Eight Hunting Lyons (The Lyon’s Den Connected World)

Chapter Four

O liver Easton, Lord Foxmore. The name was on her lips and on her mind as she awoke the following morning. After leaving the Lyon’s Den in the same discreet fashion she had entered, she had returned home with her prospective bridegroom much on her mind. She had anticipated that he would be some dissipated rake who had wagered himself to the brink of poverty. Instead, she’d found a young, incredibly handsome and unfailingly polite if somewhat aloof gentleman. And she was going to marry him, knowing nothing about him at all.

The prospect might have been a bit more daunting if not immediately followed by the thought that she’d been betrothed to Edmund for years and apparently hadn’t known him at all. At least she was beginning with Lord Foxmore on equal footing. Neither of them fancied themselves in love with the other. He might disappoint her. The marriage might be an unhappy one. But he would not break her heart because her heart was not involved. And her pride was already shattered. Beggars cannot be choosers. There would be no other offers, and if there were, they would likely come from just the sort she’d imagined. Dissipated. Old. Unattractive. Boorish. Riddled with vice. No. Lord Foxmore was her best chance at reclaiming her dignity, or as much of it as could be salvaged, along with some slim possibility of, at least, a contented life.

Her maid entered the room then. Instantly, Madeline knew that something was wrong. “What is it, Lucy?”

“Miss Coraline and… forgive me, Mr. and Mrs. Wortham are here, Miss. I thought it best to get you dressed so that if you must see them, it will be below stairs with witnesses.”

The maid’s tone upon uttering Coraline and Edmund’s names had been biting. Lucy, Madeline reflected, had always been her ally. Sometimes, she had been her only ally in the house, in fact. Fiercely loyal and often far too outspoken for her position, she was more friend and confidante than servant.

Madeline pushed the covers back and rose from her bed. “The rosebud block print cotton, I think. It’s flattering but doesn’t indicate that I’m making special effort.”

Lucy nodded and moved to the wardrobe to retrieve the gown and necessary undergarments while Madeline moved to her dressing table and began unbraiding her hair. Running the brush through it until it shone, she elected not to pin it up, but instead to create a loose twist and tie it back with ribbon. It might have been pettiness on her part, but Coraline had always been envious of her hair and allowing the thick mass of it to cascade over her shoulders would no doubt spark her sister’s ire.

She applied the slightest bit of rouge to her lips. It might have been a practice that was frowned upon, but it was one nearly every woman committed daily. When her toilette was done and she looked presentable, she left her chamber and headed below stairs. Lucy had been quite right in thinking that a confrontation with either Edmund or Coraline should only take place in front of witnesses. Heaven only knew what she might be accused of next.

As she neared the foot of the stairs, she heard raised voices coming from her father’s study. Edmund was shouting, Coraline was screeching and her father’s response was entirely muted by the cacophony. Her mother stepped out of the morning room at that moment, her expression grim.

“I was going to come and fetch you,” her mother said. “There’s been some unintended consequences for Edmund and Coraline’s rash decision. It seems Mr. Wortham was ill-informed of the nature of your sister’s marriage portion.”

Madeline said nothing. Instead, she moved toward her father’s study and knocked softly. She didn’t wait for an answer, but let herself in.

“I was not told,” Edmund snapped, “that the marriage portion for Coraline would be significantly smaller than that for Madeline! You never disclosed that.”

“In all fairness,” Madeline interjected before her father could answer, “the exact nature of Coraline’s marriage portion should have been of no interest to you as you were already betrothed to me. But my understanding has been that the marriage portion provided by my father, of one thousand pounds, was equal for both of us.”

“You were to come with a fortune of five thousand pounds!” Edmund insisted.

“And I do, but it is not from my father,” Madeline replied. “That is an inheritance from my grandfather. It was left to me upon his death before Coraline was born. That is why she does not have an equal share of the fortune.”

“Then you will give her half of it,” Edmund insisted.

Fury, hot and quick, swept through her. He’d thought to have it all, had he? “I will not,” Madeline stated firmly. “More to the point, I cannot. The fortune remains in trust until I am married and, upon my marriage, it will be the property of my husband. You may harangue me and my father from dawn to dusk, Edmund, but it will not change anything. This is not a matter either of us has any control over.”

“That is just as I told him,” her father insisted, scrubbing his hands over his face in obvious frustration.

“It isn’t fair!” Coraline wailed. “We should not have to live so meanly when Madeline will have everything!”

“Except for the man I was to have married,” Madeline snapped. “I won’t have that, will I? You’ve made your bed, Coraline. Do not weep at having to lie in it now.”

“Edmund!” Coraline shrieked. “Do not let her speak to me that way!”

“You lied to me, Coraline,” he hissed between clenched teeth. “You said that if we married, I would still have the fortune promised!”

“I didn’t know that Madeline would be so selfish!” Coraline snapped. “How could I have known?”

And that was when the butler knocked loudly upon the door. “I beg your pardon, sir, but there is a gentleman here, Lord Foxmore, to call upon Miss Keyes… and he’d like to speak to you, as well.”

That had not been their agreement. He was to have sent word via Mrs. Dove-Lyon. How in heaven’s name had he even determined where to find her? And yet she found herself incredibly relieved to know that he was there.

“Who on earth is Lord Foxmore and what could he possibly want with us?” her father asked.

“I’m certain all will be revealed in due time,” Madeline replied cagily. “I’ll speak with him in the drawing room, Thompson.”

“Is that appropriate?” Coraline smirked. “Though I suppose, given your current reputation, matters could not get any worse.”

“Your pettiness and your lies do you no credit, Coraline,” Madeline stated, refusing to be baited by her. “I pity you that you are beset with such unhappiness that you must lash out at those who have done naught but love and care for you.”

If she’d wanted to anger Coraline, her mission had been achieved. The tantrum that ensued behind her as she exited the study was impossible to miss. But it was not impossible to ignore. Madeline sailed from the room, refusing to acknowledge Coraline’s shrieks and tears. If her parents had done so when they were younger children, they would all be better for it. Coraline had been pampered beyond belief. Was it any wonder then that as an adult, if she could be termed such, that she believed herself entitled to anything she wished?

Entering the drawing room, she took note of Lord Foxmore standing tall and proud before the fireplace. “Good morning, my lord. This is unexpected.”

“It is,” he said. “But is it unwelcome?”

Madeline considered her answer carefully and ultimately elected for complete honesty. “No. Not at all. Though, I suppose my opinion might change depending on the purpose of your call.”

A slight twist of his lips passed for a smile. “I thought, despite our unusual circumstances, we might go about the rest of it in a more traditional way. That I would ask for your hand and seek your father’s permission.”

“I see,” Madeline stated. “And how will you explain our acquaintance to my father?”

“I will tell him that I have admired you from afar for a very long time but due to your prior understanding with Mr. Wortham had never made my devotion known. Given what you hope to achieve, I think such an explanation will only serve to further your cause,” he offered.

For her part, she hadn’t intended to offer an explanation at all. She’d been approaching their coming nuptials under the mantra that it was better to seek forgiveness than permission. But he was quite right. Such a story would help to explain the rather speedy nature of their betrothal and no one would question their hasty marriage. They might speculate as to the true cause, but that was not within her power to control. Whether her father would believe it or not honestly did not matter. He would be so relieved to have his now scandalous daughter married off that he would latch on to any such explanation.

“Then if you mean to propose, Lord Foxmore, I think perhaps you should do so now that we might seek my father’s blessing before my sister and former betrothed send him into apoplexy.”

“Is that what I heard?”

Madeline smiled coolly, but there was a hint of satisfaction in it. “It seems that Mr. Wortham has discovered some cause for regret. He had assumed that the fortune I was to bring to our marriage would be matched by what he would receive from marrying my sister. Sadly for him, he didn’t bother to clarify that my sister’s marriage portion would only be that which was granted by my father and that the wealth previously discussed during their negotiations was mine and mine alone as an inheritance from my grandfather.”

“Disillusionment is an ugly thing, is it not?” he offered with false sympathy.

“Indeed it is.”

“In that case, let us got on with things. Miss Keyes, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

“I will indeed, Lord Foxmore. Come, and I will introduce you to the remainder of the family. Though I fear it may cause some degree of doubt on your part.”

“We’ve all got relatives that are a bit much to take, Miss Keyes. Mine simply live elsewhere,” he offered.

It had been curiosity which had prompted him to deviate from the plan. He’d wanted to see her in her home, to see what she was like outside of the very strange and surreal setting of the Lyon’s Den. And he’d wanted to stave off any unnecessary difficulties by seeking her father’s blessing. It had seemed the most prudent course of action upon reflection.

Following her from the drawing room and crossing the entry hall to the study that was her father’s domain, he could hear the shouting from within. Whatever was taking place, it was clearly quite a volatile situation.

She knocked softly, opened the door and beckoned for him to follow. He did so, not with trepidation, but with a certain degree of reservation. He had no notion, after all, of what sort of welcome he would find inside.

“Father, may I present to you Lord Oliver Easton, Earl of Foxmore. Lord Foxmore, my father, William Keyes. Father, Lord Foxmore has a particular question he would like to ask you,” Madeline stated.

“Have we met, sir? This is most irregular,” Mr. Keyes stated.

“It is irregular, sir. We are not acquainted but I have met Miss Keyes before… in a social setting,” Oliver replied. It technically was not a lie.

“I see. And what is it that you’ve come to ask?” William Keyes demanded. “Though I have an inkling.”

“I have developed a great admiration for Miss Keyes, sir, during our short acquaintance. I would never have dared to importune her or you when she was betrothed to another, but given all that has occurred and that she is no longer bound by any understanding with another, I’ve come to request the honor of her hand in marriage,” Oliver stated. Again, every word was absolute truth to the letter if not the spirit.

Mr. Keyes’ expression firmed. Then he spared a glance at Madeline and at the petulant expression of his other daughter. Then he glanced back at Oliver. “I see. And my daughter has consented to the match?”

“She has, sir,” Oliver replied.

“You do realize she has reached her majority. She does not need my permission.”

“I am aware of that, sir,” Oliver replied. “Under the circumstances, and given the amount of gossip it will likely create, I felt compelled to seek your blessing regardless. I’ve no wish to create further difficulties for your family. I do, however, believe that acting quickly might alter the nature of the gossip that is so omnipresent now and ease some of the difficulties caused by… recent events.”

“You can’t be serious!” the sister interjected. “We do not know this man and, further, I’m certain that if he were aware of Madeline’s reputation, he would no doubt rescind his offer immediately!”

Oliver smiled. “I’m well aware of the gossip, Mrs. Wortham. I presume that is your identity?” He went on without awaiting clarification. “I know that not even a hint of impropriety has ever been whispered about your sister until you uttered it loudly and at length to anyone who might be within earshot as you made off with her all too fickle groom… at her wedding no less. I think, perhaps, more attention should have been paid to the inappropriateness of those actions than anything Miss Keyes might have done.”

The entire room went completely silent. A pin could have dropped on the slightly worn Aubusson carpet and it would have sounded like the shot of a cannon. No one, for the longest time, uttered a single word or made a sound. The silence stretched to the point that everyone was entirely uncomfortable—except for him, of course. He didn’t get uncomfortable in that way. It had needed to be said and so it was. He didn’t feel responsible for how much or how little anyone else liked his opinions.

Finally, Mr. Keyes cleared his throat. “You have my permission… my permission and my blessing. I’ll have my solicitor draw up the necessary contracts and send them round to you if you will share your direction.”

“I am at Number Thirteen Dunraven Street. If it pleases you, as I’ve already discussed it with Miss Keyes, we will marry by special license as soon as possible.”

“I’ll have the contracts to you this afternoon and all the particulars related to Madeline’s inheritance. Pay no mind to anyone who says differently and rest assured that no one is entitled to that bequest except Madeline’s husband upon her marriage,” Mr. Keyes insisted. “If we had been, it likely would have already been spent.”

“And now, Miss Keyes, if you’d be so kind as to accompany me, I thought we might walk in the park.”

“I’ll just get my shawl and ask my maid to accompany us.”

“It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it?” Mr. Wortham offered with a smirk.

“I’d urge you to caution, Mr. Wortham,” Oliver said. “Or I will be forced to demand satisfaction. I’m an excellent shot and even better with a sword… though to be perfectly frank, I prefer to settle matters with fists. It’s a much more tangible form of satisfaction, I find, to pummel the one who has given offense.”

“I’ll return momentarily,” Madeline said. “Perhaps, Lord Foxmore, it would be best if you waited in the drawing room.”

He offered a curt nod and followed her from the room.