Page 47 of Weave me a Rope
“You are ready to sign my agreement?” Spen fired back.
The marquess lifted the papers and glanced at them. “It depends on what you are asking for, boy. After all,” he waved a casual hand at one of the men who had come with him, “Mr. Parkins there is ready to perform the ceremony whether you agree or not.”
“Yet my agreement will remove one of the grounds for annulment,” Spen pointed out.
“True,” said the marquess. “Very well, Spenhurst. I shall read your document.”
He took it over to the desk by the window and sat down without further ado. The earl continued to frown, then sighed suddenly and sat down in the nearest chair to turn his frown towards the written pages.
“Miss Faversham,” Spen said, “Perhaps you and Lady Daphne could arrange refreshments for…” he held out a hand towards the minister. “Parkins? Was it not?”
Parkins grasped his hand with one that trembled. Up close, Spen could see the bloodshot eyes and reddened nose of a man who overindulged in alcohol. “Yes, my lord. It is very kind of you, my lord.”
The two peers did not look up from their reading. Cordelia and Miss Faversham had been right. Since they entered theroom, neither of them had looked directly at the lady they thought to be Lady Daphne, which meant the conspirators had easily passed the first hazard.
Did the marquess ever look at John? Spen couldn’t remember, but he was confident his father would have no problem with that part of the agreement in front of him.
He might quibble over the financial arrangements—an estate of Spen’s own and enough money invested in the funds to give him five hundred pounds a year income, paid quarterly. Enough income for Spen to support his family and the other dependents he was determined to acquire if the marquess stopped his current allowance, which Spen fully expected. Yes, and the man would probably change his will to leave to other people everything not entailed to the estate.
Spen didn’t care. He would not be dependent on the goodwill of the marquess or Mr. Milton. Better still, the agreement also gave him John as his ward. Spen didn’t expect the marquess to care.
In the event, the marquess only asked, “Mr. Morris drafted this for you, you say?”
“I drafted it,” Spen replied. With Cordelia’s input and help. “Mr. Morris put it into legal language.”
The marquess nodded. “It seems fair. I will expect you to continue learning about the estates, mind. Mr. Morris can continue to tutor you, and I shall instruct the stewards of each estate to do likewise. You can arrange to visit each of them in turn. I take it no prolonged wedding trip is necessary?”
“I would be pleased to continue to learn, my lord,” Spen replied. If the marquess still wanted him to do so after he discovered the bride substitution. “I shall take my bride with me, of course.”
The marquess cast a glance at the earl, and then stood and approached Spen, to whisper. “Not what you wanted, boy,I know. But good breeding, Spenhurst. It was mumps that damaged the poor girl. You need not fear for your sons. And the chit is pretty enough. You’ll have no problems bedding her.”
Spen swallowed his disgust, and merely said, “Lady Daphne is a sweet child.”
“She is,” proclaimed Lord Yarverton, who had turned in his chair to stare at them. “Spenhurst, what are you up to? An estate for you from your father and an estate for my daughter from me? Do you mean to live separately?” His brows furrowed. “But you just said you would take your bride with you to visit your father’s estates.” He stood, his frown deepening as he shook the papers. “What do you mean by this?
Spen hadn’t expected the question. Perhaps he should find a diplomatic answer, but instead, he spoke from the heart. “My lord, I want security for your daughter. I know how you bought my father’s debts to force this marriage. I don’t want you or anyone else to have that power again. Not even me. A property and income held in her name, with trustees chosen from the most honorable men in Society. And acknowledgment from you I am her guardian.”
The earl’s nostrils were flared, and his eyes burned with resentment. “You will be her husband. You will own her.”
Spen shrugged. “Then making her my ward will change nothing, but if anything were to happen to both you and me, the trust will already be in place to protect her.”
The earl turned away for a moment, and when he turned back, his face was blank of all emotion. “I will choose the trustees,” he said.
A negotiation. Good.“We will choose the trustees together,” Spen proposed. “Each of us will have the right of veto, but we will stick with it until we can agree on three names.”
The earl inclined his head gravely and let out a breath Spen hadn’t noticed he was holding. “Acceptable.” He sat again and picked up a pen. “I wish to add a clause to the agreement.”
It was Spen’s turn to frown. “Saying what, my lord?”
“You will promise not to set her aside or place her in confinement in your own home or in an asylum. She is simple, not mad.”
That was a surprise. Spen could see no benefit to Yarverton of such an agreement. But it would help to protect Lady Daphne. Spen had no objection.
“I have no intention of setting her aside or confining her, Lord Yarverton,” Spen told him. After all, he couldn’t set her aside if he didn’t take her in the first place. As to confinement, he was seeking guardianship to protect her from her father’s threat. He wasn’t himself a threat. “I agree to your clause.”
The earl looked surprised. “Very well then.”
Spen hoped he was right to do so. Was there a trap for him in the earl’s change of mind? Or was the man truly concerned for his daughter? “Mr. Morris is here, my lord. I shall send for him to make the amendment.”
