Chapter Twenty-One
Will saw the blood drain from Amelie’s face as she regarded the woman standing in front of her. It was a shock for him as well. When the knock at the door had come a couple of minutes earlier, he would never in a hundred years have guessed it was his future fiancée paying him a visit.
‘Please, Your Grace, might I have a quick word?’ Amelie said, sounding the most deferential he had ever heard her.
Will gave Lady Elizabeth and her companion an apologetic smile and stepped through to the kitchen with Amelie.
‘There are rumours about us circling around Cambridge,’ Amelie said with no preamble.
‘I heard two women talking and they knew my name.’ Amelie looked flustered, almost wild, and he wanted to draw her into his arms and embrace her, to wait until she had calmed and then they could work this out together, but they did not have the luxury of that just now.
‘I have no idea why Lady Elizabeth is here,’ he whispered. ‘But I assume she has heard similar rumours.’
‘Do you think the gossip has reached London?’
‘Gossip travels fast.’
He gave a surreptitious squeeze of her hand and then led her back into the parlour. It was a disaster, but he needed to have all the information before he could know how best to act. Before he could think about controlling the damage from the gossip, he had to hear what Lady Elizabeth had to say.
‘Would you like me to prepare some tea, Your Grace?’ Amelie said, smiling blandly at their guests.
‘Tea can wait,’ Lady Elizabeth barked. Her speech was abrupt, to the point, and Will got the impression she was not in the habit of wasting words. ‘We need to speak to both of you. I suggest you take a seat, Amelie.’
Amelie sat obediently, folding her hands in her lap and casting her eyes down. She looked the picture of a perfect servant, attentive but docile.
‘Before we start, I would like to introduce you to my companion, Miss Rebecca Flint,’ Lady Elizabeth said, smiling warmly at the other woman.
‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Flint,’ Will said. It was unsurprising that Lady Elizabeth would travel with a companion and chaperone, but it was unusual that she wanted to involve this young woman in the discussion they were likely about to have.
Lady Elizabeth took a moment to compose herself and then levelled her gaze at Will.
‘There have been rumours, Your Grace, about what you are getting up to here in Grantchester.’
Will blinked, surprised that she was being so direct, but perhaps that was for the best. He doubted she would want to dismiss the idea of an engagement because of this. He was the only unmarried duke in the country and her parents were ambitious for their only daughter.
‘That is…unfortunate,’ Will said slowly.
Lady Elizabeth suppressed a smile. ‘Unfortunate is one word for it. I understand you have been seen on multiple occasions walking arm in arm with Amelie here along the banks of the river, as if you were a couple.’
Will had not expected Lady Elizabeth to be so forthright.
He did not know what she wanted the outcome to be.
He could understand if she felt humiliated, given the arrangement their fathers had made, but it was not public knowledge.
No one outside of their families knew they were likely to marry one day.
A scandal such as this wasn’t pleasant, but as long as there was a little time left between his return from Grantchester and their engagement it would not reflect poorly on her.
Men of the aristocracy behaved badly all the time and normally their rank and connections meant they were forgiven and all was forgotten quite quickly.
Lady Elizabeth pushed on and he glanced over at Amelie, his heart sinking further.
She looked completely dejected. It was the worst possible outcome for her.
The news of their indiscretions had reached London, and although not many people would know who she was now, her name would be linked to this scandal for ever more.
Perhaps in a year or two people would forget, but until then she would likely be rejected if she sought a position in a new houeshold.
He felt guilty—he had known this was a possibility, but in his eagerness to make her his own for these few months he had dismissed the very real risk of this happening.
‘I understand you even went to a ball at Trinity college together.’
‘What do you want, Lady Elizabeth?’ he said bluntly. ‘I appreciate your concern about the rumours that are swirling around us, but why are you here?’
Lady Elizabeth smiled, looking at her companion for a moment before turning back to Will. ‘You are a direct man, Lord Beescroft; it is an attribute I value. I do not believe in avoiding the crux of the matter, even if it spares someone’s feelings.’
He inclined his head, waiting for her to continue.
‘I think we have been presented with a wonderful opportunity,’ she said, looking earnestly back and forth between Will and Amelie. Amelie was completely silent, as if she had retreated into herself and he hated that he could not comfort her.
‘An opportunity?’
‘Yes. Long ago, our fathers agreed that our families should be joined together through marriage. As far as I know, there was no contract signed, but it was understood that at an appropriate time you would propose and I would accept. Two of the great families of the realm would unite and secure the future for generations to come.’
Will inclined his head. It was his understanding of the matter too.
‘Now, I am the only daughter of the Earl of Warwick. Although the land and title will go to some distant cousin, my father has settled an obscene amount of money on me, during his lifetime and even more when he dies. Of course, he wishes me to be settled before then, perhaps with a child or two—grandsons he can dote on and play the role of benevolent grandfather.’
Coming from Lady Elizabeth, it all seemed very practical and emotionless.
It was the plan everyone had agreed on, but these last few weeks Will had felt something more.
The happiness he had with Amelie would never be reproduced, but perhaps he had been a fool to agree to a loveless marriage just because two old men had agreed to the idea years earlier.
‘My father is keen for the matter to be settled,’ she said, sitting up a little straighter.
‘And you? I cannot imagine the rumours you have heard have made you want to rush down the aisle.’
She gave a dismissive wave of her hand and Will frowned. This was not how he had expected this meeting to go. When Lady Elizabeth had appeared on his doorstep, he had thought there would be high drama and recriminations, but the earl’s daughter did not seem overly bothered by his indiscretion.
‘I think you will be the perfect husband for me,’ she said, looking him straight in the eye. ‘But I want you to listen to my proposition before we decide how to move forward.’
‘You have a proposition for me?’
‘I do. I want us to marry. I do not really care when or where, but some time in the next year would be ideal. Once we are married, I ask for discretion.’ She grimaced. ‘More discretion than you have displayed here, but I give you my blessing for you to continue your entanglement with Amelie.’
‘You wish to start our marriage with one of the parties planning to be unfaithful?’
Lady Elizabeth sighed and then reached out and took her companion’s hand.
‘Both parties will be unfaithful. I wish to have a marriage in name only. Once a suitable period has passed, I propose we keep separate households, lead separate lives. An agreement can be reached about a minimum number of events we attend together, but on the whole I do not want to be where you are.’
‘Why would you do this? I know I am a duke, but you said yourself you do not need the money. It would not matter if you married an earl or a viscount. Why not wait for a love match, or at least someone you are not encouraging to keep a mistress from the start of the marriage?’
‘Will,’ Amelie said, so softly that at first he was not certain she had spoken. He glanced at her and she held out a hand, gesturing to the two women in front of him.
‘In return for my discretion and tolerance, I would ask the same of you,’ Lady Elizabeth said.
Understanding dawned and Will’s eyes widened.
‘I debated coming here today, but it seemed too good an opportunity to miss for us all. We may not know one another well, Your Grace, but I have been curious about the man I may one day marry. I know this episode is completely out of character. As far as I know, you have never had a mistress before, never been rumoured to be entangled with anyone. Your reputation until now is unblemished. It makes me think that something very special indeed must have happened to make you do something so out of character.’
Lady Elizabeth smiled warmly at Amelie. ‘I have made a lot of assumptions, and I may be incorrect, but I do not think so. I see the concern you have for Amelie.’
Will felt completely stunned. He had expected recriminations, shouting, hysterics. He had thought Lady Elizabeth would be enraged. Instead she spoke as if they were discussing a business arrangement.
‘Amelie could remain in one of your properties in the countryside,’ Lady Elizabeth said calmly.
‘I have no wish to cross her path unnecessarily, but I will not begrudge you her company. She would live quietly, under your protection, and I would establish my own residence in one of your distant properties, with Miss Flint as my companion. I think, with a little discretion, the arrangement would not raise too many eyebrows.’
He glanced across at Amelie and saw her hands tightened in her lap, her knuckles white. Her eyes never left the carpet.
‘And what of children?’ Will asked, uncertain whether he wanted to hear the answer.
Lady Elizabeth gave him a small, steady smile.
‘If you desire heirs, then for that purpose alone I would consent to intimacy. A practical arrangement. Afterwards, we would resume our separate lives. Given my inclination, you do not need to worry about any children being conceived that are not yours.’
Amelie raised her head then, her expression unreadable, but her voice was quiet. ‘And if he doesn’t want heirs?’
For the first time, Lady Elizabeth faltered, glancing briefly at her companion before returning her gaze to Amelie. ‘Then our lives would be entirely our own. I will not force him to do what he does not wish.’
The silence stretched out in front of them. Lady Elizabeth had made her case now and sat down, folding her hands neatly in her lap, her eyes flitting between Will and Amelie.
Will leaned back in his chair, studying the three women.
Lady Elizabeth’s poise was impeccable, her proposition as rational as it was scandalous.
Amelie, pale and drawn, seemed to be wallowing in despair.
Miss Flint had leaned in a little closer to Lady Elizabeth, but her expression remained neutral.
He closed his eyes, considering Lady Elizabeth’s words.
This was not at all the disaster he had feared.
It was something stranger: a possibility.
He had been happier these last few weeks than he’d ever thought was possible.
Every moment he’d spent with Amelie was joyful, but there was an inevitable black cloud hanging over them.
Soon things would have to come to an end, and he was not ready for that.
Will exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand across his jaw.
The idea that he would not lose Amelie, that he could keep her by his side without the ruin he had feared, was intoxicating.
For one reckless moment, he imagined it working exactly as Lady Elizabeth had described: Amelie settled in one of his estates in the countryside, free from the judgmental stares of London, and him slipping away whenever he wished to be with her.
But then came the other voice, the stern echo of generations past. He was a duke.
His very existence was tied to duty, to preserving his family’s legacy, securing the line, fulfilling obligations that had been drummed into him since boyhood.
A marriage to Lady Elizabeth would go a long way to helping to fulfil the expectations society held for him, but he wondered if that was what he truly wanted.
He glanced at Amelie, thinking of the affection they had shared these last few weeks.
The physical side of their relationship had been incredible, but the closeness they had shared, the companionship and the happiness, was just as important.
He thought of his own parents’ marriage.
Whilst he doubted it had initially been a love match, they had loved one another, and had ensured he and Catherine had understood the importance of harmony within a family.
He could not have imagined that sort of happiness weeks ago—he had thought of marriage only as part of fulfilling his duty—but would he be cheating himself if he settled for something less?
He closed his eyes momentarily. It was a mess.
If he wanted a marriage like that, a marriage filled with affection and companionship, he would have to give up Amelie.
Or he could agree to Lady Elizabeth’s proposal and live half his life hidden away.
He looked at Amelie, her pale face taut with worry. If he refused outright, she would face the future alone. If he accepted without thought, he might condemn them all to a scandal of a different kind.
‘Your proposition,’ he said carefully at last, ‘Is not what I expected.’ He met Lady Elizabeth’s gaze, steady and unflinching. ‘I cannot deny I am intrigued by your idea but am unsure what to do for the best.’
Lady Elizabeth inclined her head as though she had anticipated his hesitation. ‘I do not expect an answer today.’
‘I am grateful for that,’ Will said quietly. He turned to Amelie but she would not look at him. ‘I need time—to think; to speak with Amelie. What you ask touches all our lives, and I would not treat it lightly.’
Lady Elizabeth’s expression softened, and he saw her quite deliberately reach out and take Miss Flint’s hand in her own. ‘Take the time you need, Your Grace. You are right; there are four lives at stake here. It is important we get this right.’