“Did you call on Miss Elwood this morning?” he asked, his voice clipped and harsh.
Albert nodded, hoping that would be all his father wanted to know.
“I did,” he said. “And she and I are going to the British Museum tomorrow.”
His father sneered, and Albert felt the same surge of victory he had felt when Lord Elwood had agreed to the courtship. The earl shook his head, leaning forward and narrowing his gaze at his son.
“I am not happy with you for proposing this whole courtship, Albert,” he said. “Not in the least.”
Albert feigned interest, his frustration with his father for involving him in an arranged marriage in the first place returning full force. He was glad that his father was unhappy with the courtship. It was the only way that Albert had of protesting the unwanted arrangement.
“I was only thinking of the best interest of the future of this marriage,” he said, suppressing a shudder. “And Lord Elwood seemed very pleased with the idea. I believe it is the best way to make his daughter more comfortable with the situation.”
His father set his jaw, clearly not buying Albert’s explanation, or the idea that Albert didn’t understand why he was so angry.
“That’s all well and good,” he said. “But I am your father, and what I think about the arrangement should matter, as well.”
Albert raised an eyebrow, a biting comment on the tip of his tongue.You mean, like my thoughts about the arrangement mattered in the first place?He thought, shifting in his chair.
“And what is it that you really think, Father?” Albert asked. “What about the whole thing is so bad?”
The earl looked at Albert’s face, and his expression shifted, if only a little. Lord Balmere’s eyes flickered, and Albert thought he must have guessed what Albert had just been thinking. He cleared his throat, lifting his chin as if in defiance of the words his son hadn’t spoken aloud. He didn’t answer, however. Instead, he clasped his hands together on the desk and smirked at Albert.
“Prolonging things with Miss Elwood isn’t going to make the arrangement go away,” he said.
Albert was aware of that fact. That was also not his intention. Not in and of itself, that was. He smiled faintly at his father, sitting back and trying to look as relaxed as he could manage.
“Of course, it won’t,” he said. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
The earl looked at his son as if he were mad, or as if he were lying. When he couldn’t determine which was the case, he shook his head.
“Then why did you do it, Albert?” he asked. “Why could we not just get this over with, as we originally planned?”
Albert once more bit back a remark about how he hadn’t been involved in any planning. He wanted to tell his father exactly how he felt about the entire situation, and how he hoped that now, his father understood that feeling. But the one hope Albert had of getting out of the marriage was for Miss Elwood to decide to call it off. He knew that if he said anything that was to his father’s disliking, he could be wed before the end of the week, with no further say in the matter.
Thus, instead, he continued trying to play innocent.
“Father, I’ve already discussed this with you,” he said. “I simply wanted to give Miss Elwood and me a chance to get to know one another. I would rather not go so blindly into a marriage that I don’t even know simple things, like her favourite meal.”
His father rolled his eyes.
“There will be plenty of time to make acquaintances after you are married,” he said. “The carriage ride from London to the country-seat is hours long, after all. There was no reason for you to have so desperately wanted a courtship, apart from you thinking that you could weasel your way out of this with Lord Elwood.”
Albert forced himself to meet his father’s eyes. That wasn’t entirely true. He planned to weasel out of it with Miss Elwood, and allow her to weasel out of it with her father. Albert just shook his head and sighed.
“Very well,” he said. “Do you recall how the viscount said that high society tends to frown upon weddings that happen in such a rush? Well, I happened to think about that, as well. London loves a good scandal. And I thought that, by doing our courtship and wedding the more traditional way, it will be less likely to cause any scandal.”
His father opened his mouth and pointed at his son. But then, Albert’s words sank in, and his face relaxed. He looked defeated, and Albert knew he was onto something. But he didn’t keep trying to push the point. He held his breath, and his father’s gaze, waiting for the earl to speak again.
“Well, I must admit, you have a point,” he said reluctantly. “Scandal would hardly do either of our families any good.”
Albert shook his head, forcing himself to look sheepish and understanding.
“I was only thinking of long term consequences,” he said. That was true; he had been thinking about how terrible a marriage between the two of them would be, especially long term. But if his father believed that he was concerned primarily with scandal stirring, perhaps, he could finally get the earl off him about his decision.
The earl nodded, slouching back in his chair and sighing.
“I cannot dispute that point,” he said. “But as soon as that courtship ends, you two will be married. Do you understand?”
