The Heart of Love

by Platt, Meara

  After all, they seemed to be quite friendly.

  It would not be a long visit, but she needed to take her mind off Tilbury’s inexplicable silence. Dahlia was only stopping in to make certain the workmen had delivered the correct wallpaper that would go up tomorrow. “Let’s stop at Blakney’s pie shop once we’re done,” Dahlia suggested.

  Heather readily agreed.

  When they arrived at the duke’s home, Heather was shocked to find Tilbury casually having tea with Stoke and Lady Melinda.

  He rose at once. “My dear, I was going to stop by to see you next. I’ve just returned to town.” He strode to her side to buss her cheek. “Don’t you look lovely?”

  She didn’t feel lovely.

  In truth, she no longer understood any of what was going on. “I did not realize you’d ever left London. My parents are in town. They were hoping to see you last night.”

  “I should have told you.” He appeared sincerely contrite. “But Stoke and I had urgent business to attend to, and we had to leave quite suddenly. We thought to be back yesterday, but the matter took longer than expected to resolve.” He muttered something about Lord Liverpool and a trade negotiation with the wool merchants’ guild that sounded utterly fabricated to her ears.

  But she had no business experience.

  Every word of it might have been true.

  “I only meant to drop Stoke back here, but then I was lured into viewing the new wallpaper your sister,” he said, turning to bow over Dahlia’s hand, “had ordered special and was being delivered today.”

  Seriously? He was lured by wallpaper?

  She glanced at Dahlia. Not even her sister believed it.

  He was still bowing over Dahlia’s hand. “What a pleasant coincidence to see you here.”

  “Yes,” Dahlia said wryly. “Saves you the bother of an extra trip to Chipping Way.”

  “It is never a bother.” He turned to Heather. “Perhaps once we’ve returned from our wedding tour, your sister will help you redecorate our home. It ought to have your touch, don’t you think?”

  She blushed. “Yes, it is an excellent idea.”

  The entire conversation was utterly polite, and every word plausible, but not a bit of it rang true.

  Heather said little, eager to be away from Tilbury, Stoke, and his daughter. She felt as though she were talking to strangers. “My sister and I must be off. We have another appointment.”

  It was a lie.

  It tripped so easily off her tongue, and she said it while looking straight at Tilbury.

  They were not yet married, and she was already lying to him. She suspected he was lying to her.

  How could they start their married life this way? She had never considered being anything but honest with her husband. Of course, dashing off with Dahlia because they were going to eat pies was just a small fib.

  But why would she feel the need to get away from the man she was going to pledge her life to in a matter of days? She wanted to insist they speak alone but did not want to say anything in front of Stoke or Lady Melinda.

  She tried to implore him silently, but he did not seem to get the hint. They could not put off the discussion any longer.

  They had to call off the wedding.

  It had to be done by mutual agreement. She could not do it alone for fear he would sue her family for breach of promise. Her parents would lose everything they’d worked for over the years.

  She left never feeling so ill in her life.

  Within the hour, she and Dahlia were seated at Blakney’s Confectionery eating their pies.

  “Heather, you are going to choke if you don’t stop cramming that apple crumble down your throat.”

  Her mouth was too full to immediately reply, but she nodded as she shoveled down more. Yes, that was it. She could eat herself sick and miss her wedding.

  She glanced at Dahlia’s plate and the cherry tart still on it, hardly picked. “I’ll have your cherry tart if you don’t want it, Dahlia.”

  Her sister grabbed her hand and held it still so that she could not stick her fork into the confection. “What is the matter with you? And don’t you dare tell me it is nothing. We have to talk about this. You cannot turn into a runaway bride.”

  She nodded miserably. “All I want to do is talk to Tilbury before the wedding. I think he’s purposely avoiding me. What was he doing at Stoke’s home? And the other night at his ball, Stoke and his daughter were with him more than I was. Why are they suddenly the best of friends?”

  “The best of friends…again. They’ve known each other since childhood.” Dahlia dabbed her lips with her table linen. “It troubled me, too.”

  “And yet, Tilbury was ever the perfect gentleman. I don’t know what to make of him. Not even Robbie doubts his integrity.”

  Dahlia nibbled her lip. “Ronan and Joshua like him, too. But there is no denying something is going on.”

  “Perhaps it is this mysterious business he and Stoke are handling on behalf of Lord Liverpool.”

  “Oh, Heather. I don’t believe there is any business going on. At least, not anything parliamentary.” Dahlia took a deep breath. “You’re not going to like what I am thinking.”

  “Just say it. I need to figure out what is happening here.”

  “You’re right.” She took another deep breath. “I think it’s about him and Lady Melinda. You know how there were rumors about her and a mysterious marquess?”

  Heather nodded. “Poor Ronan was in the thick of it. He bore the brunt of her little schemes, constantly having his name linked to hers in the scandal sheets. She claimed it was all in fun, didn’t she?”

  “Yes,” Dahlia said with a frown. “Supposedly to make a certain marquess jealous and lure him into proposing to her. I thought it was all made up. I was sure she was in love with someone else. And now I am worried that she was also manipulating me into believing…oh, good heavens. Do you think she’s been after Tilbury all this time?”

  Heather’s heart shot into her throat. “Tell me everything you know. Every detail, no matter how inconsequential you believe it is.”

  “Of course.” Dahlia shook her head. “I was certain she was in love with…oh, I dare not say.”

  Heather set aside her plate and cast her sister an imploring gaze. “Please. You must tell me everything.”

  Dahlia glanced around. “Not here. Let’s stop at Holly’s. We can talk there, undisturbed. And we may as well bring her in on the discussion. Mama and Papa aren’t due back for hours yet.”

  But they had no sooner arrived and settled in the parlor than Joshua, Ronan, and Robbie marched in.

  Robbie took one look at her and knew her dreams were falling apart. “Pixie, what’s wrong? Has something happened to ye?”

  Chapter Ten

  Robbie took a step forward, his instinct to take Heather in his arms. But she held out her hands to wave him off. “No, Robbie. Nothing is wrong.”

  “Well, there’s a statement no one believes, lass.” She looked so beaten down; he couldn’t bear it.

  She tipped her chin up in indignation. “It is no one’s business. I can handle it myself.”

  “Yerself? And ye dinna wish for anyone else’s help? Or is it just my help ye dinna want?” He hadn’t meant to sound angry, but she was hurting, and he wanted to protect her. It did not sit well with him that she was doing her best to push him away. “Och, lass. What has Tilbury done?”

  Her eyes rounded in surprise. “What makes you think—”

  “Heather, stop.” Dahlia was staring intently at her sister. “You’re doing the same thing I did with Gerald Wainscott, thinking I was capable of handling the situation. Instead, I stood there like a spineless dimwit while he humiliated me in front of all my friends and family.”

  Dahlia glanced at her husband, and her expression immediately turned loving. “I should have let Ronan step up and hit him from the first. Not that I approve of violence, but Gerald would have been too busy dealing with his bloody nose to say all thos
e hurtful things to me. I was so badly wounded by him, and Gerald and I were not even betrothed. Not only are you betrothed to Tilbury, but you are marrying him the day after tomorrow. This is not the time for your pride to get in the way.”

  Heather sank onto the settee and buried her face in her hands. “You’re right. This is a nightmare.”

  “Blessed saints,” Joshua muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Will someone tell me what is going on?”

  “Shall I start?” Robbie said, staring at Heather and knowing what he was about to say would be hurtful to her. “We’ve tossed the question about, but nobody had the answer for it. I think I do now.”

  “What question, Robbie?” Heather asked, her words muffled because her face was still buried in her hands, and she would not lower them to look up at him.

  “What is it Tilbury saw in ye to make him want to marry ye?” He tried to keep his voice gentle because he knew his next words were going to be unkind, and he desperately wished he did not have to wound her. “He saw Lady Melinda in ye, lass. This is why he offered for yer hand in marriage.”

  “Robbie? Is this true?” Holly was now gaping at him, her expression one of confusion.

  “Aye, it’s the truth. I’ve thought of nothing but Heather since the moment I set eyes on her. I’ve done nothing but look at her, think of her every chance I got. I’ve memorized the way she moves, the way she stands. For me to mistake Lady Melinda for her…well, that speaks to how closely Heather resembles her.”

  “But only from a distance,” Ronan added. “Up close, talking to you, Heather, one would never mistake you for Melinda.”

  “Aye, lass. She does no’ have yer entrancing eyes or yer beautiful smile.” He expected Heather to be jumping up in outrage by now, but she did not jump. She did not flinch. She did not move a muscle. “Pixie, say something. I’m sorry if my words hurt ye. Of course, they hurt ye. I’d give anything for them not to be true. But I knew it the moment I walked into Tilbury’s ballroom and mistook her for ye. She had her back to the door and was standing beside Tilbury. I was certain I was looking at ye.”

  He gave a laughing groan. “It was only when she turned around that I realized my error. It hit me like a bolt of lightning. This is why he chose ye. I could no’ shake the feeling. I wished so desperately to be wrong. But I dinna think I am.”

  Dahlia sank onto the settee beside her sister and put her arms around her. However, she looked up at him as she spoke. “Oh, Robbie. This is why we came over to Holly’s. We’d just come to the same realization. We did not want to believe it either. We hoped to get Holly’s opinion, talk it out, and convince ourselves we were wrong.”

  Dahlia now turned to Ronan. “You once told me that Lady Melinda was manipulative, but I never realized to what lengths she would go. She had me convinced she was in love with someone else. I was sure of it. I felt so sorry for her.”

  Ronan nodded. “I know, love.”

  “It never occurred to me that she was… I still don’t understand what she is doing—suddenly becoming my best friend. Working with me to redecorate her home. Was it all a ruse to keep me close and find out what was going on between Heather and Tilbury?”

  Holly clasped her hands, now obviously fretting. “They are despicable. Both of them. Using my two younger sisters for their petty game.” She drew a chair up beside Heather so that both her sisters were now flanking her and offering comfort. “Why would he simply not ask Lady Melinda to marry him?”

  Ronan cleared his throat. “He very well may have offered for her, but she was still angry over losing her mother and perhaps angry with him for something he might have done, or said, or should have said. Who knows what might have passed between the two of them? But this is how she is. Tilbury might have innocently said or done something to offend her. However, since she was feeling pain, she had to make him hurt as well. By the time she came around to realizing what she had done, he’d found himself a Melinda look-alike in Heather. I know it is no consolation to you, Heather, but I think you are the far better choice. In time, he will come to realize it.”

  She lifted her head finally and gazed at Ronan in astonishment. “In time? No, I cannot marry him. But how do I get out of it now? I’ve been trying to get a hold of him for days in the hope we might talk, and do you know where he was? Chatting as calm as you please with the Duke of Stoke and Melinda. He spouted some nonsense about intending to call upon me next.”

  She gave a huff and continued, “He claimed to have just returned to London and stopped in at the Stoke residence to see the wallpaper Dahlia chose for their home. Wallpaper? While I sent him three notes over these past few days begging him to see me?”

  She rolled her eyes. “He was caught unaware when we walked in. Our visit was unexpected and surprised him. He said the first thing that came into his mind and assured me ever so politely that he would call upon me. But I know he won’t. He’s been purposely avoiding me and will do so until he has to face me in church on our wedding day. But there won’t be a wedding. I won’t marry him.”

  Robbie let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Lass, do ye mean it? Ye will no’ go through with the ceremony?”

  She nodded. “How can I now?”

  His heart soared, but only for the moment. It was one thing to wish to break off their betrothal, but there were dire consequences to such an action, especially if Tilbury meant to hold her to the promise to marry him.

  If she refused, he could sue her parents and ruin them financially. He had the wealth and power to do it.

  “I have to try to end it, Robbie. I don’t know if I’ll succeed. Perhaps if I reach out to Lady Melinda for help. She has a vested interest. She had to know the moment Tilbury proposed to me that he was sending her a message.”

  Dahlia looked quite troubled. “They’ve been using everyone, especially Heather and the Duke of Stoke’s estate manager. That quiet, earnest fellow, James Dawson. He was the one she pretended to be in love with. Dear heaven, what this man must have been thinking!”

  “Poor Mr. Dawson,” Heather said, nodding. “He must have been quaking in his boots, worried that her little game would cause him to lose his position. All it would have taken was a careless word from Melinda, and the duke would have sacked him without references.”

  “Let’s talk to Tilbury,” Joshua said. “If it is a game to him, then it must now come to an end. I’ll go to him. I’ll bring Tynan with me. Ronan, you keep out of it. You already have a history with Melinda, and it will not help to have it dug up again. Robbie, you also have to keep out of it. You cannot be objective about the situation. You’ll hit him, and that will only make matters worse. Perhaps I’ll bring Tynan, Marcus, and James with me. The three Brayden earls.”

  “I dinna need ye fighting my battles.” Robbie was not pleased to be shut out. “I’ve dealt with those Upper Crust arses all year long in Parliament. I know how to handle them.”

  Everyone rolled their eyes at him, even Heather. “It isn’t your battle, Robbie. It’s mine,” she pointed out with irritating calm. “None of you will go with me. I won’t have you risking your positions because you’ve angered Stoke and Tilbury. If Tilbury won’t see me, then I’ll turn to Dillie’s husband, the Duke of Edgeware for help. I’ll tell him what has happened and ask him to summon Tilbury…or come with me when I pay a call on Stoke. They can’t touch him. He’s too powerful.”

  “Will ye drag yer cousins and their husbands into this now?” Robbie frowned, not liking that the matter was being taken out of his control. He ought to be the one to get his hands on Tilbury. He supposed this is why none of them wanted him near the man.

  They did not trust his temper.

  But they were wrong. Heather mattered more to him than foolish pride. “We are all good at our positions as military liaisons because we know how to negotiate. Ye know I have good instincts and understand how to horse trade. All I have to do is offer Tilbury something he wants in exchange for something I want.”

/>   Indeed, it could be easily accomplished without having to punch, threaten, or abduct anyone. Tilbury wanted Melinda. He just needed to get the pair together and admitting they cared for each other. Then Tilbury would agree to release Heather from the unwanted betrothal.

  He just wanted to keep the others out of the way and let him do whatever he needed to do to reach that goal.

  Ronan frowned. “There’s more involved with that pair than mere horse-trading.”

  Joshua agreed. “What if he isn’t through playing his game?”

  “Perhaps we should involve Edgeware,” Holly said.

  “Or Honey’s husband, the Earl of Wycke,” Dahlia interjected.

  Robbie ran a hand through his hair in consternation as the others kept tossing out ideas that were considered and dismissed. “Enough,” he finally said with a quiet authority that silenced everyone. “Ye need to let me handle the matter. Heather’s not to go to Edgeware or Wycke, even if they are family and will agree to help. No one’s to go to them. In fact, ye’re to leave them completely out of it. I dinna need their assistance. Heather, even ye have to stay out of the way for now.”

  She was not pleased with the suggestion. “It is my life at stake. Shouldn’t I have a say in the negotiations?”

  “Ye’ve had it. Ye dinna want the marriage. Thank the Graces ye came around to it in time. I think I would have made an arse of myself if ye hadn’t.”

  She tipped her head and eyed him quizzically. “What would you have done?”

  “Not sure. For all the talk about wanting only yer happiness, the truth of the matter is that I’m a possessive arse, and I wanted ye to be happy with me and no one else. I dinna think I could have given ye up to another, especially if I thought ye dinna love the man ye were about to marry or he dinna love ye.”

  “Which he doesn’t. We all understand this now. You would have stopped the ceremony?”