your Grace. I love Mr. Brown, and he shall be my husband.”
Finn chuckled, more than happy with her words. He bowed. “As you wish, Miss Lucy. And let us all hope that this time nothing else calls your Mr. Brown away from you before you marry the rogue. Because this time,” he said, leaning close so only she could hear, “I will not be standing to the side to save you, no matter how many tears you shed.”
Finn left Lucy gaping after him in the drawing room with her favored Mr. Brown and started for the ballroom, determined to seek out Evie. He needed to find her, to tell her he was sorry and that he was a bastard for not throwing her trouble-making sister to face her ruination, one of her own making, and marry Evie instead.
His actions made him look like a bastard, and he wasn’t uncertain that he wasn’t one. All he could hope was that Evie would forgive him, allow him to show her that he’d made a mistake, a colossal one, and he was sorry.
Evie having had enough of the ball and watching her sister fawn over the Duke of Carlisle as if she were in love with him, left the ball and stood in wait while the footman hailed a hackney carriage for her. When one came around the corner, she thanked the servant before giving the coachman her address and stepping inside.
No sooner had she sat on the seat, the carriage lurched to one side, and she watched in both equal parts horror and shock as the Duke of Carlisle joined her, slamming the door closed and tapping the roof to signal they were ready to leave.
She glared at him. “What are you doing here? Have this carriage stopped and get out, Your Grace.” He reached for her, and she pushed him away. “Do not touch me, Finn. You have no right to touch me. Not anymore.”
“Please, Evie,” he pleaded, the sight of his sweet face tempting her more than ever to throw herself into his arms. The thought of Lucy stopped her, and she crossed her arms over her chest to halt her impulsive actions.
“I made a mistake, Evie. A colossal mistake that I hope you’ll forgive me for. Give me another chance.”
“You’re marrying my sister. There is nothing left for us to say.”
“There is so much more to say. Please let me try.”
Evie stared out the window on Mayfair, watching as the large, opulent homes slipped by. She shouldn’t want to give him a chance. He didn’t deserve one. Not really. He’d chosen her sister, simply because she cried. Evie sighed, that may not have been the only reason, but even so, she wasn’t sure she wanted to allow him to tell her more things that would probably only hurt her.
“Let me explain. I will not leave you alone until you do. I will follow you all about London if I have to.”
Evie shook her head at his insistence, but then she supposed she’d never be able to sleep if she did not know what he wanted to say. Never be able to move on with her life, travel abroad, and have her baby if there were things left unsaid between them.
“Very well, what is it that you have to say?”
He gave her a small smile before seemingly steeling himself to speak his truth. “I just spoke with your sister, and our understanding is over. For two reasons. First, before I caught her with Mr. Brown, I had decided to end our betrothal.”
“What!” Evie wrenched forward. “What do you mean you just caught Lucy with Mr. Brown? Where? At the ball?” She banged on the roof. “Back to where you picked us up from,” she yelled out the window to the driver.
The carriage slowed and turned at the next available corner as Evie turned back to the duke. “You caught Lucy with Mr. Brown? Why ever did you not come and get me? Where is she now? Was she going to run off with him again?”
Finn frowned, holding on to the carriage strap as the vehicle rounded another corner. “I do not know, Evie. She was too busy helping him with his bloody nose.”
“Mr. Brown had a bloody nose? Was he injured?”
“Yes,” Finn said, clasping her arms and wrenching her to sit beside him on the seat. “Because I bloodied it. First for running away with an innocent woman and then for leaving her alone to find her own way home. I bloodied his nose because he threatened both your and your sister’s reputation by acting like a cad. I would bloody anyone’s nose who thought to injure you by their actions.”
His words trickled into her mind, and Evie forgot about Lucy a moment and more about what he was saying. “You punched him? For me?”
“I did, and I will ensure that this time he does not take flight to Paris before marrying your sister. I will not see your family name tarnished, and yours along with it, due to his behavior.”
The carriage rocked to a halt across the street from Lord Hood’s home, and Evie heard her sister’s voice before she saw her. Lucy was standing on the sidewalk, Mr. Brown beside her, still holding a handkerchief to his nose.
Evie inwardly chuckled at seeing the fiend in such a state. He deserved so much more than a bloodied nose, that was certain. She pushed the window down, leaning out. “Lucy, have Mr. Brown escort you here. I need to speak to you.”
Her sister spied her and, pulling Mr. Brown, started across the road, her steps faltering when she spied the Duke of Carlisle inside the carriage. Evie opened the door, without words telling Lucy she needed to get inside.
Lucy sighed but did as she bade, seating her and Mr. Brown across from Evie and the duke. The duke slammed the door closed, wrapping on the roof for the driver to return to her London address. The carriage lurched forward, and so too did Lucy’s tirade.
Chapter 17
“The duke punched Mr. Brown. Without any warning or need to do so. We deserve an apology.”
Evie wondered when her sister became such a little termagant. She’d never been so selfish or self-indulged, but over the past three weeks in London, she had been. Lucy’s confidence that the duke would take her back, simply because she bade it, was unlike her. Or at least the girl Evie had known before her flight from Wiltshire with Mr. Brown in any case. Her actions tonight were proof that she never really cared about Finn or anyone but herself.
“His Grace will not be apologizing to anyone, Lucy. I think it is you who needs to apologize and explain what you’re about. What is Mr. Brown doing in London? I thought you hightailed it abroad to travel with your friends, sir?” Evie said, staring down her nose at the gentleman. Her attempt at chastising him, reminding him of his error, did little good. Mr. Brown seemed as blind as her sister to the wrong or trouble they had both caused.
“I made a mistake and came back to the woman I love. I only got so far as Devon and turned around.”
“How very gentlemanly of you,” the duke drawled, watching them all with a disinterested affair.
“Lucy, do you still wish to marry, Mr. Brown? And what of your understanding with the duke?”
“There is no understanding, certainly not after Mr. Brown told me what he learned about His Grace. Not that I care any longer, since the man I do love has returned for me.” Her sister crossed her arms, pouting like a child. Evie sighed.
“What did
you learn?” the duke asked. Evie felt him stiffen beside her, and she shot a look toward him, noting his hard stare and tense jaw. There could not possibly be any more to this horrendous story that she didn’t already know.
“What did you learn, Lucy?” Evie steeled herself, despite not knowing what her sister was about to say. With Finn tense beside her, she couldn’t help but think it was severe and not what she wanted to hear.
Lucy smirked, pursing her lips. “Well, as to that, before Mr. Brown left for Devon, he met his traveling companions at Lincon’s Inn. He was having lunch and overheard a conversation between Mr. Smithers and one of his work colleagues. You know who Mr. Smithers is, do you not, Your Grace?” Lucy asked, smirking. “They were talking about a time constraint that their client was facing and how it may be solved. That client was the Duke of Carlisle.”
“A very interesting conversation.” Mr. Brown leaned back on the squabs, a triumphant look crossing his face. “Stating that the Duke of Carlisle required a bride from his home county of Wiltshire and one born from a gentleman or gentry if possible. Mr. Smithers also mentioned that the duke only had sixty days to make it all come to fruition, or he would be facing financial ruin.”
“I was that required bride,” Lucy put in. “I’m just so very happy that my Mr. Brown came back for me before I married a man who only offered for my hand to keep his thousands of pounds.”
“You did not have to say yes, Lucy,” Evie stated, wanting to remind her sister that she was just as much to blame for all this mess as the duke was. Not that the news that the duke needed a bride or faced financial ruin was news to her. No, she’d found out that unfortunate information already. She had hoped, however, to save Lucy from that truth.
No woman wanted to hear that any prospective husband only chose her out of necessity. The knowledge that his affections toward her had been due to his fear of losing his fortune left an ache in her chest. They had spent so much time together, had been intimate…that could not have all been false. The duke was capable of love, Evie was sure of it. If the duke was certain of that fact, however, it was another matter entirely.