Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
“ L eah, can I have a word?”
Serving herself toast and eggs, Leah looked up to see her brother standing in the doorway of the breakfast room. Her heart sank. From the serious look on his face, she knew what was going on: he had found out about the Duke’s midnight visit. He was here to reprimand her, or worse, tell her she was now being forced to marry the Duke.
Slowly, she set down her breakfast plate.
“Of c-course,” she stammered, looking sideways at where her sisters were sitting at the breakfast table, watching everything.
Lucien nodded and left, and Leah was forced to follow him out of the breakfast room and into the hall.
“In my study,” he said curtly. He wasn’t quite looking at her, which only increased her dread. He thinks that the Duke ruined me! He’s too ashamed of me to even look me in the eye!
Dread pooling in her stomach, Leah followed her brother down the hall and into his study. He held the door for her, then closed it with a snap and went to sit behind his desk.
“Take a seat,” he commanded, and, full of trepidation, she lowered herself into the chair across from him. She folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath.
“There is something I need to tell you,” her brother said. “And you’re not going to like it.”
Leah licked her lips. “Lucien,” she began, “I want to apolog--”
“The Duke of Nottington has made an offer for you .”
For a second, Leah felt as if all the air had been knocked from her lungs. No, it was longer than a second. It was a full ten seconds that Leah couldn’t breathe. When at last she was able to again, she felt dizzy, and everything was out of focus.
“Leah?” She heard Lucien say. “Are you alright?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” she gasped. She had grasped the desk in front of her, she realized, and she was staring up at her brother as if he had lost his mind entirely. “The Duke of Nottington…” She couldn’t even finish the sentence. He couldn’t have! And without even talking to her?
“He came to see me this morning,” her brother said, and his face was tight and unsmiling. He doesn’t want this either, she thought. He knows this can’t be right. “He feels that there is no other option and that he must marry you before Lord Dubois does. And frankly, I am inclined to agree with him. After speaking to my solicitor, there is a fair chance that the contract will hold up in court. There is no way to prove that Father’s signature was faked. And it looks… real .”
“But the Duke…” Leah still felt lightheaded, and she couldn’t seem to get words out straight. “Why wouldn’t he have told me this himself? He was here--last night!”
Lucien frowned at her. “He wasn’t here last night, Leah.”
“Oh, of course ,” she said quickly. “I mean that he could have visited last night and told me this himself.”
“Yes, I agree he should have told you himself,” Lucien said, “but that’s not what matters right now. What matters is getting you married as quickly as possible. Dorian has already begun to procure the special license. He thinks he will have it tomorrow. Which means you can marry him in two days’ time.”
“Two days’ time…” Even though Leah had been prepared to marry quickly, now that it was real—now that it was to the Duke— she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it.
She didn’t understand. He had been in her room last night acting like a madman . This must have been why. He must have realized that he had to marry her.
That’s why he asked if anyone else was close to proposing. He had to make sure that no one else could save him from marrying me.
“But the deal,” she said, looking up at her brother. “He still has one more day for someone else to propose to me. Why would he end that a day early?”
“He seems to think that Dubois has disheartened all your other suitors,” her brother said. “He was adamant that this has to happen right now, that there is no other way.”
“But Lord Eaton--”
“Scared away, according to Dorian.”
Leah’s jaw began to quiver, and her eyes began to burn. To her dismay, she realized that she was about to cry. Clenching her jaw, she forced herself to regain her composure . She was not about to cry over this in front of her brother.
But Lord Eaton… she had been so sure he would propose. Could Lord Dubois really have scared him away that easily? Was his affection for her so weak that he would allow the threats of an old man like Dubois to chase him away? It stung more than she cared to admit. She had thought that a gentleman, a true gentleman, would come to her rescue.
Which, she supposed, the Duke of Nottington had. But…
“It shouldn’t have been like this,” she whispered. She stared down at her hands, willing her eyes not to fill with tears, even as they disobeyed her . “He is my friend. He should have come to me and told me all of this. It is cruel to keep it from me and go to you instead. It takes away all my freedom , all my choice.”
Her brother was silent. When she looked up at him, he looked conflicted. “I agree,” he said slowly. “But he is not the worst option, Leah. Yes, he is a bit of a rake. But I will make sure he provides for you and that he does not disrespect you. In some ways, he is even a better option than Lord Eaton. He will take you traveling abroad, and you will still be close to the family. And Lord Eaton’s estate is far away, whereas Dorian lives close to us. ”
“That isn’t the point!” Leah cried, her hand tightening into a fist. “He should have had the decency to talk to me! To ask me which I preferred. Instead, he took that choice away from me, just like Lord Dubois did when he decided to force me to marry him, just like Father did when he signed that contract, and just like you are doing now by agreeing to the Duke’s suit without consulting me first!”
She was yelling now, but she didn’t care. Leah was sick and tired of all the men in her life making decisions for her. This was her life, and she wasn’t going to let anyone else tell her what to do.
To his credit, Lucien looked stricken, and he immediately reached forward and took her hands in his.
“Leah, you are right,” he said, squeezing her hands. “I am not going to force you to marry Dorian if that’s not what you want. I am sorry I approached this as if it was inevitable, but it isn’t. If you do not wish to marry him, if you would rather marry no one and fight Dubois until the bitter end, then I will stand by you. Every step of the way. But you need to know the risks.” His eyes clouded, and he released her hands slowly.
“We could be mired in legal battles for years. It could reflect very poorly on you and your sisters. You might find it very difficult to marry anyone at all, as Dubois will threaten anyone who tries, and the trial will plunge our family into scandal. But we can do it, if it is what you want.”
“I would rather marry no one than wed against my will!” she cried, and Lucien nodded.
“Yes, I understand. Just know… It could also make it difficult for your sisters to marry, as well.”
A lump rose in Leah’s throat that she couldn’t swallow down. Lucien was right. She felt the truth of his words settle over her like a shroud. If they fought Dubois in court for years, the whole family would suffer from it. It wouldn’t just ruin her reputation, but her sisters’.
“Now, if you asked them, your sisters would undoubtedly say they’d rather never marry, and face all the scandal that comes, rather than see you married to Dubois,” Lucien said, and she looked up at him. He was smiling slightly, and there was a fiery look in his eyes. “And I feel the same way. I will fight for you, Leah, if that is what you want. It will not be easy, but we will stand by you as a family.”
The weight and truth of his words hit Leah like a rock. She knew that her brother wasn’t saying this to try and convince her one way or another, but because it was the way of the world.
A long, protracted legal battle would cause scandal. They would be the talk of the ton , and then everyone would tire of it and say that she should do her duty and marry Dubois. No one would feel sorry for her. Ladies married older men they didn’t like all the time in order to help their families.
And while she knew she could weather that storm--and while she knew her sisters could weather it as well--she also knew she didn’t want to be the reason why they never found husbands, why they remained outcasts in Society, why they never found love.
The alternative to all that was that she marry the Duke of Nottington. A man who was a friend to her, who had helped her, who made her feel, at times, like she was truly alive. Why was she so resistant? Was it simply because he had taken away her choice by offering for her without speaking to her first?
Or was there another reason?
Her stomach churned, and she recognized the feeling that was coursing through her: it was fear. She feared marriage to the Duke. Not because she thought he was going to harm her--at least, not on purpose.
But that fear was not greater than her love for her sisters. Or her sense of duty to her family.
Leah looked up and met her brother’s gaze. She lifted her chin, determination and resolve strengthening inside of her.
“I will do it,” she said. “I will marry the Duke of Nottington.”