Page 40 of Courting the Earl
“I’m still being forced to wed.”
“Are you?” Holbrook’s tone was infuriatingly calm. “Is there something in the betrothal agreement that says you must marry the cousin?”
The two glasses of brandy were already dulling his thoughts. Geoffrey thought back over the conversation he’d had with Appleby. “No.”
“And what does Miss Pearson have to say about this?”
Geoffrey let out a bark of laughter. “She thinks our acquaintance should become a thing of the past. She is of age, and while her uncle might desire the match, he can’t force her to marry.”
Holbrook smiled. “Then it appears that you’ve gotten everything you wanted.”
No, damn it, he hadn’t. He wanted Eleanor. But he resented being forced into marrying her. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He tried to concentrate on the knowledge that in gaining his freedom, he would be thwarting his father’s plans.
But all he could see was Eleanor’s face as she ended things between them. He’d wanted to continue seeing her until the end of the season, but she’d refused.
“Since things are over between the two of you, I thought that perhaps I could befriend Miss Pearson. I’ve always found her intriguing.”
Geoffrey’s eyes snapped open, and his jaw clenched at the way Holbrook had said the word befriend. His hands clenched into fists on his knees, and he glared at the man who was supposed to be his friend.
Holbrook shrugged. “She’s an attractive woman, and from what you’ve just shared, I won’t need to worry about her trying to trap me into marrying her.”
Geoffrey rose to his feet. “I forbid you from going near her.”
A grin spread across Holbrook’s face, and Geoffrey swore.
Holbrook stood. “We both know what’s happening here. You want the woman for yourself, but you’re being stubborn because you hate the idea of being forced to wed.”
Geoffrey turned away. “That’s not the issue.”
Holbrook let out a derisive snort. “That is exactly the problem. You’ve spent your whole life hating everything about your father and what he expected of you. You had to watch him give your sister away in marriage to a man who was old enough to be her grandfather. My great-uncle wasn’t kind to her, but I did what I could when I inherited the title. And she’s happily married now. It all worked out in the end.”
Geoffrey stiffened with each word, but he didn’t interrupt.
“Your father wanted you to marry Lydia Pearson, and you did everything in your power to avoid giving him what he wanted even though he’s no longer here. You’ve been blindly fighting against everything your father might have wanted even when it’s what you do want. Why are you fighting so hard against the idea of marrying Eleanor? If you want her, go get her.”
Holbrook’s words lashed at him, but he couldn’t deny they were true. He did want Eleanor. Why the hell was he fighting against this? He turned to look at his friend. “She doesn’t want me.”
Holbrook shook his head. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Trust me, that woman wants you.”
Geoffrey remembered how she’d cried out his name when they made love. Their whispered promises about finding a way to meet more often. “She told me that we couldn’t be together—”
“Because you’ve behaved as though you didn’t want her or this marriage. Miss Pearson is not the type of woman who would force an unwanted marriage on another. She just spent the past few weeks watching you do everything in your power to get out of your betrothal agreement with her cousin. Do you really think she’d feel right forcing you to marry her? Of course she gave you your freedom. Because from everything you’ve told me, she’ll always prioritize the happiness of those she cares about over her own.”
The truth of his words struck him. “You’re right.”
“I’m always right. You need to let her know that you want her.” Holbrook put his hands on Geoffrey’s shoulders and actually shook him. “You want her, damn it. Go get her before someone else does.”
Holbrook was right. He couldn’t give her up. He’d been making plans to meet with her more often, to have her in his bed as often as they could manage it.
But beyond that, he wanted to hear her opinion on the latest book she was reading. It was more fun to hear her complaining about a simpering heroine than reading the book himself.
He’d been angry with Appleby. And for a brief moment he’d believed Eleanor had betrayed him. That she’d somehow seduced him to gain just this very end.
Which was a clear indication he was letting his anger about his father’s scheming cloud his judgment because Eleanor wasn’t manipulative. And the hurt he’d seen in her eyes…
He closed his own, a spasm of pain going through him. He loved her and couldn’t lose her. And if that meant he had to marry her in order to have her, he would.
His decision made, he waited for the normal surge of anger that he felt whenever he was forced to fall in line with his father’s wishes. But instead of anger, he felt anticipation at the thought of claiming the woman. He realized that he didn’t have to marry her. He wanted to marry her.
