Chapter 15
Nathanial
Miss Little’s dowry was a literal king’s ransom.
He’d known it was large, but this was… huge.
Gargantuan. Nearly beyond his comprehension after months of scrabbling and scrounging and trying to ensure his sisters were at least fed and clothed.
It was all Nathanial could do not to stare at the marriage contract that Mr. Little had ready.
It also made him wonder how long the man had been planning this or something like it.
“Is the sum enough?” Mr. Little asked from the other side of the table they were seated at, folding one hand over the other as he rested them in front of himself. “Do you require more?”
More?
If Nathanial had been standing, he would have hit the ground. Not just because of the amount of drink he’d had the night before, either.
“This is fine.” He managed to get the words out, though it felt like he’d swallowed his tongue.
It was beyond fine.
His debts would be paid. Fully. All of them.
He could fund all the backpay to his housekeeper, Miss Milford, and her brother, Daniel Milford, who had refused to leave him and his sisters.
They’d scrabbled along with him, helping him find creative solutions, teaching him and the girls how to garden, how to mend their clothes, how to get by with almost nothing.
The estate could afford to invest in better seed, to create a better crop, and he would be able to make the necessary repairs to the farms and homes for his tenants so they could, in turn, produce more in coming years.
Julianna would have her debut next year. If he invested the money wisely over the next year, her dowry would be more than modest; it would be substantial. Not only would she not have to marry for money, but she would be secure for the rest of her life. So would the other two.
In one fell swoop, Mr. Little had gone beyond solving all of Nathanial’s problems.
And he still resented the man for it.
For taking away that one choice.
Even more so because now he had to feel bloody grateful as well.
Nathanial blew out a long breath, trying to ease the roiling emotions that batted about his insides. He’d never felt so high and yet so low at the same time. Here he was getting everything he wanted, yet he wanted to rage at the situation.
Because it had not been his choice.
Because he was being forced into it.
“Everything looks in order,” he said, once he’d finished reading through the contract.
There was nothing in it that he objected to.
Miss Little would keep a portion of her dowry for her to do with as she pleased, and he had no objections to that.
Part of him was relieved. He wanted to think himself a gentleman, but the desire to punish her for trapping him into marriage…
he would be lying if he said he did not feel it.
Withholding the funds that she brought to the marriage might have a small sense of poetic justice, but just thinking about the possibility made him feel small.
Unchivalrous. Not like the man he wanted to be.
He was glad the temptation had been removed entirely.
“Good.” Mr. Little sounded relieved. As if he had worried that Nathanial might not do the honorable thing in light of his dishonorable actions.
Clenching his jaw, Nathanial felt the muscle tic before he managed to relax it.
“We’ll have the wedding here as soon as possible. I’ll send someone to London to get a special license today.”
Even though he was not looking directly at Mr. Little, Nathanial sensed the other man stilling.
Before, he’d been rather triumphant, though trying to hide it.
Now, he was not pretending to dim his emotions.
He was not happy with the idea of having the wedding here.
Very well, Nathanial was not happy with being trapped into marriage.
Now they were both unhappy.
Which seemed far fairer than Mr. Little reveling in getting what he’d wanted while Nathanial simmered with resentment.
“Here?”
“Yes. I see no reason to delay. Indeed, with the possible scandal attached to the wedding, it is best to get it out of the way quickly,” Nathanial replied briskly.
“When the guests from the house party return to London, the deed will have already been done, and divulging that they were select guests at a duke’s very private wedding will be far more titillating for them than how the wedding came about.
I would like as little gossip about my family as possible, as I have a sister to debut next year, as well as two more to follow. ”
Lifting his gaze to meet Mr. Little’s, he could see that the older man had sobered. His brow was slightly furrowed, but he did not protest. Though he had been out of Society for quite a while before returning from India, he did know how things worked.
“Besides which, for your family’s purposes, additional scandal attached to your name will hardly advance your own cause.” Any other day and Nathanial would not have been so gauche as to point that out. But this was today.
Mr. Little’s mouth twitched, then he nodded.
“I see your point.” He sighed. “I am sure Kalina will understand the necessity.” Meeting Nathanial’s gaze, he hesitated. “I know I am being rudely direct, Your Grace, but I do want you to know that she had nothing to do with my actions. She is as innocent as yourself in the situation I engineered.”
As much as Nathanial wanted that to be true, he did not think he could trust the word of a man who’d been willing to trap him into marriage.
She had certainly played her part to perfection.
Screaming loudly when she awoke, drawing people to her room, then falling immediately silent once they were there.
While he understood Mr. Little’s desire to wipe any blame from her, that did not mean she was blameless.
In fact, if they had concocted the plan together, Nathanial would expect Mr. Little to fall upon the sword of responsibility. His admission of guilt, when he’d already shown himself to be dishonorable and when he was trying to save his daughter from reprobation, was hardly evidence in her favor.
Though… the idea that she might not have had something to do with trapping him did make him feel a tiny spark of hope.
One which he ruthlessly pushed away.
Regardless, she and her father were getting exactly what they both wanted. What he knew she’d aimed for.
So am I.
Just not in the way he’d wanted it.
Dropping his gaze from Mr. Little’s, Nathanial looked back down at the marriage contract lying on the desk between them.
He was an honorable man, even if he’d been dishonorably trapped.
He was honest enough to be grateful for the benefits marrying Miss Little would bring him, even if he was appalled by the situation.
While he’d had his reasons for wanting a different bride, good reasons that affected his social standing and his sisters’ futures, that was no longer a consideration.
He was going to have to make the best of it.
Clearing his throat, Nathanial pushed the papers together, aware that he was not acknowledging Mr. Little’s claim but unable to find it in himself to lie and say he held Miss Little blameless.
“We should call Miss Little here so I can formally propose,” he said, trying not to sound as grim as he felt.
Making the best of the situation would include a public face of acceptance, even happiness. It was the best way forward for both of their families. What happened behind closed doors was something else altogether.
“Very well.” Mr. Little got to his feet. He seemed to understand that pressing Nathanial on the matter of Miss Little’s guilt was not the wisest course of action at the moment. “Ah… thank you, Your Grace.”
Heat flushed through Nathanial as his anger momentarily roared inside him, his rage at the man in front of him trying to surge out. He wanted to yell. To throw something. To declare that he would never marry Miss Little and that he did not care if her reputation was ruined.
Instead, he stood stock still, breathing in deeply until he had a hold of himself again. Mr. Little had already turned away, as if he realized he had trod upon the last of Nathanial’s self-control, and rang for a footman.
Kalina
Walking into the Blackstone library with her mother at her side, any hope that Mei had been able to engender for her at breakfast died a swift death when she looked upon the Duke of Hereford.
Handsome as ever, despite the paleness of his face and the way his eyes appeared almost pink around the edges.
He was wearing a dark grey jacket over a cerise and gold waistcoat with dark grey trousers.
His light brown hair appeared rather more rumpled than usual, as if he had not taken as much time to style it.
Understandably.
When she walked in, his gaze lifted but only momentarily before he looked away, as though he could not bear to look upon her.
As painful as it had been to have her friends react to her in a similar manner this morning, this felt doubly so.
If she could have stopped and bent over to hold her mostly empty stomach, to breathe through the pain, she would have.
But she did not want to show him such weakness.
She did not want her father to realize how badly he had hurt her.
From the hopeful way her father was looking at her right now, she could tell he thought he had done something she would be happy about.
How he could think she would want him to trap the Duke of Hereford into marriage with her, she did not know.
But, unlike Hereford, his eyes were flitting back and forth between her and her mother, looking for their reactions.
It reminded her very much of Ashwin when he was younger, and he had done something which he hoped would meet their parents’ approval.
“Miss Little.” The duke’s voice drew her attention.
He was looking at her again, but not meeting her eyes.
In fact, his attention seemed to be riveted to her right shoulder.
Perhaps because her mother stood just behind her left, and he did not want to be forced to look at her, either.
“Your father and I have spoken, and he has granted his permission for me to offer for your hand. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Despite the words, which sounded correct, his tone was monotone. Lifeless. Nothing like the man she’d gotten to know.
It was a horrible farce of a moment that should have been wonderful, and she dug her nails into the palm of her hand to keep from reacting the way she wanted to. Bursting into tears while yelling the word ‘no’ and running from the room would not help anything.
This was her only chance to marry a duke and give her father his family back. None of the others would have her after this, that was certain.
Whether or not her father deserved her sacrifice…
She looked at him.
His earnest expression. His hope. His uncertainty. The love that was shining in his eyes.
Her father had good intentions, of that she was sure. He would never choose to make her unhappy. So, why he had chosen this route, she did not know. Would not know until she questioned him.
She had never once doubted his love for her, and she would not start now. She would not reject him, the way his family had, the way her mother’s family had. No matter how angry she was at him, she still loved him, and she always would.
Kalina managed to summon a smile for him. A very small one. Little more than a slight curve of her lips. She tried to put her love for him in her eyes. While she might take a while to forgive him for what he had done, she could never turn away from him. From either of her parents.
Taking a deep breath, she met the Duke of Hereford’s eyes. If he’d been cold before, he looked carved from ice now, but that did not change her answer. It was the only way forward.
For her.
For her father.
Even for the duke, for she knew he needed her dowry. Desperately.
“Yes, Your Grace, I accept.”