Page 38 of Daring the Forbidden Earl
“I am in trouble, my dear boys,” Mark said, at last. “And I fear something terrible may happen to me, if I cannot discover a solution to my… predicament.”
Liam and Kenneth exchanged a glance.
“Is this about Mrs. Carlton?” Liam asked, his tone nervous.
Mark’s heart thudded against his ribcage as he came to an abrupt halt in his pacing. “Mrs. Carlton?”
“We know you are having some kind of affair with her, Carlton.” Kenneth raised an eyebrow. “There is little use in denying it, considering how you behaved at Nora’s dinner party. Not long ago, you would never have defended her character. So, either you have feelings for her which are not returned, or theyarereturned, and you are trying to decide how to tell us… knowing we will not approve.”
Liam snorted. “I have never said I would not approve. It is only the legal implications that concern me. As for them being together—I have no argument with that at all.”
“Legal implications?” Mark completely forgot why he was actually there for a moment, as he looked to Liam.
“Mrs. Carlton was married to your uncle until his recent passing. As such, you were, in essence, her nephew for a time.” Liam cast Mark an apologetic expression. “With that in mind, you cannot marry in any legal capacity in England, if that is your intention.”
Kenneth tapped his foot on the floor. “Isthat your intention?”
Mark stood entirely still as his mind swirled with confusion. How could they have known about him and Johanna, when they had been so discreet? At least, he thought they had been discreet. Was it truly because of how he had acted at the dinner party, or had Nora been whispering in her husband’s ear, which had then reached Kenneth’s ear? After all, in this city, nothing escaped Nora.
This is ridiculous!
“I am not here to discuss my personal attachments!” Mark barked, trying to ease the roil in his stomach. “Well, not in the way you might think.”
Even if the two matters are vaguely related…
He whipped out the threatening letter and slammed it down on the desk that stood between Kenneth and Liam. Evidently curious, the two men peered down at the words. Mark watched their eyes flit back and forth as they took in the warning, though some confusion flickered across their faces as they reached the signature.
“Who is this “HS”?” Liam lifted his head.
Kenneth shook his head slowly. “Is it not obvious?” He glanced up at Mark. “I told you this would happen, if you continued to take young ladies of the peerage to your bedchamber. You have had several near misses in the past, Dear Boy. Your philandering was always going to come back and bite you. That is why I told you, countless times, to abstain.”
“What, pray tell, am I missing?” Liam squinted in bemusement.
Kenneth tapped the “HS” at the bottom of the page. “I do not know who this is, but clearly it is the disgruntled father of some poor young lady who was taken in by our friend’s charms.”
“It is the Baron of Dresday—Henry Steele. HS.” Mark had to commend Kenneth for his perceptiveness, but he did not take kindly to the lecture. “However, you are mistaken in your assumption. His daughter, Miss Steele, appears to have informed him that I dishonored her. But I have never exchanged more than a handful of words with the girl, and now this wretch will likely kill me if I do not wed her!”
He hurriedly told the rest of the tale, where the Baron had visited him at his residence and made more physical threats.
“So, you see the trouble I am in,” Mark concluded. “If it were my doing, and Miss Steele was with child, I might be more inclined to shoulder some responsibility. But this isnotmy doing.”
Kenneth narrowed his eyes. “Are you certain about that? Or are you trying to avoid this responsibility because of Mrs. Carlton? If you are enamored with her, as I have come to believe you are, it stands to reason that you would try to shun this Miss Steele.”
Mark’s jaw dropped. Of all the people in his life, he had convinced himself that he could rely upon his dearest friends for assistance… and, what was more, to believe him. They knew him better than anyone. Surely, they knew he would admit fault if there was a fault to admit?
“We are not calling you a liar, Carlton, but youhavepretended not to know young ladies before,” Liam said, more softly. “If I recall, you claimed you had never met Lady Jane, Miss Devereaux, Miss Holbrook, and Lady Emily, when they accused you of taking them to your bed.”
Mark floundered. “Have you been making a list?”
“You were lucky with those ladies,” Kenneth interjected. “They were kept from a scandal by wise fathers, who ensured they were quickly married to respectable gentlemen of station. But this was before you inherited. You cannot expect to be given the same mercies, now thatyouhold the title of Earl. Of course the Baron of Dresday would insist you do the honorable thing.”
“But I have not coupled with Miss Steele!” Mark shot back, feeling cornered by his friends. They were supposed to be on his side, not pointing out his former transgressions. “And I admitted my guilt toward those ladies, in the end! That is why I sent them money, by way of an apology for the trouble I caused them.”
Kenneth wagged a finger. “Afterthey were married.”
“Well, I could not very well admit it beforehand, could I?” Mark dabbed his sweating forehead against the back of his sleeve. The shame he had felt upon Lord Dresday’s departure from his townhouse was beginning to creep back in.
Have I really been such a despicable rogue?
