Page 37 of Weave me a Rope
The lady giggled. She was nervous, Spen realized. He’d known a boy in the village who giggled whenever he was frightened or embarrassed.
“I mean you no harm, my lady,” he insisted. “I will not even touch you.”
Lady Daphne’s eyes filled again at that. “But you have to. Father said. I am to kiss you and let you do what you like, and not complain if it hurts. Then you will marry me, and I shall be a countess and shall have a new gown.” She added, doubtfully, “I will like that very much, Father says.”
“I am not going to hurt you, Lady Daphne, and I am not going marry you,” Spen insisted. “I am already betrothed to Miss Milton. I will marry her.”
“Miss Cordelia Milton?” Lady Daphne asked, a spark of interest in her eyes. “I like Miss Milton. Father says she is a mushroom, but that’s just silly. She doesn’t look anything like a mushroom. I think she is pretty, and she was very kind to me.”
“I like Miss Milton, too,” Spen said, wondering how on earth either of their fathers could believe this pretty child was fit for marriage. That thought and every other went out of his head at Lady Daphne’s next words.
“I do not suppose I shall see her again. She is blind, you know,” she said. “She hit her head, and now she cannot see. She does not accept invitations anymore. I did not know one could become blind from a blow to the head. Did you know that, Lord Spenhurst?”
Cordelia is alive!The joy in that thought warred with his horror at her blindness. How she must be suffering! He had to go to her! If not for the chain on his leg, he would attempt the window, but he was trapped here in this house while his beloved needed him.
“Father says no one will want to marry her now,” Lady Daphne added. “I am sorry, for I like Miss Milton.”
“I want to marry her,” Spen told her. “I will look after her and be her eyes.”
“How can you be eyes?” Lady Daphne asked, staring at him with a wondering expression.
“I will take her arm and guide her where she wants to go.” Spen imagined it as he spoke, and his heart yearned to be with his love. “I will describe what I see so she can see pictures of it in her mind.”
Lady Daphne regarded him solemnly. “I think you are kind, too,” she announced. “Oh dear. Father is going to be angry.” She giggled again.
Spen felt the need to reassure the poor girl. It was not her fault her father was a villain. “Do not worry, Lady Daphne. I will take all the blame. I do not mind if your father is angry at me.”
“He hits hard,” the lady confided. “Try not to cry. He hits you again if you cry.”
Spen was shocked. He took it for granted a man would beat his sons for any infractions or, in his father’s case, just for being present when the marquess was in a bad temper. But surely no gentleman should raise his hands against his daughters. “I will take all the blame,” he reassured Lady Daphne again. “Now tell me what else is being said about Miss Milton.”
She amused him for perhaps thirty minutes with London gossip—it was not the gossip that amused him but her naive and blunt commentary. “Miss Wharton trapped the Earl of Ashton. It must have been a big trap, for he is a large man. She is married now and has gone away from London. So that is good because she is not kind. I am not allowed to speak with Mr. Wharton. He is not received any more. That is because he is a bad man. I don’t know what he did that was bad. Do you think he is mean, like Miss Wharton? Miss Kingsley is Mrs. Paddimore now. I like her. She is kind.”
The door opened without any warning, and the marquess and earl led the way into the room, their smug faces darkening when they saw Spen and Lady Daphne had not moved since they left the room.
The earl advanced on his daughter, who shrank back in her seat, giggling with fear. “I told you to kiss him,” the earl thundered.
“I refused her,” Spen said. “I will keep refusing her. I will not marry your daughter, Lord Yarverton.” He paused. “Nor will I compromise her. It would be like taking advantage of a child.”
“You will,” the earl insisted. “The marriage contracts are signed, and she has been compromised.”
Spen remained calm. “The marriage contracts have not been signed by me. I am not a party to any agreement, and I will not be a party to marriage with your daughter. If she has been compromised, it was not by me. I have not touched her, and I had no part in making her stay in this room.” He lifted his ankle to emphasize his point.
The earl rounded on the marquess. “You told me you could make him obey.”
Lady Daphne tried to fold in on herself as the two peers shouted at one another. Spen looked around the room. Chatter was the only person close enough to help. “Can you take the lady to her companion?” Spen asked the guard. “This is frightening for her.”
Chatter’s eyes softened. “If the lady will come with me,” he agreed.
“Lady Daphne.” Spen kept his voice low, so the warring lords were not distracted from their posturing and bellowing. “Lady Daphne, this is my friend. He is going to take you to Miss Faversham. Will you go with him? He will keep you safe.”
“Is he kind?” Lady Daphne wanted to know.
Hardly, but Spen felt safe enough telling her, “He will be kind to you, my lady.”
Chatter offered her a hand to help her to uncurl and stand. “Come with me, my lady,” he encouraged, his voice gentle. And yes, kind.
The lady responded to the tone and allowed him to escort her from the room.Well. Who would have thought Chatter had a heart?
