Page 42 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
At that, James lifted his gaze to look his cousin in the eye. “You truly are your mother’s son.”
“Well, for once, I agree with her entirely,” Edward explained, looking grim at James’ comment, as though he did not see it as an entirely bad thing. “My mother is already making plans to help you with arrangements when you finally agree to make things official.”
“What exactly do I have to makeofficial?” James demanded, slamming his fist down on the desk in front of him. He was growing to the end of his tether.
“James, your keeping silent on these things has only made everything worse,” Edward explained, and his face grew pale as he admitted, “It is said that the two of you are already engaged and that you are simply keeping things quiet so that you can entice more of a buzz around the whole affair.”
James burst out an aggravated laugh. “And I wonder where that gossip originated?” James said. He could imagine he kinds of things that Lady Florence might say to entice him into the marriage she had clearly set in motion with her antics at his aunt’s luncheon. More and more he was learning how far she would go to get what she and their families wanted.
“There shall be no wedding,” James stated when silence reigned. He did not wait for his cousin’s response before he turned his gaze down to the ledger in front of him.
“Can you not see how deep into this scandal you are?” Edward asked, his tone filled with concern. “Mother and I worry for all of our sakes as you seem to have no concern for anything at all!”
James’ jaw clenched. His hands tightened into fists beneath the table, and he fought the urge to yell at his cousin that he wanted to hear no more on the subject. Instead, he lifted his gaze once more and asked, “Did you receive my letter?”
Edward’s eyes widened. Though he shook his head, he answered, “Yes, I got your letter, though I know not why it has anything to do with this conversation.”
“Do you have any information?” James demanded. He had had quite enough of talking about Lady Florence and all the scandal that sat upon his door.
There was a flash of something intriguing in Edward’s gaze but when he spoke, there was nothing of note to say. “Nothing worth the breath. Mr Andrew Colton is the son of a wealthy businessman by the same name, a common man with money. That is all there is to know.”
Knowing his cousin as he had for so many years, James couldn’t bring himself to believe him. There was a clawing in his gut that said his cousin wasn’t telling him everything he had learned of the man.
“Very well,” he said with a clenched jaw. “If that is all, you can go. I have a lot to be getting on with.”
He rose from his chair and closed the ledger he had been working on. Carrying it back to the shelf across the room.
“James, I beg you, reconsider,” Edward insisted but James did not listen.
“Go, Edward, before I say something I shall regret.”
James felt his cousin’s hesitation and he held his breath until Edward finally rose to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Edward bow.
He did not dare to move an inch or even breathe until he was sure his cousin was gone. Then, he called, “Dennis!”
The manservant came rushing just as he always did. “Yes, Your Grace?”
If his cousin wouldn’t tell him what he knew then he would find out for himself. That much he was determined to do as he asked his man, “What have you found out?”
Chapter 22
Although she had been prepared for the inevitable by her mother, when the time finally came Melody felt quite sick.
Her mother had given her and Mr Colton the room, the drawing room to be exact, but the door had been left ajar and Melody could sense her mother right on the other side. She could practically feel the excitement coming like a tidal wave through the door.
Perhaps she ought to be the one standing here,Melody thought even as Mr Colton got down on one knee. It was a snide comment to herself, one that only made her feel guilty. Both of her parents only wanted what was best for her. She knew that. They told her so every day and she knew that they said it without malice and with great understanding for the fact that she was her own person.
More than that, she knew that if she really did reject the gentleman’s proposal they would be quite upset but they would also support her.
There was just one question that continued to repeat itself in her head,can I truly disappoint them like that?
That morning she had spoken about it again with her mother while her father had headed off early for his usual business meetings. And the consensus was that they would support her no matter what though both her mother and her father hoped she would pick thesafeoption.
In truth, Melody knew that Mr Colton was her only option. After all, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the duke since their encounter in the garden. If he truly cared for her, why had he only tried the once to pay a visit? It hadn’t taken him much to forget about her.
“Did…did you hear me?” Mr Colton said, clearing his throat before he sighed, “Miss Thornton?”
Clearing her own throat, Melody straightened up, remembering where she was. She blushed at the sudden realisation she had entirely missed the man’s proposal thanks to being so wrapped up in her thoughts.
