Chapter 5 #3
‘It was neither a library nor was it dark,’ he corrected her grudgingly. God save men from well-meaning widows with a great deal of free time.
‘I had supposed that, since you are so close a friend of Statony, that would be the place you chose to steal a kiss from Eveline.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Focus, Arden! You do not want an unhappy marriage, and a girl as vibrant as Eveline will certainly not accept one either. Repairing the lady’s reputation is crucial, I know it well, but founding the union of the two of you on solid pillars is equally important.
Do you understand what I am telling you? ’
‘What I understand is that we are in the middle of the street having a conversation—’
‘A chat,’ she corrected him. ‘We are having a chat between friends because you need my help, Arden,’ she finished lecturing him.
‘With all due respect, Lady Ashbury, I am more capable in matrimonial matters than Statony. You see it already; I have managed to become engaged to Lady Eveline by my own means, unlike my friend, whom we had to trick. So I will ask for your esteemed help, my lady, only when it is necessary.’
‘No. You will do it when you are brave. Come and see me when all of this has definitively gotten out of your hands. I shall clear my appointments for the coming days to have time for you.’
That did strike him full on. Did she consider him so much a boor? He felt the urge to explain to her the way Eveline had allowed him to plunder her while she moaned full of joy. He would not do it. Besides, Lady Ashbury was mistaken. The marriage was a fact; nothing could go wrong.
‘I thank you,’ he told her, in case he ended up needing her offer. Arden was no fool, and only fools closed doors on themselves.
Lady Ashbury stepped to the right to continue on her way, but first she looked at him over her shoulder.
‘Heed me, Lord Arden. Special licenses are very useful for avoiding the banns, but they are of no use in making a woman believe in the love of a stubborn man. For that you will have to use words, given that we both know you employed the actions four years ago, impeccably, I must add. Does Eveline by any chance know what you did for her at that time?’
‘No,’ he denied softly.
‘Does Statony know?’
‘He does not either.’
‘Humility will not serve you well on this occasion; you ought to boast a little about your exploits, Arden.’
‘I do not think she would like to discover that I…’ He did not want to recall what had happened four years earlier when he had had to set things in order.
Statony had been very absorbed in the conquest of his duchess, and Arden was the one who decided to act when…
He shook his head. He could not boast of having done those things before Eveline; she would be scandalized and would send him to a cold and lonely place.
Or to hell, where he would be a little warmer, but just as alone.
‘Words and actions. Remember my counsel, Arden. I know that gentlemen find both dangerous, but one survives them more often than they imagine, and they could bring happiness if used well. I shall be expecting you, do not forget it.’
She left him there, in the middle of the street, with a split lip, a special license ready to use, and the irritating sensation of having been laid bare.
Lady Ashbury had made him more nervous than he already was.
What nonsense! He had only to go and fetch her and marry her. Then they would leave for his country estate and live there happily ever after.
Everything was going to turn out well.
He climbed into the carriage and set his course for his destination. When he returned to Hounslow Park, the sky had begun to darken; it foretold rain. A footman received him with too much caution. He noticed it. That, and that the house was very silent.
‘Where is Statony?’ Arden asked.
‘His Grace has departed for London, my lord.’
Arden refused to show concern.
‘And the duchess?’
‘She also, my lord.’
The next question stuck in his throat, but he had to ask it.
‘Lady Eveline?’
The servant lowered his gaze.
‘She has departed with them, my lord.’
For a second, Arden heard nothing more.
‘Hell…’ he muttered in anger.
Then the servant held out a letter to him.
‘The duke has left this for you.’
Arden recognized Statony’s seal and broke it right there, without moving from the vestibule.
His friend’s hand was firm, too serene to seem innocent.
Arden:
Alice and I have decided to take Eveline to London.
Before you break something, remember that this is still my house.
My sister wishes for time, she wants a marriage for love, not a reparation imposed by a scandal nor a sentence accepted out of honor. She intends to enjoy the Season and to find out whether there exists a gentleman capable of choosing her without feeling obliged to do so.
If you wish to be that man, and you made it very clear that you do at our last meeting, I suggest you stop acting like an executioner with the special license that you will already have in your possession and begin to behave like a suitor.
I know what I am talking about. I have stood in your boots, my friend.
Yes. Although we had our differences very recently, I still consider you my friend, for if it were otherwise, I would not encourage you to act as I know you must. And yes, I also know that right now you will be cursing our friendship.
We know each other too well not to know what each of us is thinking, though I must admit that with the matter of Eveline you deceived me well.
Do not try to drag her to the altar. It will not work.
And never forget that she is still my sister. However many rights you believe you have over her, she does not belong to you and is under my protection.
Statony.
Arden read the letter once.
Then again.
By the third time, rage had already erased the pain in his jaw.
Time?
A suitable gentleman?
She meant to seek in London a man who would truly love her?
The image of Eveline smiling at Linfield returned with a violence that nearly devoured his insides. No. Neither Linfield, nor Tentwall, nor any of the gentlemen hungry for scandals who would approach her the moment the news began to circulate through the drawing rooms.
She could not abandon him! Eveline could believe whatever she liked. She could hate him, defy him, accuse him of detesting her, even pretend that kiss had not changed everything, but she was not going to offer another man what was his.
Statony was mistaken. She was his!
Arden folded the letter with a calm so cold that the footman took half a step back.
‘My carriage. At once,’ he ordered.
‘My lord, the horses have just—’
‘Others. Have the duke’s harnessed; I shall return them to him later. ’
The servant did not argue.
No one with the slightest regard for his life would have argued with the Earl of Arden at that moment.
Nathaniel remained in the vestibule a few moments longer, the special license in the inner pocket of his coat and Statony’s letter closed in his fist. He had gone to London to secure his marriage, had just returned to the country, and already had to go back to the confounded city to claim his woman.
Eveline wanted love.
Very well.
She would have love, even if first he had to force it out from among the rubble of his pride.
And if she intended to seek the suitable gentleman in the midst of the Season, Arden would see to it that the whole confounded city understood an elementary truth before the first ball. Lady Eveline Hartwell already had an owner.
Him.
Only him.
A pity that, just as he prepared to leave, the weather upset his plans. The storm that began to break made it impossible for him to set off. He would have to spend the night in a solitary house while Eveline would already be enjoying the Season… without him.
Damnation!