Chapter 2 #2
He knew he was being harsh, and he shouldn’t be speaking like this in front of Miss Linton, but he was fed up with it.
His mother had been pressuring him to court Miss Linton for some time now, and Miss Linton herself was determined to get the courtship made official.
Alastair didn’t want that, but they didn’t seem to be listening to him.
Lady Hartwood moved to his side and laid a hand on his arm, her fingers digging into his arm.
“You will do as you’re told,” she hissed. “I don’t know why you’re so adamant about refusing this, but you’re going to make it formal.”
“You can’t tell me what to do, Mother,” Alastair said sharply, pulling his arm away. “Besides, I’m already courting someone else. I don’t think she would appreciate me courting another woman.”
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and there was stunned silence.
All three women stared at him as if he’d gone mad.
Perhaps he had, but it had stopped them enough that Alastair could breathe a little better.
Miss Linton recovered first, her reddened cheeks taking on a dark flush in her annoyance.
“And just who are you meant to be courting?” she demanded. “How did we not know anything about it?”
“Because it’s nothing to do with you. And I’m not about to declare it to everyone.”
“Who, then?”
Alastair felt a momentary stab of panic, looking around and trying to figure out who could go along with his plan. This was impulsive and stupid, but he didn’t have much of a choice now. He couldn’t say that he just said it to get them to leave him alone; that would make him look like a fool.
Edmund gave a pointed cough and glanced across the room.
Alastair saw where he was looking. Lady Arabella was hovering in the doorway to the dining room, smiling politely at a middle-aged gentleman who seemed to be trying to ingratiate her into conversation.
Everything about her said she didn’t want to be there, but she was being polite.
“I’m courting Lady Arabella Fairleigh,” he said suddenly.
Miss Linton gasped. Mrs. Linton looked worried, while the dowager duchess looked outraged.
“Are you serious?” she hissed. “You’re courting that woman? You know what happened to her father, don’t you?”
“And?”
“What do you mean…?”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mother, I would like to go and rescue Lady Arabella. Edmund, if you would chaperone us?”
“Of course.” Edmund lowered his voice as they walked away from the stunned onlookers. “Good luck trying to get out of this if Lady Arabella doesn’t go along with it.”
“Let’s hope she won’t give it away immediately,” Alastair muttered. “Otherwise, Mother is going to push me more toward Rosamund Linton.”
“Why don’t you just say no?”
“I just did. Did you see that working?”
They had reached Lady Arabella by then, and the middle-aged man saw them approaching. He bowed and took his leave, Lady Arabella turning to see them standing behind her. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks looked a little flushed. Alastair was struck, yet again, by how beautiful she was.
He pushed that aside as her eyes narrowed and she straightened up.
“Well?” she asked. “What’s this plan you’ve got in mind?”
“Why don’t we take a walk outside?” Alastair suggested.
“Why?”
“Just humor me for now.” Holding out his arm, he tried to keep a smile on his face, resisting the urge to grab her arm and pull her out of the room. “Shall we, Lady Arabella? Mr. Hale will be our escort if you’re worried about us being alone.”
For a moment, he thought she was going to refuse him, watching him suspiciously.
But then she nodded and laid her hand on his arm.
She was wearing gloves, but he could feel the heat of her hand through his arm.
Trying not to focus on that, he led her toward the nearest door that led onto the terrace, breathing a sigh of relief as they stepped outside.
Annoyingly, that was the easy part. The hardest part hadn’t happened yet.
“Well?” Lady Arabella dropped her hand and turned to him as soon as they were away from the house, standing on the edge of the terrace. “What is this plan?”
“Will you allow me to help you out?”
“By paying off my debts? I told you…”
Alastair held up a hand.
“Lady Arabella, I am not offering you a charity. I would never do that. However, there is something I need from you, and if we help each other out, we’ll make it beneficial.”
She frowned at him, clearly confused. Alastair glanced at Edmund, who was standing a respectable distance away. This was not how he planned it—he hadn’t planned to say they were courting at all—but his mind was turning it over. They could go through with it.
“I…I may have just said to my mother that I’m courting you.”
Her eyes widened, and she stared at him in horror. “What? Did you just…”
“It was on impulse. I just wanted them to stop, but now…” He spread his hands. “I didn’t plan on it…”
“Evidently,” she snorted. “How could you say something like that without me agreeing to it? Weren’t you supposed to say something to me first?”
“I just said…”
“I know what you said, and I don’t like it at all.” She folded her arms. “So how are you going to get out of it?”
“I’m not.” He held his hands up as she opened her mouth. “No more questions, my lady. I think you and I need to discuss this further. We can use it to our advantage.”
“Advantage?” Lady Arabella looked disbelieving. “And how may I use it to my advantage? I’ll be seen as someone trying to further my scandalous position by courting a man responsible for what happened to my father.”
Alastair winced. Edmund coughed, and his friend turned away so Alastair couldn’t see his face. This was going to be difficult.
“Please, Arabella,” he pleaded, surprised that he was desperate for this to happen. “If you listen to what I’ve got planned, and how we can work it properly, then you’ll understand where I’m coming from. Please don’t dismiss it out of hand.”
She glared at him, and Alastair thought she was going to refuse, tell him to leave her alone, and storm off. But then her jaw tightened and she straightened up, squaring her shoulders.
“All right. I’ll help you out. But we must have the details of this plan laid out before we do anything. I won’t be put into a position I’m not comfortable with, not more than I already am.”
Alastair breathed a sigh of relief. He could see the reluctance, but he knew she could see how this could work. Hopefully, he could keep that going.
Even if the woman infuriated him, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. Sure, he wasn’t keen on laying out his plan with Lady Arabella after what he was accusing her of, but there was something else bubbling beneath the surface.
And he couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly.