Chapter 3 #3
“I... I’m so sorry, truly, Your Grace. About the rumors, I mean.
It wasn’t meant to be malicious,” she began, voice rising slightly with nervousness.
“It’s just... I didn’t want to marry Lord Hensley.
I thought if I could make him break off the engagement, then maybe I’d be free.
But for some reason, he refused! Even after I started the rumor.
He still insisted on marrying me. In fact, he said he wanted to speed things up.
That’s why we were getting married today instead of a month.
Can you believe that? I just wanted out of this madness, and then it all spun out of control, and the rumors…
well, I never imagined they’d reach you. ”
She paused, breathless, eyes searching his face for any sign of understanding.
Magnus’s expression remained unreadable. “Miss Lockhart, I did not come here for explanations.”
Dorothy blinked, confusion flickering across her features. “You… you didn’t?”
“I did not,” he repeated. “I want something from you.”
Dorothy blinked, confusion mingling with disbelief. “Something? You mean like a favor?”
Magnus stepped closer, the faint scent of Sandalwood and cold air following him, instantly charging the space between them. “I need a bride of convenience.”
Dorothy’s eyes widened, then narrowed with sharp incredulity. “A bride of convenience? That’s your grand plan, Your Grace? You want me to be some sort of... ornament? A proper lady to stand by your side and smile politely at tedious dinners?”
Magnus’s eyes held steady as a faint flicker of amusement crossed his face. “I am looking for more than a mere ornament, Miss Lockhart.”
She let out a frustrated sigh, hands on her hips. “Then what exactly do you want from me, Your Grace? Because ‘bride of convenience’ sounds like a pretty empty role to me.”
He stepped closer. “You misunderstand. There is a responsibility that comes with it, one that requires strength and resolve.”
Dorothy’s gaze sharpened as a flicker of bitter clarity pierced through the confusion.
If that was the arrangement he was offering, just some hollow role to fill, then she might as well have married Lord Hensley.
She bit back the sting of the thought, but it was true.
She would likely have been nothing more than a pretty accessory to him, too.
A name on a ledger, mother to his heirs, a face at society events, trapped in a gilded cage of expectations.
She sighed, arms tightening across her chest. “I am confused, Your Grace.”
Magnus began to pace with his hands behind his back. “An ornament would be an insult to you and to me. The role I propose demands more than mere appearances. It requires resilience and partnership.”
Dorothy sighed yet again as her hands dropped to her sides. “That sounds... rather charming. I’m certain you will find someone who will jump at this wonderful opportunity,” she said, feigning a smile, “but I am not interested in that life, Your Grace. I will not fit into it.”
He took a measured breath, stepping just close enough that the space between them crackled with unspoken challenge. “I believe you are capable of far more than you pretend, Miss Lockhart.”
She narrowed her eyes, suspicion sharpening her tone. “You don’t even know me.”
A faint, almost amused smile touched his lips.
“I know enough.” His gaze was steady. “You had the audacity to drag my name into scandal, to parade it before London as though it were yours to toy with. Most would not dare. Most would not even think of it. Annoying as it is, that kind of nerve is not without use. It is what my niece needs.”
Dorothy blinked, caught off guard. “Your niece?”
He inclined his head. “Yes. The bride of convenience I seek is not going to just be a wife in name. She is someone who will care for and raise my niece.”
His words settled over her, shifting the entire conversation. This was no mere arrangement of appearances. There was more at stake. Much more.
Dorothy’s brow furrowed deeply, confusion knitting her features. “But how could someone like me, someone who dragged your name through scandal, be the person you want to care for your niece? It doesn’t make any sense. If anything, you’d want to keep me far away from her.”
“That is up to me, Miss Lockhart,” he said as he straightened.
She blinked, searching his expression for meaning.
“My niece will need guidance, someone who can teach her to be brave, to stand firm in a world that often demands compromise.”
Dorothy’s eyes narrowed as she tried to probe deeper, sensing there was more beneath his words. “What exactly is it about your niece that requires such… boldness?”
Magnus’s expression tightened slightly. “You will understand in due time.”
Dorothy’s shoulders slumped, the fight draining from her as remorse settled in her chest. Her voice softened, trembling just enough to reveal her sincerity.
“I know... I know I dragged your name into this mess. I put you in a terrible position, one you never asked for, and for that, I am truly sorry.”
She took a shaky breath, eyes flickering away before meeting his gaze again. “Though part of me wishes I could say yes, that I could accept your offer… I cannot. As much as I want to make amends, I have to turn this down.”
Her words felt heavy in the quiet room, but she pressed on. “I’m sorry, truly. I’m sorry for bringing you all this way from Northern England to London because of a foolish rumor I started.”
Magnus’s gaze didn’t waver. He walked over to the wall, near the door, and leaned on it with both hands in his pockets. “The rumors? They’re the least of my worries. An excuse, nothing more.”
Dorothy’s frustration bubbled to the surface, her hands clenching at her sides. “I am still very remorseful.”
“Dorothy...” He paused. “Can I call you Dorothy?”
Dorothy only nodded.
“Dorothy, I don’t care about the rumors,” he said.
“There’s very little that I care about in this world.
I don’t care for love, I don’t care for society’s approval, and I don’t care for idle gossip.
What matters to me is responsibility and doing what needs to be done.
Whether you like it or not, this is something that needs doing.
You don’t have to keep apologizing. We are both going to fix this. ”
He arched a brow, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “But in the end, it’s your father’s decision. Or so I’m told.”
Her eyes flashed with conviction. “He would never agree to this.”
Magnus’s expression hardened for a moment. “You know he will.”
She opened her mouth to argue further, but he cut her off, voice lowering with unwavering certainty. “I’ll secure a special license. That should be easy. The marriage will happen in three days.”
Dorothy’s breath caught. “You’re serious?”
“Entirely,” he said. “You caused this yourself, Miss Lockhart. I’ll see you soon.”
Without another word, Magnus turned on his heel and strode out the door, leaving Dorothy standing alone in the vestry, her mind reeling, heart pounding, and a thousand thoughts crashing like waves.
As she stared at the space he just exited, something undeniable stirred in her chest. Magnus was everything Lord Hensley was not.
Where Hensley was distant and cold, Magnus’s sharp gaze, though piercing, held a flicker of warmth that made her heart flutter in a way she wasn’t sure she entirely knew.
She pressed a hand to her bodice, steadying her breath, furious with herself for feeling anything at all.
This was not the time, nor the man, to unravel her carefully gathered composure.
Moments later, the door burst open, and Lucy appeared, eyes wide with concern and curiosity. “Dorothy! Sorry, there was absolutely nothing I could do. What did he say? What happened in there? Tell me everything!”
Dorothy blinked, still trying to gather her scattered thoughts. “Lucy...” she breathed.
“Yes, Dorothy?” she answered, holding her by the shoulders. “Tell me.”
Dorothy lowered her gaze. “I might actually be ruined now.”