To Bed or to Wed

by Sandra Sookoo

  “You don’t get to have it quite so easy, brother dear.” Alexandra planted her palms to the table and leaned forward. “I demand a life for a life. You failed to bring my husband back alive, so I refuse to let you tiptoe off into a rose-scented fairy tale. This is your punishment.” Her glare rivaled his on a good day. “You will wed Lady Sophia. There is no other option. I don’t care if it’s not what you want. Be miserable. That’s your lot.”

  “You don’t control me, Alexandra.” Nathan curled one hand into a fist then pounded it on the table so hard, the tea service rattled. “In this, I have the final say.” He held his sister’s gaze, willing her to back down first. “I am the Marquess of Ravenhurst, and this is the end of the matter.”

  Shock swept through him as he realized his words echoed some of the same his father had said to him long ago, but there was nothing for it. Alexandra’s eyes went wide. Did she, too, recall those times from the past? I will not be bossed by my sister. Neither would he be controlled from the grave. Another shocked rocked him. Was her attitude and ruling by guilt what she inherited from their father? Perhaps she hadn’t escaped childhood unscathed at all. He shook his head. No matter. It was past time to finally see to his personal happiness. After everything he’d witnessed in his life, he deserved to welcome in something good.

  Sanders cleared his throat at the door. “I beg your pardon, my lord, but the Duke of Amherst is here with Lady Sophia. His Grace is demanding to speak with you regarding a matter of some urgency.”

  Bollocks. Now what? To the butler, he said, “Show them into the gold parlor. I’ll attend to them as soon as I’m able.”

  Once Sanders had departed, Nathan glared at Alexandra. “Did you ask them to pay a visit?”

  A cold smile curved her lips. “I’d hinted to Lady Sophia you seemed quite jaunty and that I suspected an announcement was in the offing. Yes, I was wrong about the reasoning, but now you cannot back out to their faces.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I’m going upstairs to change. Once I join you in the parlor, I expect you to have had a change of heart, and for you to tell me the marriage contract between you and Lady Sophia will be drawn up soon so I can celebrate the happy news.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  She shrugged as if his twisted fate didn’t bother her in the least. “One little word to the right people can damage a woman’s reputation faster than if she’d showed up at Gunther’s with only a ribbon around her neck. It’s your choice.”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Are you threatening Charlotte?”

  “Do you think I can?” She cocked an eyebrow. “Whatever will you do? Sacrifice yourself to keep someone else safe, or take your chances?”

  He stood rigid while Alexandra exited the room, her words chasing around his head: expect you to have a change of heart. Indeed, that’s exactly what had happened the night at the theater. He hadn’t expected to hint at marriage to Charlotte or her brother, and indeed hadn’t expected to fall so deep once he had her in his arms. But with Charlotte, nothing else seemed to matter except making her happy, which in turn, made him feel the same. He adored every part of her and would do anything to keep her.

  For the first time in his life, Nathan made a decision selfishly, one that wouldn’t benefit anyone else in his family or circle of acquaintances. The only woman he wanted was Charlotte. Anyone in the path of securing her hand could go to the devil for all he cared. There was nothing else anyone could do to make him afraid. He’d survived the worse of humanity. Telling off one duke wouldn’t be that difficult.

  He strode from the morning room, down a short stretch of corridor then pushed into the gold parlor with as much noise as he could manage. His guests didn’t need manners. They didn’t need pretty words or a conversation that went in circles. He’d give them truth and honesty then ask them to leave. Society and the consequences of him angering Amherst could go hang.

  “Good morning, Lady Sophia. Amherst. What do I owe the honor of such an early morning call?” He attempted to inject levity into his voice, but his tone sounded annoyed. After all, why lie about his state of mind if he didn’t plan to observe social conventions.

  Amherst stood then slowly turned to face the marquess. His once blond hair was nearly all silver now, but his back was ramrod straight and his hazel eyes still held sharp wit and vibrant life. “My daughter tells me that you and she have an arrangement for matrimony. It’s well past time to settle the talk and make it official.” His strong voice filled the small parlor.

  Nathan swallowed against the rush of bitter bile into his throat. “I apologize, but there must have been a misunderstanding, for Lady Sophia and I have never discussed the possibility of a union. Perhaps she and my sister have. If you want clarity, ask Alexandra, but this conversation has nothing to do with me.”

  Lady Sophia gasped from her perch on one of the settees. “But it’s expected. You and I talked about it six months ago.”

  There was that word again, expected. I am not a prisoner any more. I’m under no orders to do anyone’s bidding. If he clenched his jaw any tighter, his teeth would crack then fall out. “If we talked about anything remotely having to do with marriage, it was only in passing. I didn’t make you a promise.” This was as close as he’d come to being civilized. “Now, if there will be nothing else, I do have a very important call to make elsewhere in Mayfair.”

  “Is it to that woman you were talking to the other day in front of the bakery? Is she your mistress?” Lady Sophia asked as she stood. Her eyes were wide and her bottom lip trembled.

  “Who…?” Nathan frowned, trying to put a name and a face to the incident. “Oh, you must mean Miss Hawthorne. No, she is most certainly not my mistress, but she is a neighbor.” It crossed his mind to pretend he was having an affair with Miss Hawthorne merely to see the duke and his daughter out of his parlor, but he couldn’t do such damage to Miss Hawthorne’s reputation.

  “Then where do you need to be?” Sophia pressed with a frown on her full lips.

  “I… elsewhere.” He owed these people nothing. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared. He locked gazes with the duke and refused to say anything else.

  They remained thus for several quiet, tension-filled moments before Nathan broke. “Why would you think that woman was my mistress?”

  Lady Sophia shrugged. “Your sister has told me you’ve recently been unfaithful to me. So, I merely assumed—”

  “Perhaps you should inquire at the Swandon residence for his mistress,” Alexandra interrupted as she entered into the room, looking fresh and empowered in a tailored, navy gown. “The gossipmongers have linked his name with Lady Charlotte’s. I’ve seen them together enough to concur. You’d be wise to bring my brother up to scratch soon.”

  “What? Is this true?” Amherst bellowed. “I swear, Ravenhurst, I should call you out with pistols at dawn for leading my daughter on, you rogue.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes. “This situation is a farce enough without you running to dramatics, Amherst.” It could be seen as a slight since the duke was higher in rank than he, but Nathan refused to apologize. It was outside of enough they were in his home and making such outrageous accusations.

  The duke glanced at his daughter then back to Nathan. “I don’t take kindly to men who go back on their word, especially to my daughter.” He drew himself up to his full height. “Whatever you ask as a dowry, I’ll gladly pay it, and petition for a special license. Go on a wedding trip wherever you please. By the time you return, the talk will have died. But know this, I refuse to leave this house today without an agreement between us.”

  Bugger it. “I don’t want your money, or your alleged help, Amherst. I don’t wish to marry your daughter.”

  “But you promised—” Alexandra protested.

  “No, you kept putting forth the idea. I never agreed. The only thing I did was deflect your attention to other mundane subjects.”

  “Enough, Nathan. Give up this nodcock dream of yours an
d sign the papers,” Alexandra warned. “It’s the least you can do for me.”

  “No. I’m done being manipulated.” He pinned his sibling with a hard look. “You’re too much of a schemer for any man to want to marry you. And you’re quite grasping, which makes you desperate. My fondest wish is for you to marry again for love. You’d do well with some of that in your life.” When she opened her mouth, he shook his head. “I’ve apologized for years for Grantley’s death, and I’ll always carry that guilt around in my heart, but both you and I have to move forward.”

  The duke and Alexandra erupted into speech at once, while Lady Sophia wrung her hands and kept muttering about her trousseau.

  Jamie arrived on the scene at that moment. “I hope this isn’t ill timing, but I do need to speak with you, Uncle.” He entered the room, swaggering until he stood directly in front of the marquess. “I have come to a decision.” His voice wavered.

  “Now is not the time,” Nathan began.

  “No.” Jamie made an agitated motion with a hand. “It has to be now before I lose my nerve.” His youthful face was creased with a frown.

  He tossed a look to Alexandra, who shrugged, clearly baffled, but still seething. “Oh? Well, out with it, boy. I might as well make all the people of my acquaintance and relations angry at the same time. Proceed straightaway with your admission.” What else could possibly happen on this wretched morning?

  “I do not wish to inherit your title any longer. In fact, I’m going to pursue my passion of painting with Lord Starkton, in Belgium to start, but we plan to tour all of Europe as the wind takes us.” Jamie finished with a rakish grin and a determined glint in his eye.

  Botheration. Nathan could just picture his nephew chasing scandal with his lover all over the Continent. However, he envied his nephew the freedom to do so. “Well, my boy, I must say I heartily agree with you.”

  “I… I beg your pardon, sir?” Jamie stared, his eyes bulging, while the din in the parlor fell silent as every person watched them.

  “It’s a fantastic idea, you following your passion. I only wish I’d have done the same when I was your age.” Nathan clapped a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “Besides, I’m not willing to give up my title just yet, as I think I’ll be able to do my duty to it soon.”

  Jamie’s eyes were still large as he said, “I thought you would at least yell or growl about it. That’s the usual response.” He peered at Nathan. “Are you quite well, sir?”

  A chuckle escaped Nathan’s throat. “I’m getting there.” That was all in the perspective. “I’m man enough to not bully you, but I must say, I’m sick of the sham this family has become.” He stepped away from his nephew. Some of the rage bubbling inside had quieted.

  “But…”

  “Hush.” After drawing in a deep breath and letting it out, Nathan said, “For a while I lost what I’d wanted from this life and instead let fear and anger and guilt hold me captive. No more.” He looked around the room at the four people who currently clogged his path to happiness. “If you will all excuse me, I have much more happier business to attend.”

  In the foyer, Sanders met him with his greatcoat, hat and gloves. “Thank you, my good man. I don’t know when I shall return.”

  A rap on the door sounded just as Sanders’ hand touched the knob. Once he’d pulled the portal open, he held it wide in order to let Charlotte pass through. One of the butler’s shaggy eyebrows rose in inquiry. “Shall I announce her, my lord?”

  “No.” A grin tugged at the corner of Nathan’s mouth. His pulse accelerated at the mere sight of her. “However, this is hardly the venue I would have liked for such a serious conversation, Lady Charlotte.” Obviously, he couldn’t have Sanders show her into the gold parlor. Once again she wasn’t dressed for the weather and had chosen the same fur-lined cape he’d first seen her in. It was no less enchanting on her today than it had been when he’d met her. Did she require heating that only a kiss could give? “If you had been patient a half-hour longer, I would have reached your door.”

  Instead of the smile he’d hoped he’d induced, a frown settled over her features. “I heard two on-dits about you, Lord Ravenhurst, and I need you to clear up my confusion regarding them.”

  Lud, did the whole of London do nothing except gossip? “What is this about?”

  Before Charlotte could answer, Amherst and his daughter bustled into the foyer. In a flurry of outerwear and other accessories, Lady Sophia said, “Are you the mistress? Beware if you are. He was seen with a lightskirt near the bakery a few days ago so your time with him is probably limited.” She turned to Nathan. “You’re a rake, Lord Ravenhurst, and I thank God our association is done.” She flung open the door ahead of Sanders. “Plus, you’re a liar and refuse to keep promises.”

  “This isn’t the end of the matter, Ravenhurst. You will be called to task,” Amherst warned as he followed his daughter out the door. “I swear I’ll demand satisfaction.”

  Nathan scarcely had time to worry over the implications of the duke’s reach before his most recent guest spoke.

  “Mistress? They think I’m your mistress?” Charlotte’s voice rose with each question. She planted her hands on her hips. “Please tell me you set them straight.”

  “Of course I did.” He glanced at Sanders, and with a jerk of his head, ordered the butler from the foyer. “This has been a trying morning already. Please don’t make it more difficult.”

  “I’m making your morning difficult? I only just arrived.” Annoyance rang in her voice.

  “Let’s say you’re adding to the exasperations.” He wouldn’t give if she wouldn’t. Did she not think better of him?

  “Is this when your temper will come into play then? Will you order me about, or worse?”

  “Do you want it to?” Why was she deliberately provoking him?

  “Perhaps. At least I’ll know if the rumors are true or not.” She whipped a hand off a hip then poked him in the chest with a forefinger. “I apologize that I’ve put out the great and irritable Marquess of Ravenhurst, but you still haven’t answered my question.”

  “You never asked it,” he forced out around clenched teeth. This day wasn’t turning out quite like he’d thought, but meeting the challenge with Charlotte’s quick, heated responses had the power to undo him. It was a different sort of feeling than having anger roll through him—and he wanted to experience more of it.

  “The woman from the bakery you were seen walking arm and arm with the other day. Who is she to you? My mother told me of her.” She jabbed him in the chest again. “And what’s more, why were you squiring her about Town after you and I… after we had… Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter, does it?” Her voice softened. Disappointment and fear shadowed her expressive blue eyes.

  His chest tightened. He’d made her feel those things. In that moment, he doubted he’d be able to offer her anything beyond heartache—just like his father had given his mother. And why the hell was everyone suddenly so concerned with his accidental meeting with Miss Hawthorne? “She’s no one. A neighbor only. I was wool-gathering that day and bumped into her on the street.” He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat. “I offered to escort her and her aged aunt to their next location. Barring that, we do not know each other.”

  Charlotte licked her bottom lip. “What of Lady Sophia? Did you beg off from your arrangement with her?”

  “Woman, there was no arrangement! Why does no one listen to me?” Nathan shoved a hand through his hair.

  “You had originally told me it was implied.” She pinned him with an accusatory gaze. “Now the situation has changed?”

  “Damnation, this is an impossible conversation. Amherst left with his daughter. You saw that.” He grabbed her hand. What was she thinking? Was it the worst of him? Things were as convoluted as they’d ever been between them. “In this, I’m completely honest.”

  “You haven’t been before?” Doubt rang through the words.

  “Nothing I have ever said in your comp
any has been a lie.” He couldn’t very well try and sway her with a kiss right there in the foyer, yet she didn’t appear convinced. The longer the silence stretched between them, the more reservations crept in to chip away at his confidence. A stab of anger speared him. Why should he have to explain himself? His word should be good enough. “You either believe me or you don’t.”

  Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “How can I be certain you won’t stray from me if you and I should form a union?”

  “Have I given you reason to doubt?” Though his voice remained even, his insides clenched. That she’d even thought of agreeing to a suit from him accelerated his heartbeat.

  “Not you, personally, but I’ve seen how most men behave. Once they marry a woman and secure an heir, they’re always looking for new entertainment.”

  He dropped her hand at her plain speaking. “I am not most men. Why do you assume I would be? Haven’t I given you sufficient reason to trust me?”

  “I’ve not met a man who would show me differently.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Which brings me to my next item.” Her eyes hardened. “My mother woke me this morning in a tither because of a rumor going around… about me.”

  “And?” Why were the people of his acquaintance so damned concerned about idle prattle?

  “It’s being bandied about Town that you took advantage of me at the opera as a goodbye of sorts before you made your relationship with Lady Sophia public.” Her voice wavered. “They’re saying you meant to compromise me that night for the mere fact that you could. Men are betting at White’s I’d allow you anything, even that most sacred of acts, because I’m a desperate old maid and won’t have another chance to be bedded.”

  Dear God. He caught the sparkle of tears in her eyes and moved forward a step. When she retreated, he frowned. “You believed the rumors over my integrity?”

  “I didn’t want to, but everyone in the streets is buzzing with this story.” She looked at him and moisture clung to her lashes. “How did the details of our meeting get out?”