TWENTY-FIVE #3
“Don’t be daft, Gray. No lady abandons her station in life on a whim.
” Matt paused, not wanting to disclose Cecily’s secrets, but also needing Gray to understand.
“As I’m sure you can surmise, Cecily feared for her life.
Her terrified response to Drempton is clear proof of how he and Miller treated her.
Even you are not so heartless as to assume a woman must remain in a brutal situation. ”
“No, but there are legal means to redress such a problem. Abuse is not tolerated under the law.”
“Please. We both know the law is all too willing to look the other way in situations such as this, particularly when a lady’s family is not politically or economically powerful.”
Gray’s mouth pursed in displeasure, and Matt saw a chance to push his point.
“She suspects that Drempton may have even had a hand in Miller’s death.”
Gray rolled his eyes. “Why would he murder his heir? That makes no sense.”
“It does if Drempton had jealous designs on his heir’s widow.
She confided in me that Drempton attempted to force himself on her.
History is littered with men ruining women in order to compel them to the marriage altar.
It even has a name—rough wooing. Drempton’s behavior and Cecily’s reaction corroborate this idea. ”
Gray sat in silence, but the turbulence in his eyes said he saw the logic in Matt’s reasoning.
“Drempton and his gossiping tongue are the only things that would render Cecily unworthy to be my bride,” Matt continued.
“Right now, the fact of her abandonment is not well-known. Miller and Drempton hid her flight. I suspect Drempton convinced Miller to protect her reputation so he could possibly marry her one day. Regardless of the reasons, as far as the world is concerned, she is still Mrs. George Miller, lady of upstanding reputation.”
“That is a flimsy platform upon which to marry, Matt.”
“I agree. But if Drempton were persuaded to hold his tongue and—”
Gray snorted. “Given your suspicion of his darker nature and your mad treatment of him earlier? I consider that highly unlikely.”
“I do not regret my actions.” Matt’s only regret was not beating the man bloody.
“However, we both know that a stern word from yourself would silence Drempton on the matter. Your name holds weight, and the threat of your displeasure would keep him in check. The might of the dukedom is not to be underestimated.”
“You are asking me to use my status as a Duke of the Realm to cow Drempton into silence?”
“Yes, that is precisely what I am asking, Gray. I have rarely, if ever, requested anything from you. At the moment, the only thing standing between me marrying a woman of scandal and me marrying a lady of upstanding reputation is your political might. You can ensure no gossip touches her name and help me in the process.”
Gray folded his arms and stared at Matt. It wasn’t a contemplative look. More akin to how a hawk studied a mouse before pouncing. But Matt loved Cecily too well not to fight for her future.
“I would be open to negotiating a way to protect her reputation . . .” Gray began slowly. “I could hunt down Drempton and threaten him with hellfire if he breathes a single word against the lady, but . . .”
“But?” Matt hated that word. Nothing good would be on the other side of it.
“In exchange for my assistance, I would ask you to give her up.”
“Pardon?!” Matt recoiled. “Give her up?”
“Yes.” A harsh syllable, that. “You will call off this doomed betrothal and wait for a lady more appropriate to your station.”
Horror clawed up Matt’s spine. “That is an incredibly cruel thing to ask, even for you. I love her. Potential brides are not like waistcoats—easily changed out depending on my whim.”
Gray lifted an eyebrow, cool and unbothered. “I sense all is not well in paradise. Your lady love hesitates. I hesitate. Perhaps you are being rash here.”
Matt stilled.
Clever Gray, always seeing straight to the crux of a matter.
“Will you mend fences with Isla, too?” Matt pushed back.
Gray’s returning glance would melt steel. “I have already mended that fence as far as I can bring myself to do. Do not ask for the impossible, Matt. What say you about Mrs. Armstrong?”
Matt stared into the fire, hoping to find some wisdom there. Cecily wished to be free, to have her choices be her own. To cease living in reaction to the men around her.
He understood this.
Perhaps she genuinely wished to marry him, but with fear and worry clouding her mind, how would she ever know? More to the point, how would Matt ever know? Yes, he could force the issue. He didn’t need Gray’s approval to continue with the marriage, but . . .
If he agreed to Gray’s proposal, Cecily could be granted true freedom. She could rejoin the bosom of her family and retake her place in Society. For all intents and purposes, she could become Miss Cecily Moulton again and regain her sparkling, wide-open future.
“So what is it to be?” Gray repeated. “Will you give up your Mrs. Armstrong in exchange for her good name restored?”