Page 95 of Madcap with a Marquess
“That is what you take issue with?” His mother shook her head sadly, disappointment radiating off her small frame. A look he’d seen a thousand times before. But this time, it had no effect. “I see now I made the right decision. It was the only one that would save you.”
“What decision?” The hair on the back of his neck lifted, and every muscle in his body went taut.
“I have already set the annulment in motion. It will not be the best for your reputation”—she waved a hand dismissively—“but if we stand strong, emphasize the true villains in all of this.” Her gaze landed on Franny and her lip curled up. “Your reputation will recover. And it will be worth any setback…to be free of such filth.”
His jaw dropped open. His head spun. Annulment in motion? And her lack of concern for his reputation?AllMother cared about was reputation. None of this made any sense. “What do you mean the annulment is motion?”
Franny’s small hand wrapped around his wrist, tightening, the same way his gut had just done. He would have had to be directly involved. He frantically searched his memory for details of annulment proceedings, doubt and fear weaving through his chest.
“I worked with our solicitor to draft a petition for the ecclesiastical courts, darling. By now it has been filed. Witnesses have been gathered—those who will speak to the deception that has been wrought upon us. It is just a matter of time until the court issues its judgment, which will, without doubt, be in our favor.”
A slow, satisfied smile spread across her face. One that turned the contents of his stomach. “And never fear for your reputation. I have already begun planting the seeds of this woman’s vile motives. She and the Earl will take the fall for this. Society will see them for the deceitful, self-serving creatures they truly are.”
“That’s…not possible.” He shook his head dumbly. He would have had to sign the petition. He was sure of it. This couldn’t happen without his consent. “I didn’t sign anything.”
Franny inched closer to him, her front pressing to his back. He reached behind himself, his hand latching onto her hip. Nothing—no one—would take her away from him.
His mother laughed, and he jerked back at the foreignness to the sound. At the eerie, almost inhuman quality of it. “Of course it’s possible. You spent so many years emulating my handwriting, such a diligent student you were. It was simple enough to match your signature.”
His heart stopped beating, and his fingers dug into Franny, desperate to find something to ground him. Oh, dear God. She’d forged his signature.
Who was this woman? Because the woman who sat before him was no mother of his. She was a stranger.
A throat cleared behind him, and his head snapped toward the door where his butler stood. “The doctor has arrived.”
Rupert blew out a breath, his grip on Franny tightening for a moment before he forced himself to let go. One battle at a time. First, he had to see to his wife—she would never not come first again. Then he would return.
And his mother would answer for this.
49
Rupert
Rupertmadehiswayback to the sitting room. The doctor had arrived, and Rupert’d seen Franny back to her chambers where she could be examined. Mrs. Higgens was with her, and Sanderson should be joining Rupert momentarily. He paused before the doorway. A torrent of emotions surged to the surface. He didn’t know if he could face her. Didn’t want to.
Everything he knew was a lie. That woman in there may be his mother by blood, but none of the love and affection she had spouted over the years was true. She didn’t care about him. She cared about the purpose he could serve her.
And how pathetic was he? Always trying to live up to her expectations, always chasing after the next demand, the next obstacle, she set out for him. Biddable, never questioning, not his own man. Franny had the right of it. One-and-twenty years. All of it a facade, a stage his mother had created for him to parade on. And he had. A pitiful puppet.
His heart raged in his chest, and he fisted his hands at his sides. He had loved her. Trusted her. She was his mother, bloody fucking damn it. His nostrils flared, and he squeezed his eyes shut, squeezed back the tumult trying to break free. Break him. He’d never truly had a father. She was all he had. His only family. He barely even had friends anymore because they weren’tsuitable. He froze. Blinked. And his stomach dropped to the floor. She was all he had because she’d made it so. And Franny had been another threat. Another threat that needed elimination.
His raging heart disintegrated. Gone. All that was left was a cold, emotionless, numbing. He set his shoulders, cracked his neck, and strode into the room.
His mother’s gaze snapped to his, and he froze a few feet inside. His muscles locked, every fiber of his being recoiling. His skin crawled, hot and tight, like the air carried the weight of her betrayal. Being in the same room with her was unbearable enough. Proximity would only make it worse.
“Rupert, I understand you are upset—”
“Upset?” he roared. He slashed his hand through the air, grinding his teeth. He drew in three calming breaths, and when he spoke again, his tone was eerily calm. “Upset does not even begin to scratch the surface,Mother.” He spat the last word. It was acidic, putrid, on his tongue.
She shook her head, pity etched over her thin, aging features. “Rupert, please darling, you must calm down. A gentleman is always in control of his emotions. I did this for you. It is what is best for you. I know you truly believe that. She has manipulated you; so you cannot see clearly right now. But with some time away from her, you will see the truth again.”
Rupert gaped at her. She was mad. Had completely lost hold of her senses. Had she always been this—this unhinged?
“Oh, pish. Don’t look at me such. You said it earlier, and I know it is how you truly feel. You were forced into this marriage. An unfortunate arrangement that the Earl most definitely deceived your father into. I am righting a wrong. One day, you will thank me for this, Rupert. You will—”
“You will cease speaking,” he ordered, his tone rapier sharp. “That isenough. I have had it with your lies, with these absurdities you are spewing. You have committedforgery. That is a crime. Do you know what the punishment is for that crime?”
“Rupert…” she warned.
