“It was,” he said. “I am happy to do it that way, if you wish, my lord.”
Now, it was the earl who looked disgusted by the sucking up. Albert gave him another innocent, hopeful look, delighted when his father looked away.
The viscount topped off their drinks and raised his own in the air.
“Let’s drink to it, then,” he said.
The earl reluctantly raised his glass, and Albert cheerfully lifted his own. They toasted, sipping heartily from their drinks. Albert breathed a true sigh of relief. He could now begin his mission to repel his would-be bride and put an end to the arranged marriage notion.
As Albert and the earl were leaving a short time later, the earl turned back to bow to the viscount.
“I do hope to see you at the House of Lords later this week,” he said, glancing at Albert in a way that instantly made him tense again. “We can discuss a meeting with our solicitors to go ahead and get the paperwork drawn up. That way, everything would already be official by the time this courtship had come to an end.”
Albert resisted the urge to glare sharply at his father. He couldn’t believe that his father was vying for the upper hand in the situation. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. After arranging the marriage behind Albert’s back in the first place, nothing the earl did should have surprised him. Still, it irritated him, and made him feel as though his father was trying to put Albert under his thumb, right in front of the viscount.
The viscount looked toward Albert, almost as if trying to gauge his reaction. Albert tried to look reluctant, without looking as angry as he felt, and he cursed his father silently in his head. Luckily, the viscount must have seen something that he didn’t like in Albert’s expression. He looked at the earl again and shrugged.
“I’m not sure if I will be back this week,” he said. “I’ll correspond with you, and we can pick out a time to meet in the future.”
Once again, the earl looked downright crestfallen. Albert smiled graciously at the viscount and bowed deeply to him.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” he said, now more sincere than he had been earlier. “It was lovely to meet all of you.”
The viscount bowed, giving Albert a tentative smile. He was clearly still disturbed by Albert’s appearance. But he was trying to focus on the things Albert was saying, rather than judging him based on the way he looked. Albert could at least commend that.
“It was good to meet you, Lord Billington,” he said. “I look forward to getting to know you in the coming weeks.”
Albert rose and bowed once more, and his father followed suit. After exchanging farewells, Albert and his father made their way out of the study and to their waiting carriage. There was a cold silence between them as the coach pulled away from the townhouse. But as the carriage neared his father’s home, the earl turned an icy gaze on his son.
“I trust you know that prolonging the marriage will not get you out if it,” he said.
Albert feigned innocence as he shrugged and shook his head.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Father,” he said. “I simply wish to get to know Miss Elwood better. I should know a bit more about the woman with whom I’m to spend the rest of my life apart from who her father is and what colour her eyes are.”And what beautiful eyes they are,he thought suddenly, his cheeks growing just a little warm.
His father scoffed, but he didn’t say anything further. The rest of the trip continued in the same chilly silence in which it began, and Albert was glad when the carriage stopped in front of his father’s mansion and the earl exited the coach. Albert lingered a moment, however, contemplating his situation. As soon as his father was inside the manor, he gave the driver orders to leave once more. He needed someone to confide in. And he knew just where to go.
About twenty minutes later, the coach pulled up in front of the home of Neil and Rachel Smith, Albert’s best friend and his wife. He knocked on the door, hoping he wasn’t imposing at such a late hour. The butler answered the door almost immediately, smiling warmly at him.
“Good evening, Lord Billington,” he said, bowing. “I assume you’re here to call on Mr. Smith?”
Albert nodded, bowing and returning the man’s smile.
“I am,” he said. “Is he still awake?”
The butler nodded, showing Albert inside.
“He’s just having drinks in the parlor,” he said. “Come. I’ll take you to him.”
Albert nodded, following him through the short hallways of the small but lavish townhouse to the cozy, brown and black decorated parlor. Neil looked up before the butler even announced him, rising from the sofa where he sat beside the fireplace and waving Albert in.
“Come in, old chap,” he said, embracing Albert as he approached his friend. “Have a drink with me.”
Albert nodded, smiling gratefully.
“Thank you,” he said, taking the glass once his friend had it filled.
Neil looked him over, raising an eyebrow.
