Page 39 of A Scandalous Love for the Enticing Duke
“I cannot elope with Agnes. I will not dishonour her that way. More than that, I will not break her father’s trust in me. Agnes loves her family. If we were to elope, we would have to go far away. More than that, we would have our marriage in secret, without the people who mean the most to her, there to witness it happen. She would not have her parents’ blessings, and she may never be welcomed into your home again. As much as I love Agnes, I cannot do that to her. I would give anything to spend a lifetime with Agnes, but never this.”
Benjamin was taken aback, so was Isabelle. They shared a look, and he knew what she was thinking. They had not factored this into the equation. Their plans depended on Alan’s agreement, to work. Although, Benjamin understood this man, it was a thing of honour, he could see this. Yet, if he truly loved Agnes, he must be able to forsake all else.
“Alan. I understand you completely. Nevertheless, I could not help noticing that all you have just mentioned is what you feel about the matter. You said Agnes asked you to run away with her, herself. Do you think that the woman whom you have known all these years is not sensible enough to have not factored all of these into her decision? No wonder she looked distraught the other night. Your rejection must have broken her. Agnes is in love with you. If she is willing to risk all of that you have just mentioned, for you, why can you not do the same? Would keeping your honour be worth spending a lifetime without each other?”
“What if we damn it all, and she suddenly realises I am not enough? What happens then? Regrets? More misery than what we both feel now?” His voice broke, and it shook Benjamin. Alan looked like he may shed a tear. What kind of pain did a man have to go through to want to cry? Was love really this powerful?
Isabelle struggled for words to say, and he could not blame her. He too was quite at a loss for them. A long moment passed, then he heard himself say, “What if that doesn’t happen? What if you two realise that you are more than enough? All that you ever wanted? What if you make each other happier than you both have ever been in your entire life?”
He was aware of Isabelle’s eyes on him, but he avoided her look of awe. He did not know where that had come from either. He chose to keep his eyes on Alan who had once again gone into deep thought.
“Agnes has broken rules to be with you, all these years, Alan. She has always risked more than you have. Do you not reckon that it’s high time something gave?”
Finally, the merchant looked at Isabelle, hope renewing. “You really think we can do this?”
“I wouldn’t be here, otherwise. You are a great man, Alan. Noble by heart. It is only a pity that Mother would never see past the lack of a title and Father would never want to upset her by not standing by her. If it were not so, I believe he would have given his blessings freely too.You are the son he never had, you know.”
Benjamin looked from Isabelle to Alan. If he did not agree after this, there was nothing more to be done. All four of them concerned, would have to deal with the pain that was sure to come.
“I’ll do it. I will elope, if she will still have me, that is.”
“Really?” Isabelle cried out in joy, as a strange sense of relief filled Benjamin. As Alan nodded, she cried again. “Oh, she will have you! I am not certain of anything more than I am of that. Oh, Alan! This is great.” She grabbed his shoulders and stood on her toes to place a kiss on his cheeks. Benjamin could not find it himself to feel slighted at that, not when he saw the other man flush again. As Isabelle released him and stepped back, he said, “Tell me what we must do again.”
And so they did. An hour later, when he dropped Isabelle off at her home, he gave her a kiss of his own, on her cheeks. They were as soft as he had imagined them to be. He told himself it was only for show, if they were to make people believe they were courting through the course of their plans. He knew that he had never told a more terrible lie. It had been done strictly for pleasure, and he got his reward when he heard her breath catch, as his cool lips touched her warm skin.
Chapter 26
Alan could only recall a few times when he had been afraid in his entire life. He had been afraid when he ran off into the woods as a little boy. He had been only eight and had attempted to climb up a tree only to lose his grip and fall, halfway up. Of course, he had broken his ankle and had been unable to get up. Alone, hurting, in the woods, he had been truly scared that no one would find him. So, he had broken down and cried. When his parents finally found him, he had been too happy to have been rescued that he had not minded their scolding or the punishment that followed.
The second time he had been scared was when he and his father had had that dreadful accident at sea. He had not been afraid for his life but for his father’s. Nathaniel Sheldon had been badly injured and had remained on his sick bed for two weeks. They were the most gruelling weeks of Alan’s life. Sadly, his fear had come to pass, and his father had not made it. Yes, only those two instances came to mind. Now, he had to add this moment to it as he stood in front of the Birmingham town house, dreading knocking on the large wooden doors. He had received a summons from the Duke to come as soon as he could. The moment he read those words of urgency, dread filled him. He could not help thinking that the worst was about to happen.
Just when he had begun to think that things would work out, and he and Agnes would finally be happy, this had to happen. He knew, deep within his bones that their affair had been discovered by the wrong people. It was only about time, he supposed. They had been lucky for so long. He drew in a lungful of air – the earlier, the better, then lifted his hands and dropped three sharp knocks on the door. A moment later, it clicked open to reveal Edward, the butler.
“Master Sheldon. You have arrived. The Lord and Lady have been anticipating your arrival.” Edward sounded as though nothing was amiss. Alan had a feeling the butler knew nothing – yet. If Williams and Victoria already knew, it was only a matter of time before the whole household did, as he would no longer be welcomed here.
“Thank you, Edward. I came as soon as I could. Please, take me to them.”
“Of course. Right this way, master Sheldon. They are in My Lord’s study as you can guess.”
Alan managed a small nod, his nerves in a mess. He remained quiet as he followed Edward to the study he could navigate with his eyes closed. They arrived, and he remained outside as Edward stepped in to announce his presence. He heard it all but waited until Edward returned to deliver the news.
“The Lord and Lady will see you now.” He nodded at Edward and prepared himself for what was to come. Not wanting to stall, he moved. He found the Duke by his desk and the Duchess drinking coffee on a sofa. He walked further into the room and halted at a reasonable distance. He bowed to the Duchess first, then to the Duke. Then as he rose, he spoke.
“Good day My Lord and Lady. I received your summons and cleared my schedule to come right away. I hope naught is amiss?”
His dread heightened when Williams said nothing, simply walked over and handed him a parchment of documents.
“Would you care to explain the meaning of these?” Confused with heart beating wildly, Alan collected the parchment from him and began to read. He became more confused as he read, as he flipped through more pages. He could not understand what he was seeing, though it was as clear as day, he just could not.
“My Lord, what is this?” Incredulous was too small a word for what he felt at that moment.
“You tell me, Alan. What is that?” The Duke’s voice was calm, but that was not good news.
He started to flip through the pages once again, hoping that his eyes had been playing tricks on him. Still, he saw the same thing. These were records of business dealings he had made with the Duke. Only that according to this account, he had been defrauding the Duke all these years, stealing his money by inflation and deflation of prices, for his own gain. It was absurd for he had never in his life stolen one coin from any man, talk more of this man who had been like a father to him since his had passed away.
“My Lord, where have you got this from? This is ridiculous and nothing but a perfect forgery. I have never conned any man in my entire life. I am as honest as they come!”
His heart fell when Williams looked at him, the disappointment in his eyes glaring, and he knew he could never hope to win this war.
