Page 9 of The Baron Takes a Bet
Facing the gentleman, she saw a shadow pass over his face.
“Do you?” she asked.
“My uncle didn’t believe that I would honor his wishes and therefore decided to set a trap for me. Very clever.” He exhaled slowly. “Very well. He wins. I’ll honor all his promises to Miss Smyth here. Now how do we get out of this, Mr. Armstrong?”
“Um, well…” he started nervously. “You don’t.”
“Surely there must be something, Mr. Armstrong,” Holly said. “John wouldn’t destine the both of us to a life of… of…” She shook her head, unable to say a word. “You must do something.”
“I’m afraid the contract is ironclad.”
“It can’t be annulled? Neither of us were aware of John’s plan.”
“No, it appears you weren’t. And that alone might get you out of the marriage contract set forth by the laws of England, but I must remind you, you were married by aCatholicpriest.”
“What difference does that make?” Holly asked, unfamiliar with Catholic customs. She had been raised in the Church of England. In fact, she had been somewhat surprised to learn that not only was John Catholic, but he was one of only a handful of peers whose ancestors had been able to retain their title and religion from the English civil war. “I’m sure there are annulments in the Catholic church.”
“There are, but they take a long time and must be granted by the pope himself,” Mr. Armstrong said, standing up. “However, I will do my best to see what can be done.”
“And in the meantime?” Lord Bairnsdale said.
“In the meantime,” Mr. Armstrong replied, shaking his head. “I suppose you may pretend that you aren’t married.”
Holly scowled.
“That’s it? Pretend like we aren’t married?”
“Yes. I’ll send word as soon as I figure out what can be done, but I really must be off. London business waits for no man. Good day,” he said with a stiff bow before exiting the room, leaving Holly alone with her husband.
Husband. What an absurd thing John had done. What would have possessed him to do such an asinine thing as to marry her to his nephew, a man Holly knew next to nothing about?
Feeling as though she had to defend herself, Holly spoke.
“I know that this isn’t exactly what you were expecting upon your arrival.”
He glanced at her.
“What do you suppose I was expecting?”
“Well, whatever it was you were expecting, I’m sure it wasn’t a wi—”
“A wife?”
She smiled painfully at him.
“There’s no need to use that word. We are not married and therefore not husband and… that,” she said, unable to speak it. “But I assure you that you will find nothing but a helping hand where I am concerned when it comes to resolving the matter. I don’t want any part of this.”
His stare turned intent. “So you agree with Mr. Armstrong? That we should just… continue on, pretending like you’re a widow and I’m unattached?”
“I don’t see why not. Everyone in the neighborhood believes that I married John. If we keep the truth a secret and keep our distance, everyone will continue believing that I’m merely a widow,” she said. “My siblings and I will return to Felton Manor at once and—”
“I thought Armstrong said it needed to be restored?”
She hesitated.
“It does, but we have taken refuge on the first floor.”
Lord Bairnsdale frowned.
