A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle (82 page)

“
Just a request.” Chatham’s
eyes darted about. “Allow me—after you and Grace are married, can I
come to visit occasionally? I want to try to have a relationship
with her. I know I’ve squandered many years when I could have spent
them getting to know her. I’ve been a horrible father to her. But I
want—I need to change that. Please.” He lowered his eyes to the
floor.

Alex didn’t give an immediate
response. He gave this last request thorough consideration. “If
Grace is willing, you may visit. However, the decision will rest in
her hands. She has a mind of her own, and I refuse to force her to
do anything she is uncomfortable with.”

Chatham breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you.”

“
Do not thank me. She may
not wish to see you. And she may change her mind at any
time.”

“
But you’ll allow it, so I
thank you. So now, what are your terms? What will you expect on my
end of the bargain?”

“
I have only one
requirement. You will never use the word whore in regard to Grace
again. Not to me, not to her, not to anyone.”

“
That’s all? You require no
dowry?”

A dowry? Surely if he expected payment
for her before, the man had no means to provide a dowry.

“
No dowry. Grace is enough
on her own. I’ve no need for money, Chatham, as I’m positive you
are aware.”

“
Then we have an
arrangement.”

Alex nodded. “It seems we
do.”

But now he must convince
Grace.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Grace calmed herself. The others who
had left the salon returned, save her father and Lord Alexander.
Aunt Dorothea reentered the room with an expression of glee sent in
Grace’s direction.

Conversation flowed around her, about
the upcoming entertainments and events of the ton, along with a
great deal of speculation about some of the more recent gossip.
Lady Charlotte complained about how everyone else could attend, but
she was stuck in the schoolroom. Grace could think of nothing to
add to the discussion, not knowing these people around her, and not
truly having been exposed much to London society, so she chose to
remain silent.

Lady Sophia moved across the room to
sit beside her. “Grace, would you like to stroll about the room
with me? You seem agitated. It might help to move.”

She breathed an unintended sigh of
relief. “Oh, yes, that would be lovely.” They walked side-by-side,
ignored by the rest of the company in the salon.

“
I know we don’t know each
other well, Grace, but I believe we’ll be good friends. More than
friends, actually, since you’ll be my sister.”

“
I’ve never had a sister
before, Lady Sophia. I do not know how one should behave with one’s
sisters.”

“
Well to start, you ought
to call me Sophie and leave the ‘lady’ behind,” she said with a
kind smile and a firm pat on the back of Grace’s hand.

“
All right,
Sophie.”

“
Excellent. And then you
could tell me what’s really bothering you. I mean really, truly
disturbing you. Sisters help each other. It’s part of some sort of
unwritten rule book or something. Let me help you.”

Much like her mother, Sophie’s tone
demanded attention—she would not be deterred. What was it about
these Hardwickes that gave them such confidence, such eminence? It
was certainly more than their station in society. Why, they weren’t
all that much higher in rank than herself. And they didn’t comport
themselves in a way that spoke to arrogance, simply one that
commanded respect. If only one day, she too could walk with such an
air of self-assuredness. Grace took a tentative look around the
room to determine whether anyone else was listening in to their
conversation.

“
Your secret won’t be
overheard. Char has them all well entranced.” Sophie slowed her
gait and looked hard at Grace. “I won’t betray your confidence, you
have my word. This will be between you and me, no one
else.”

She swallowed. Grace wanted to trust
Sophie, but trust had never come easy for her.

She leaned in and whispered up into
Sophie’s ear. “I’m with child.” A fierce blush rushed to her face
and she fought to maintain control over her emotions. It wouldn’t
do to burst into yet another bout of hysterics. If only her
emotions were not so close to the surface all the time, these days.
Surely it would be easier to conceal them if they didn’t
continuously amble their way to the forefront.

“
I see.” Sophie didn’t
appear shocked, which shocked Grace in turn. “And am I to
understand the child is not my brother’s, and he is unaware of your
circumstances?”

She expected censure in Sophie’s tone,
but could detect no change. “Yes. I mean no.” Blast her nerves. She
shook her free hand, trying to shake some of the nervous energy
away. It only served to draw the attention of Lord Neil, which then
sent her heartbeat to a full gallop, because the man’s face looked
entirely too much like Lord Alexander for her comfort. “I mean yes,
that’s what you should understand, and no, your brother is not
aware, nor is he the father.”

“
You’ve said you love my
brother. Do you also love the baby’s father, Grace?” Her voice was
soft, soothing.

“
Oh, no. Not at all.” She
shuddered at the thought.

“
I should think you’d want
to rush to the altar with Alex, then. I’m afraid I don’t understand
the problem.”

Hearing such a thought from Sophie
shattered her. Must the whole world conspire against her? She
wished desperately she could find someone—anyone—who could
understand her plight. “But I can’t. He can’t marry me.”

“
Why? Help me understand,
Grace.”

“
Because…because he
deserves better.” Her voice cracked. “He deserves a lady who hasn’t
been ruined, who can give him his own children.”

A few moments passed. “Do you think he
would agree with your assessment, Grace?”

Grace blinked. “I don’t
know.”

“
And what makes you think
you won’t give him his own children? Or that he wouldn’t accept
your child as his own? Actually, if you are already with child,
after what I assume was your first encounter? If that is the case,
then wouldn’t it be more reasonable to assume you will
without a doubt
be able
to provide him with his own children?”

“
Ah, well. Oh, why must you
be so reasonable?” Blast Sophie for sneaking into her heart with
that one, single speech, and aggravating her, all in one swoop.
Everything was going against the plan.

“
Because that’s what I do.
That’s what sisters are for. We conspire together, we argue, we
confide in each other, and we help each other to see reason. Get
used to it. There’s much more to come.”

Too much more, if the course of the
day didn’t take a drastic turn.

Sophie winked at her. “Well, I’ll tell
you what I think about this whole situation. I think—”

She was cut off by the return of Lord
Alexander and Grace’s father.

“
Grace, I need to speak
with you alone, please,” her father announced over the din of the
room. “Your Grace, might I continue to use your
library?”

The duke agreed, and Grace excused
herself from Sophie to follow her father.

Once they were settled in the library,
Father began. “Lord Alexander and I have just negotiated the terms
for your marriage. He’ll ask you to marry him later this evening,
and you will accept.”

The courage she’d found earlier in the
day bubbled forth again. “No, Father, I won’t.” Where was this all
coming from? It must be from being in the presence of so many
others who were always so sure of themselves. The Hardwickes had
been a very favorable influence on her, indeed. At least to her way
of thinking.

“
I beg your pardon? You
will obey me, Grace. I’m still your father and your guardian, even
if you won’t be coming back to live with me.”

“
Yes, you are my father.
And if you order me to marry him, I’ll be forced to obey. I’ll have
no choice in the matter. But if he asks me, I assure you, I will
refuse.”

“
You don’t love him?” He
looked bewildered, aghast.

“
I do love him, which is
precisely the reason I won’t marry him. He deserves better than
me.” The pain of speaking the words out loud set her legs to
shaking beneath her. Now was not the time to feel faint.

“
But he compromised you. He
admitted to me he’s done even more than that. Why would you refuse
him?”

“
Because he doesn’t know
about the child, Father.” The words came out on a sob, and she
berated herself for showing such weakness in front of
Father.

“
The child? Why should the
bloody child matter? For all he knows, it could be his own.” He
paused for a moment, seeming to search his mind. “Actually, he does
know about the child. And he’s still agreed.”

“
He knows? How does he
know?” The room seemed to rock around her, like a ship on stormy
water. She reached her hands out, grasping for something to hold
onto, something to ground her, something to calm the tempest
brewing in her head.

“
Because I told him. He
doesn’t care. The child is unimportant.”

Her child was
not
unimportant. And she
absolutely, unequivocally would not marry any man who thought such
a thing. She would leave. She would find a way. At least she would
as soon as the floor stopped moving.

“
Your wishes
notwithstanding, I’ll not marry him. You’ll have to get by without
however much blunt the man has promised you in exchange for me,
though I cannot fathom how you have managed to extract anything
from him at this point. That’s all I have to say on the
matter.”

“
Why you
impertinent—”

He broke off, but Grace knew what he
intended to say. She raised her chin in defiance.

“
You will marry him. If you
don’t accept him on your own, I will command you to marry.
You
will
obey.” He
stalked from the room.

She moved to stare out the window,
bracing herself on one piece of furniture after the other in order
to keep her balance. If only she had paid more attention to their
surroundings while she’d traveled with her aunt and uncle. It would
be much easier to escape if she knew where to go.

But she absolutely would not marry a
man who thought her child unimportant. A nuisance. Another man’s
by-blow.

This was
her
child. She would have
to find a way—some way—to give her the home she
deserved.

Her
. Grace was already thinking of the baby as a little girl. She
took one hand from the window frame and held it against the slight
swell of her belly.

I’ll find a way. Everyone
in your life will love you, little one. You won’t grow up like I
did.

~ * ~

Alex reentered his brother’s library
where Grace was waiting for him. Chatham hadn’t told him about how
their conversation had gone. He’d just left and told him she was
ready.

Of course, she’d refused him before.
But with her father on his side, she would change her mind. She
would accept. Grace would marry him.

She stood by the picture window,
staring out at the fading sun, one hand resting on the windowsill.
Her black-as-night hair hung in a loose knot at the nape of her
neck instead of her customary strict bun. A few tendrils wisped
along her brow and tucked behind her ear. He didn’t want to break
the beauty of the moment, the perfect picture standing before him.
But she turned to face him, and her eyes pierced him
through.

“
Your father told me I
might find you here to speak with you. Grace, I have something to
ask you.”

He stepped toward her but she gave him
no encouragement. When he reached her, he took her free hand in his
own. His hand shivered from the chill of her fingers.

“
I would like you to be my
wife. I want to care for you, to have a family with you. We can
live in Somerton and be near your aunt and uncle, and near Lord
Rotheby. I can provide for you. I can make you happy, Grace.” He
searched her eyes for something, anything. “Will you marry
me?”

Her face showed no emotion, but she
trembled beneath his touch. “No, my lord, I will not.”

A blow to the stomach would have been
easier to accept. He released her hand to draw his own through his
hair. Pivoting on his boots, he paced the library floor. What agony
this was. “There’s nothing I can do to change your
mind?”

“
No, my lord.
Nothing.”

He paced some more, grasping for
anything to convince her to accept him. But he found no answer.
“But the scandal.” Surely she couldn’t face the scandal surrounding
her if she refused. The scandal of birthing a child while
unmarried. Of being an unwed mother. Society did not favor such
women.