Page 34 of Lady Beast's Bridegroom
Peter gave Arial’s shoulder a quick squeeze of reassurance. He opened the door and leaned over the stairs to call down to the front hall. “Let him come up, Barlowe. On his own. Those other gentlemen can wait in the street.”
Other gentlemen? Who had Josiah brought with him?
Peter added, “And close the front door, please. I imagine the neighbors have heard more than enough. If you have a moment, can you send someone with that message I mentioned earlier?”
Arial frowned at the last sentence, which seemed out of place. She took a deep breath. Peter knew what he was doing. Peterwould not let Josiah hurt her. Her heart raced and her hands were clammy as the man’s approach was heralded by continued threats against Peter. It was clear he assumed Peter had sent his unwanted wife away as soon as the money was in his hands.
Peter will protect mebecame a constant chant and allowed her to face the villain with an assumption of calm when Peter stepped out of the doorway to let him into the room.
Josiah stopped in his tracks when he saw her. “You are here. I thought…”
“We heard what you thought,” Peter pointed out. “It is true, as my nurse used to say, we see in others a reflection of ourselves.”
Josiah turned on him, setting his shoulders and clenching his fists. “Now see here—”
Peter was a good six inches taller and at least as broad, but without any fat. He greeted Josiah’s attempt at intimidation with one lifted eyebrow, then interrupted the man to ask Arial. “The Earl of Stancroft, I presume?”
“Yes,” Arial agreed.
Peter turned back to Josiah. “Leave our house, Stancroft. You’re not welcome here.”
“Now see here,” Josiah hissed. “I have a warrant giving me guardianship of my cousin. You have no right to keep her from me. I have constables in the street to help me enforce the warrant.”
That eyebrow went up again. “Show me this warrant.”
It was a bark of command, and Josiah responded by pulling a folded sheaf of papers from inside his coat. Peter flattened them and read the top one, and then the next, and the one after.
For a wonder, Josiah waited. When Peter finished the fourth and last page, and handed the papers back to Josiah, Josiah smirked. “See? Hand her over, and there will not need to be any violence.”
“I would like to avoid violence,” Peter said, meditatively. “My wife has asked me not to call anyone out. Mind you, dearest Lady Ransome, you did not express an opinion about fisticuffs. Would you be offended if I punched your cousin?”
Josiah put his fists up in front of his face and backed away. “I will have you up for assault, as well as taking advantage of my poor deluded cousin.”
There was a commotion downstairs, and another out in the street. Peter grinned. “Good man, Barlowe. Our reinforcements have arrived, my love.” His grin broadened as he took in Josiah, his fists still protecting his nose, sweat popping out on his brow.
“We won’t even bother having your warrant quashed, Stancroft. It is not valid. The name on it is Lady Arial Bledisloe. That lady no longer exists. Your cousin—I beg your pardon, my lady—yoursecondcousin is Lady Ransome, my viscountess and my wife. I suggest you take yourself and your accomplices away before I have you arrested for disturbing the peace and being a public nuisance.”
Even then, Josiah would not leave. Not until Barlowe showed John Forsythe into the room.
“Hello, Lady Ransome. Lovely morning. We’ve disbursed the men outside, Peter. They were under the impression that the lady had been gulled into a false marriage. Also, that she was deranged, and incapable of making a reasoned decision. I told them I was a witness myself and sent them to the vicar and Richards for a second and third opinion.”
Josiah burst out, “She is deranged! Everyone knows that her own appearance drove her out of her mind. Even her own father couldn’t bear to look at her.”
Perhaps he had more to say, but he did not have time. Peter’s fist hit his face. Arial heard something in his nose crunch. He fell over backwards like a tree cut off at the roots, turning a sidetable into kindling with his weight and narrowly missing the door jamb with his head.
“Nice jab,” John commented.
Peter bowed to Arial. “I apologize for hitting someone in your drawing room, my lady. It needed to be done.”
To herself, Arial could admit it was very satisfying. Perhaps she could tell Peter that, when they were alone. Not in front of Barlowe or John, or the two burly men that John beckoned into the room.
“This is the Earl of Stancroft, men. I imagine his equipage is the one waiting on the corner. Put him in it, will you? Tell them to take him home. Then return here for further orders.”
The men carried Josiah out. He was stirring, and groaning. On the whole, Arial was glad he was not worse hurt. Injuring an earl might have repercussions they did not want to deal with.
“Thank you for coming so quickly, John,” Peter said. “I was afraid Barlowe’s messenger might find you out.”
John grimaced. “It was the least I could do. I am afraid his appearance today is down to Mrs. Weatherall. She is friends with Lady Stancroft and wrote her a letter. I found out by chance when I arrived early for an engagement with Belinda and overheard the two of them talking. Of course, I guessed he would come here, so I made my apologies and sent for the men. We were just leaving my building when your messenger arrived.”
