Page 101 of Ne'er Duke Well
A hysterical giggle tried to bubble up in her throat, but she choked it back. “It’s not ideal.”
“Who’s found you out? Any chance we can hold them off?”
“No.” Quickly she told him about Lord Alverthorpe—he swore again, rather graphically—Georgiana’s novels, and her father’s intentions.
Peter nodded, brown eyes sharp and focused. “We’ll have to act promptly, then. Before the guardianship hearing.”
“Yes,” she said, and she curled her fingers onto the arms of her chair so that she would not reach for him. “Precisely yes. We must act now. I have considered our options.”
“Excellent,” he said. “Of course you have. What do you intend for us to do?”
She licked her lips. “You have the difficult task, I’m afraid.”
“Anything. Whatever you need, Selina, I’ll do.”
“You must throw me out of the house.”
One eyebrow arched, and he said drily, “Anything but that, I suppose.”
“No, Peter, listen.” She had to make him understand. “I cannot shield you from scandal entirely. Itwillbe revealed that I am responsible for Belvoir’s, and the hearing is in two weeks. We do not have time to wait for the scandal to blow over. You must be above reproach.”
“You expect me to… send you away?”
“Yes. You will openly announce that you were unaware of my actions before our marriage. I have used some of the Belvoir’s money to lease a small house in Cornwall. I have—been preparing. Just in case. And we—we should try to have the marriage annulled, if we can. That would be for the best.”
It hurt. It hurtso much.
She had meant to help him. She had planned and plotted so that he might get the children. All these weeks, and he was worse off than before he’d ever come to her. Even if he did exactly as she said, he might still be denied the guardianship, for having been foolish enough to marry her at all.
A clean break. That was the only solution. Her heart felt split in half, and her fingers were locked to the chair arms so tightly that they ached.
Peter looked stricken, and she did not know how she could stand it. “You—leased a house?”
“Yes,” she managed.
“And you expect me to send you awayforever?” His voice was incredulous.
“It is the only way. If you decry my actions loudly enough, publicly enough, it will give you some breathing room from the scandal. It will be clear to Eldon that you do not approve of what I’ve done.”
“And if Idoapprove of what you’ve done? If I approve of it so damned much that I’d like to raise a toast in your honor on four continents?”
“It does not matter!” Damn him, why wouldn’t he understand? “It does not matter what you believe. This is the only way for you to make yourself respectable enough. This is the only way I can save your family. I have thought through every option, Peter. I have considered every eventuality.”
He locked eyes with her. “Then we’ll think harder.”
“No,” she said. Desperation made her voice thin. “No, Peter.”
“Tell me you want to go, then.” His jaw was wire-taut, his whole body tense and vibrating. “Look at me, damn it, and say that you want to leave. Tell me you want nothing more to do with us.”
She looked at his face and opened her mouth.I want to go. I don’t want to be with you. I never wanted to be with you.
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t make herself say the words.
“Selina.” He reached across the empty space between them and covered her hand with his own. “I love you.”
“You can’t—Peter, youcan’t.”
His voice was steady, his eyes on hers. “You bring the morning with you. You’re the light, sweetheart. When you walk into aroom, I can’t see the shadows. There is nothing in this world that could persuade me to send you away if I thought you wanted me half as much as I want you.”
