Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
As Daisy and Edmund entered the parlor of Claymore House, the heavy, suffocating scent of stale brandy hit them immediately.
They found the Earl slumped near the hearth.
Daisy’s heart sank like a stone into her stomach; she could see even from the doorway that her father was three sheets to the wind.
He blinked thoroughly, swaying on his feet as he processed their sudden entrance, his eyes tracking the way Edmund’s hand rested protectively at the small of Daisy's back.
“Your Grace,” the Earl muttered, thick-tongued and leaning heavily against the mantle. “We haven’t seen you around here for quite some time.”
Edmund didn't answer immediately. He simply glared, a dark, dangerous heat radiating from him so intensely that Daisy felt compelled to slip her hand onto his wrist. Beneath her palm, his pulse raced, hard and erratic. She squeezed gently, an unspoken plea to keep his temper in check. Her father’s bloodshot eyes followed the movement, his eyebrows rising in sluggish surprise at the intimacy of the gesture.
Without a word to the master of the house, Edmund led Daisy directly to the sofa, waiting until she was seated before taking the spot right beside her, his thigh brushing against hers in a quiet show of solidarity.
Her father staggered over a few moments later, his expression shifting from drunken confusion to sudden, sharp inquisitiveness.
“So… what’s going on here?” he asked, looking between them.
“Please take a seat, Lord Claymore,” Edmund said. His voice was entirely leveled, but it carried the absolute weight of a command.
The Earl’s brow furrowed, his aristocratic pride bristling. For a second, he looked ready to demand why a guest was dictating terms in his own parlor, but some lingering spark of reason prevailed. He shut his mouth and dropped heavily into the velvet armchair opposite them, staring.
“I do believe you’ve already asked for my daughter’s hand in marriage,” the Earl blustered, trying to regain his footing. “What else is left to discuss so urgently? You want to know about her dowry? I admit it’s small, but—”
“I have no interest in your money, Lord Claymore,” Edmund interrupted, the words slicing through the room like ice.
“Then what is it?”
“Your daughter was forced into a position that I find utterly abhorrent,” Edmund said, leaning forward, his broad shoulders squaring.
“She was forced to assume your responsibilities and quietly pay your debts. She put herself in grave danger to shield this family, and had I not arrived in time—” He cut himself off, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle violently twitched.
He expelled a sharp, furious breath, his fist tightening against his knee.
The Earl shot to his feet, the shock temporarily sobering him. “What are you talking about?”
“Lord Dulforth,” Edmund spat out the name like poison. “He has been blackmailing your daughter.”
“Surely not!” the Earl protested, his face flushing a mottled red. “Dulforth and I reached an agreement. I was to pay him slowly.”
“And had you begun to pay him at all?”
“Well… no, but—”
“And it never occurred to your lordship why a creature like that didn’t simply have you thrown into a debtor’s prison?”
The Earl puffed up his chest, his voice rising in defensive anger. “I am a gentleman!”
“Then act like one,” Edmund snapped, his restraint finally fracturing. “A gentleman knows that gambling debts are settled immediately. Yet you thought… what? That Dulforth was a patient benefactor? That you had an infinite amount of time?”
Daisy hunched in on herself, a deep, burning embarrassment for her father flushing through her.
Yet beneath the shame, a powerful, cathartic emotion was brimming in her chest. She had spent her entire life managing the fallout of her family's failures; she had never, not once, been defended like this.
“I—I—I did not think—” the Earl floundered.
“You didn’t care, just so long as he didn’t bother your peace,” Edmund replied harshly, his gaze raking down the Earl’s disheveled frame with pure disgust. “Look at you. You’re ape-drunk before the sun has even fully set.
You would rather drown your senses in spirits than secure your own household.
What kind of man leaves his daughter to face a predator alone? ”
The Earl merely gaped, looking entirely undone as he searched for some way to defend his honor. Finding none, his desperate gaze finally landed on Daisy.
“My girl… what happened to you? Why did you not tell me Dulforth was pursuing you?”
Daisy’s mouth twisted bitterly. The lingering fear from the carriage ride evaporated, leaving behind a cold, sharp clarity. “Would you have done something about it, Papa? Or would you have simply offered me up like a sacrificial lamb to clear your ledger?”
“Daisy!” The Earl gasped, taking a step back as if struck. “I would never. Is that truly what you think of me?”
Daisy shrugged, though the movement felt heavy, weighted by years of quiet neglect. “I don’t know. All I know is that I have long since learned not to trust you with my well-being.”
A heavy, ringing silence fell over the room. The Earl looked at his daughter as if seeing her clearly for the first time in years.
“Have you not been living in a house where you don’t even know if there is food on the table?” Daisy continued, her voice trembling but steady. Do you know who paid the vendors this month? Who managed the servants so they wouldn't leave us?”
Her father slowly lifted his hands in a gesture of utter surrender.
The anger drained out of him, leaving him looking small, old, and broken.
“I am sorry,” he whispered quietly. “I understand that I have been deeply remiss in my duties.” He looked directly into her eyes; his expression wretched. “Can you ever forgive me, Daisy?”
Daisy looked at the broken man before her and felt a sad, quiet wave of pity. “I can forgive you, Papa. But only if you promise to try harder.”
“I promise,” the Earl said immediately, a sudden flash of misguided bravado returning to his face. “I’ll start tomorrow. I shall go and challenge Dulforth to a duel for what he did to you.”
Daisy barked out a sudden, surprised laugh, the absurdity breaking the heavy tension. “There is absolutely no need for that.” She turned, casting a deeply fond, soft glance toward the man sitting beside her. “The Duke has already rescued me. Dulforth will not dare show his face near us again.”
The Earl shifted his attention to Edmund, looking thoroughly impressed and small in comparison to the younger man's imposing presence. “Well… it seems you chose your future husband well, my dear.”
Daisy looked up, her gaze instantly locking with Edmund’s.
He was already staring down at her, his honey-warm eyes entirely open, completely unraveled by the vulnerabilities they had shared.
The fierce, protective anger that had stiffened his spine melted into something profoundly tender, wrapping around her like a physical embrace.
She smiled, her voice barely a whisper. “I did.”
“Which brings us to the final matter,” Edmund announced, his voice echoing clearly against the parlor walls. “I have officially proposed to Daisy, and we will not be waiting for the Season to conclude. Lady Daisy and I are to be wed in exactly one month’s time.”
The Earl blinked, utterly stunned by the timeline. “A month? Your Grace, the preparations—”
“I will take care of everything,” Edmund countered smoothly, rising to his full, towering height and pulling Daisy up gracefully along with him. His grip on her hand did not loosen by a fraction. “I intend to make Daisy my wife without any further delay.”
Daisy’s breath hitched at the sheer, commanding certainty in his voice.
My wife.
The words sent a thrilling tremor straight down her spine.
Edmund turned back to Daisy, his gaze lingering on her mouth for a heavy, scorching second before he lifted her hand to his lips. He pressed a warm, lingering kiss directly against her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I shall leave you to rest,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a low tone that was meant only for her. “I have matters to secure for us. But I will return for you soon.”
Daisy nodded, her heart hammering in her chest, entirely incredulous at the swift, beautiful storm her life had become. “Thank you, Edmund. For everything.”
“You are very welcome, my dear,” he whispered.
With a final, sharp nod to the Earl, Edmund swept from the room. Daisy stood entirely still, staring at the empty doorway in his wake.
Her heart overflowed with breathless joy as she realized she was finally, beautifully safe.