Page 38 of His Duchess in Disguise
Leo seethed inwardly as Mr. Willoughby ponderously laid out various papers, and then sat down in Leo’s own chair as if it were his right to sit there. But he had need of the fellow’s services, so it would not do to alienate him.
“Now, then, Your Grace,” Mr. Willoughby began. “There is no doubt as to your identity, so we can dispense with that portion of the proceedings. However, your father made certain stipulations about the inheritance. They are somewhat moot in that there is truly no other suitable heir readily available, but I feel I should impart the information, nonetheless.”
“Very well,” Leo conceded, making himself comfortable in a visitor’s chair. “Hamilton, please take notes. I don’t wish to miss any of the finer points.”
“Actually, Your Grace, there are no finer points to speak of. Your father was a stickler for blood lineage inheritance. Therefore, before you can fully come into your inheritance, you must marry. Now, you have a year from the time of your father’s demise to fulfill this requirement. You need not rush out and immediately start canvassing London for a bride, but it is an essential step.”
“What happens if I do not wed?” Leo asked politely.
“If you do not wed, then at the end of the year the estate will be dissolved, and all assets will revert to the crown. Your title will be null and void.”
Hamilton paused in his notetaking. “Is that even possible? To do away with a title?”
“Almost anything is possible. Whether or not it is probable is another story,” said Mr. Willoughby. “There is a good chance that you could challenge it. But since you will need to eventually marry and beget an heir, why not consider taking care of it during the designated year?”
“What a ridiculous proposition and how very like my father! Even from the grave, he pulls the strings to make us dance like puppets. If I had known of this condition, I would never have given up my commission, and I would be headed back out to sea.”
“Your Grace,” Hamilton said warningly.
“Am I ‘Your Grace?’ All of this could be taken from me in the wink of an eye. Tell me, Willoughby, is conceiving a child part of the requirement?”
“I believe your father wanted to make it a condition, but my father, the senior Mr. Willoughby and head of our firm, talked him out of it. In fact, I believe he pointed out the questionable legality of this condition.”
“What a mess. What an utter, disgusting, pusillanimous mess. What was he thinking?”
“That it was time for either Garth or you to settle down?” Hamilton suggested. “I believe that Garth was also still single.”
“Yes, the blighter. He had no desire to settle down, ever. He used to joke with me that since I was his heir, that there wasn’t any need to beget one. Had he done so, I would simply be shepherding his youngster into the position, and I would be free to go my merry way.”
Leo turned away toward the window.So, Garth got the last laugh, after all. No need to settle down…no, that was foolish. Who would want to die of a fever just to escape matrimony?
When he had regained control of himself, Leo turned back to the other two gentlemen. “Mr. Willoughby,” he said gently, “If I am married, yet have no heir, what happens then?”
“Unless your wife is with child, the estate will revert to the crown, Your Grace. It is a natural result of a holding that no longer has a legal governor. Is this a problem? Have you been injured so that you are unable…?”
“No, no. But I might be dead within the week. I have been challenged to a duel.”
“Challenged to a duel? But dueling is illegal. Your Grace, I am going to pretend I did not hear that. All the same, should you die of any cause without a wife and without even a possible heir, the estate is forfeit. Can I possibly make myself any plainer upon the subject?”
“I think you have made the point, Willoughby. As matters stand now, I must gain a wife before I go to this ill-fated duel. More than that, I need to get her with child before the end of the week. This is madness!” Leo waved his hands in the air, “It is utter madness! Whatever could my father have been thinking?”
“In all fairness, Your Grace,” Hamilton put in, “I don’t think he was anticipating that you might be challenged to a duel.”
“No, but there is every possibility that I might have been killed at sea, or thrown from a horse, or even indulged in strong drink and fallen to my death in a sudden stupor. Now, I am in an impossible position, without even the option of designating an heir.” Leo’s hair was too short to clutch. Nonetheless, he curled his fists on either side of his head in a vain attempt to do so.
“On the one hand, I am hemmed in by the bonds of honor, on the other, I am constrained by my father’s will. How can I woo, win, wed, and bed any self-respecting woman in less than six days?”
Never was a man so beleaguered by a ruling from the grave. Confound my father, and my brother, too. Garth should be the one dealing with this.
Chapter 24
The stocky man in the nondescript coat and dusty pants surveyed the grieving father and bereft bridegroom stoically. His hard eyes gave away nothing as he looked them over. The miniature proffered by the father, who seemed to be at least two sheets to the wind, and it not even time for luncheon, could have been almost any young lady of English extraction. It was done in colored chalks rather than oils, and it was clear that the artist had not been particularly talented.
“So, you say the young lady was distraught at being offered a good marriage?” the stocky man asked.
“She is very young, and I’m afraid I’ve indulged her,” the distraught father said. “I have come upon hard times, and this is the best way to give her security. Alas, I have no idea what will become of me. Or what has become of her, now.”
The man’s face was completely impassive. He turned to the bereft bridegroom. “How did you meet the young lady?”
