Chapter Twenty-Five
Xander was going to break a cask open if he kept throwing them around like this. But there was nothing else around to burn out his ire. He’d always deep cleaned or found casks to rearrange at the pub when he was angry or thinking through something.
His lips twisted as the morning’s conversation replayed in his head. He’d need to speak to the earl, but at least his intentions were clear. With luck, they were packing to leave on the morrow. If not, he’d make himself scarce again.
Movement in the corner of his eye brought his head around. The Marquess of Hollibrook stood by the pub’s back door, arms folded.
Xander lifted his chin and stomped over. “How did you find me?”
“Your valet. You do realize ’tis not good form to abandon guests at your house?”
“They were not invited,” Xander grumped.
“And myself and my colleague?” The Marquess raised his brows, but his tone remained mild.
“Right. My apologies. Are you aware of this morning’s…” he was at a loss for how to describe it.
“Revelations? Actually, I was aware of the issue yesterday. I recognized Evie in the front hall.”
Xander groaned, turning away and running a hand through his hair. He’d not get sympathy from this quarter then. He muttered, “So much for the Wayward Dukes Alliance, eh?”
Hollibrook snorted. “My cousin’s wife and her sister are a bit mad, if you ask me, and they’ve raised Evie to that standard. I understand your dilemma.”
“So you’ll help?”
“If you really need me to. But Rutland, the Alliance is here to save you from scheming young ladies, families, and the like. I know I appear biased, but I can tell you these particular females may be mad, but their intentions are pure.”
“Pure intentions would not include lies to one’s intended husband.”
“Come now. When we first met, you were going to meet the ‘chit’ and evaluate whether you wanted her. This visit, you were ready to throw her over without a thought for a maid. Even in a backwater pub in the wilds of Northumberland, you must have seen how little freedom women have in this world. When it comes to choosing one’s husband, most titled young ladies have less say than working-class girls.
She wanted the same thing you wanted—a chance to evaluate your fit as a husband.
And look how good a fit it turned out to be. ”
Xander tried, but all he could conjure was every time Evie laughed at his ineptness as a duke.
Offering a servant tea, not offering visitors a drink, and on and on.
He’d taken her humor as joining him in seeing the ridiculousness of dukes’ entitlement.
Now he could see it had been mirth at his expense.
“I cannot abide lies. I hated the damned aristocracy until I became one of them—you. And the two together are beyond redemption.”
“Like it or not, even for a duke, wedding a maid would have caused a scandal. This solves your dilemma perfectly. You marry the girl you love—your word, if you recall—and still fulfill the marriage contract.”
“I could never love someone who lied to me.”
* * * *
Hollibrook had had no response to his declaration.
So after the evening meal, Xander called the earl and the marquess into his office.
Hollibrook had agreed to mediate. He’d also asked Xander to include Evie in the meeting, but Xander refused.
He could barely look at her over the supper table without losing his appetite to fury.
He directed his guests to the seating area by the fireplace, although he’d given serious thought to having this tense exchange from behind the safety of his desk. Pouring three whiskies, he ignored the memory of learning that from Evie, passed two to the others, and sat.
“Your Grace,” the earl started without waiting for niceties or protocol. “I am given to understand from my wife that you are declining my request to honor the marriage contract. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Xander answered. He’d studied the Earl of Craven over supper. Evie was a mirror image of her mother, except for the set of her mouth. It wasn’t the shape as much as the expressions. In another setting, he’d want to joke with her father to see if her enchanting laugh came from him.
“Yet my daughter has been living in your house for a month without a chaperone.” That expressive mouth flattened.
“Yes. By her choice and without my consent or awareness.” Xander laid out the facts in a flat tone, fighting to keep his calm. Defensiveness would not help his case.
“You’ll find that doesn’t matter to many in the Ton, unfortunately.
” The earl shook his head once, the blond strands moving in a motion similar to Evie’s darker tresses.
“She’ll still be considered well and truly compromised.
I realize the circumstances are less than ideal, but please think of her reputation. ”
Xander replied, “The marquess has informed me that he thinks we are far enough north that scandal can be avoided if we end this quietly and I do not come to London for a few months.”
The earl shot a look at his cousin. “Holly. You’re taking his side?”
“He has a lot on his plate at the moment, Elliot. I’ve asked him to consider not taking action until after the Season.”
Craven nodded. “That would give them time to see she’s not with child, should it come to that.”
“What?” Xander roared, shooting to stand. “Surely, you’ve spoken with your daughter about this. She’ll tell you she cannot be pregnant—at least not by me.”
Craven stood, too, balling his fists at his sides. “Duke or no, I’ll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head when it comes to my daughter. I never said she might be pregnant. But London is all about appearances, and they need proof. Even so, if word gets out about this, she’s done for.”
Xander shook his head. “You cannot have it both ways. Either we are remote and quiet enough that we avoid rumors, or it won’t matter whether she’s expecting.”
Hollibrook jumped in. “Look, I understand your frustration—” At Xander’s doubtful look, he added, “Family or not, I do comprehend it. But the more time we can put between you becoming duke and her stay here versus a broken betrothal, the better it is. People forget, including the people closer to Rutland, and new scandals arise. If Evie returns to London with her family now, then the contract is broken after the Season, it will help everyone.”
“How will it help me?”
“For one, it will allow you time to establish your presence in the House of Lords, even if you do it from here. If you are able to accumulate like-minded allies there, they can smooth your path into society when you come to Town. Evie has her circle of friends, as do her parents. They can support the message of voiding the old contract upon the prior duke’s death as a mutual agreement between the families. ”
Xander suspected it would reinforce the view that he was an upstart, a working-class man who didn’t belong with the London set, but he couldn’t care less.
He was still scrambling to learn everything required to do the most good for the men and women of England who needed his support—people like him from humble origins who could benefit from his representation. Not the liars of the London set.
However, despite her duplicity, he didn’t want Evie’s reputation to be irrevocably smeared. He nodded his acquiescence, taking a gulp of whiskey.