Page 87 of A Duchess Mistaken
In the corner of his eye, Johnathan noticed Agnes reaching to take Caroline’s hand once more.
“Who are you?” Lord Reeds demanded, disgust apparent in his voice. He looked over his shoulder at Johnathan. “Is this the sort of company you keep, Your Grace? Your fall from grace surely knows no bounds.”
“There is no need to resort to insults, Lord Reeds,” Lord Sutton admonished sharply. “Clearly this young man has come here to say something.”
Attention returned to the man in question, who was still hovering in the doorway. As if he just noticed that himself, he cleared his throat and stepped into the room, giving Lord Reeds a wide berth as he went by him. His eyes flicked to Caroline and something flashed within them.
“What are you doing here?” To Johnathan’s surprise, it was Caroline who spoke, her voice breathy with fear.
“I could not wait any longer,” the man said. “I could not let this evening pass knowing what was bound to happen.”
“George, you cannot—” Caroline broke off, eyes darting fearfully to Lord Reeds.
But George wasn’t listening. He marched over to her in quick and long strides, taking Caroline’s free hand. “Caroline, I am tired of hiding my true feelings for you. My love for you should be shouted from the rooftops, not hiding away from the eyes of others. I no longer want us to hide in the shadows.”
“What are you saying?” she murmured softly, eyes wide.
“Caroline, marry me.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Johnathan tensed, preparing himself to jump in between Lord Reeds and this George person at Lord Reeds’ bark. But the earldidn’t move from where he was. He seemed too taken by his rage to do anything but clench his fists and glare at the two of them.
Lady Reeds appeared more horrified than angry. “Caroline, tell me you have not been involving yourself with this lowborn.”
“Is this the reason you suddenly have the strength to defy me?” Lord Reeds demanded to know. “Because you have allowed yourself to be seduced by a commoner?”
“You do not know him!” Caroline snapped. For a brief moment, her eyes flashed with venom unlike anything Johnathan had ever thought possible for her.
“Oh dear,” Lady Reeds sighed, shaking her head sadly. “I thought you were better than this, Caroline. I thought you were smarter.”
Caroline thinned her lips. For a moment, it looked as if she was about to break down in tears. As if she thought the same thing, Agnes stepped forward, no doubt ready and willing to go toe to toe with Lady Reeds but Caroline stopped her.
She looked directly at her aunt as she said, “You do not know anything about me. In all my years as your ward, you have never once cared to sit and have a conversation with me. You do not know the things I enjoy, you do not care to listen to my wants and needs. You see me as an opportunity to increase your social standing and because of that, you are willing to pawn me off to anyone with enough prestige and riches to suit your high standards.”
Lady Reeds raised her nose to the air, crossing her arms. “And what is wrong with that?”
“Nothing would have been wrong with it if you were talking to someone that holds the same superficial ideals as you do. But I do not. I do not care to marry someone for riches or security. I do not care about prestige. I care about love.”
“Love?” Lord Reeds laughed humorlessly. “What do you know about love?”
“More than you will ever know!” Caroline stated vehemently. Tears were streaming down her cheeks but her voice did not waver once. “More than you will ever understand. And because of that…because of that I…”
She swallowed and let go of Agnes’ hand to reach for George’s other one. The man looked just about on the verge of tears himself.
“Because of that, I’ve decided that I do not care about the consequences of what I am about to say next,” Caroline said softly. “I love you too, George. And I would be more than happy to become your wife.”
“As if I would allow such a thing!” Lord Reeds bellowed.
He moved quickly, too quickly for Johnathan or Christopher to get to him. Before they knew it, he was upon Caroline and George, yanking George away from Caroline and grabbing himby the collar. He raised a fist and would have sent it straight into George’s face, despite Caroline’s scream for him to stop, had Johnathan not made it to them in time. Johnathan caught his raised arm to stop the incoming blow.
To his credit, George did not flinch. He faced Lord Reeds’ fury with his own.
“Do you expect me to be afraid of you?” George spat. “I could never fear a murderer like you.”
Shock slackened Lord Reeds’ grip, giving George the chance to push him away.
“Murderer?” Lady Sutton gasped.
