Page 6 of The Duke's Scottish Bride
“Yer Grace, I assure ye, Verity has been quite safe here in me home. There’s no need for such haste. Please, let me ring for some refreshment and?—”
“If you will excuse us, my lady. This is a family matter,” he snapped.
“I am sorry we have never been properly introduced, Yer Grace, but I feel as if I know you well. When your family holidayed in the Lake District during the summer months, I always spent ample time with your sister.”
Anselm straightened. As he blinked, he recalled the names Lady Inverhall and Elspeth being mentioned by his sister a few times, and the trip to Scotland for her wedding. When he really stretched his mind, he recollected the subsequent trip Verity made just a few months ago to see Lady Inverhall after her husband passed away suddenly. In all his concern and haste, hehadn’t even remembered this dowager his sister had befriended long ago.
Idiot, he reprimanded himself,I should have thought of Inverhall first.
“If she would like to plan a trip to visit you in the future, with proper notice and planning, that will be a different story,” Anselm said as he turned his steely gaze on her. “But Lady Inverhall, with all due respect, my sister’s safety and future are my concern. She will be returning with me to London. Now.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Verity and Lady Marion exchange worried glances. It was evident they were speaking a silent kind of language only close friends could.
“How do you two know each other?” he asked Verity.
“Marion’s my friend,” Verity explained. “We met in the village’s bookshop,” then, she turned to Marion, “What happened, my friend?”
Marion hesitated and sighed, “It’s a long story.”
“Well, both Elspeth and I are here to hear it.”
Lady Inverhall stepped forward, “Perhaps some tea could help all of us cal—” she persisted but Anselm put his hand up.
“Enough. I am not wasting another second here. Verity, gather whatever is necessary for our return to London.”
Verity’s jaw tightened, but her voice remained calm and steady. “Anselm, listen to reason. It’s too late for all that. Lord Fanthorpe will not marry me now. Not after I ran away. We both know how these things work. You cannot fix this.”
“Icanand Iwill,” Anselm replied sharply, his eyes glinting with fierce determination. “Your actions do not change our duty. I’ll handle Fanthorpe.”
“I do not wish to be handled like a business transaction,” she snapped, though still keeping her composure. “You can arrange a thousand weddings if you like, but I won’t go back into a life I’ve already rejected. You cannot force me into it.”
“You think I will allow you to stay here and ruin yourself entirely?” he ground out. “Youwillcome back with me, Verity. You are my sister. My responsibility. If I must drag you out of this house, I will.”
Lady Inverhall stepped forward again, her expression firm. “That’s enough, Yer Grace. You may believe this to be your family matter, but as long as Verity is under my roof, I will not see her dragged about like some disobedient child.”
Anselm’s gaze was ice-cold as it flicked to Lady Inverhall. “If you wish to press this matter further, my lady, I remind you that I could easily involve the authorities. I doubt you’d wish for scandal in your home.”
A tense silence fell, every breath in the room held tight.
Verity’s face flushed, but not with shame. With a quiet exhale, she rose from her seat with the regal dignity of a woman who had made her peace with hard choices.
“No need to threaten anyone,” she said coolly, her voice carrying the weight of resignation. “I will go with you, Anselm.”
She met his gaze squarely, lifting her chin in defiance even as she agreed.
“I will return with you, brother. On one condition.”
“Oh, dear sister, there are no conditions. You will be returning home at once.”
“There is,” Verity pressed. There was fire in her eyes. “Marion must come with us.”
Anselm blinked. He glanced at the lady standing beside him, then back at his sister.
“Absolutely not,” Anselm scoffed. “This woman is not my responsibility. She has her own affairs to attend to.”
Lady Inverhall stepped forward then, her voice gentle but firm. “If I may, Yer Grace, Marion is welcome to stay here with me as long as she needs. There is no place safer for her than Inverhall.”
“Thank you, Elspeth, I—” Marion began to say but Verity’s eyes narrowed.
