Page 48 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
For just a second James thought he might have gotten through to the gentleman. Though he was certain that it would be much too easy if he had, he rather hoped that it was true.
“It is no right of mine to know how full or empty another man’s purse is, Your Grace,” Mr Thornton stated as though he was trying his hardest to believe the words that he was saying.
“Ordinarily, I would happen to agree with you,” James said over-carefully, “But I do believe you have every right to know it this time, what with your promising your only daughter to the man’s son.”
Even as he made mention of Miss Thornton, James could not stop his heart from racing. He had not seen her in days and yet, if he breathed deeply enough, he felt as though he could smell the scent of her floral perfume.
“After so long in business together, it was a likely match indeed,” Mr Thornton pointed out. “And Colton Senior has never given any reason to suggest that I could not trust either of them.”
James dipped his head and sighed. The more they talked, the more he felt that Mr Thornton was not listening.
“I hate to make any accusation at all, Mr Thornton, but I have come to know your daughter over the last few weeks, and I would hate for anything bad to happen to her or to you,” James said.
He looked the man in the eye once more as he added, “I could not forgive myself if something happened were I to sit on the information I have been given and do nothing about it.”
“What exactlyisthis information?”
For several seconds the two men stared at each other, and James felt his insides twisting painfully. Unable to keep from speaking the words any longer, James admitted, “I have come to the knowledge that Mr Colton Junior has tried more than once to take advantage of his family’s connection with wealthy members of thetonin order to get them out of the situation they find themselves in.”
Taking another breath, he added, “It seems that Mr Colton Junior is getting desperate to correct his father’s mistakes and I fear he has seen yourself and your daughter as an easy target.”
“Your grace, what you suggest is a grave accusation,” Mr Thornton stated, glowering at James with an angry expression.
“And normally, I would not seek to make it were I not entirely certain, but I have also been made aware that the wedding between Mr Colton and your daughter is set to take place quite soon,” James said.
He gritted his teeth as he remembered receiving news from Dennis that he had heard Mr Colton was pushing to have the wedding take place in a few short weeks rather than the usual several months it took to have things settled.
“Does it not strike you as odd, Mr Thornton?”
“What strikes me as odd is the fact that you have come in here and sought to destroy it all!” Mr Thornton bellowed at James, his face growing red with anger. “Your Grace, I do believe that you have outstayed your welcome. I would like for you to leave.”
“Mr Thornton, with all due respect,” James said as calmly as he was able, though he could feel his anxiety rising the more that he came to realise the man was not listening to a word that he said. “You do not know the men you find yourself in business with as well as you would like.”
“No! It is you, Your Grace, who does not know the men of which you speak,” Mr Thornton continued to rant at him, glowering at him now as though he should like to strike him. “You are young, Your Grace, and I know you have lost your father quite recently, so I shall forgive the impertinence, but you ought to quit while you are ahead.”
James’ stomach clenched. He would have liked in that moment to use some of his noble authority to make the man listen. Perhaps were he in his own home, he might have tried to do so, but in some small way he knew that the man was right. He truly had no right at all to get involved or even to try to tell the businessman what he should do.
I cannot leave here without trying to get him to listen,James realised. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Miss Thornton’s face and how she might suffer if he were to leave without trying one more time.
“Mr Thornton, are you quite sure that your friend’s son is not simply marrying your daughter for the very generous dowry that you have placed upon her?”
“How dare you suggest such a thing?” Mr Thornton demanded. The man’s greying hair caused his red face to look even more crimson as his cheeks began to puff up with anger. “Are you suggesting that a wealthy sum of money could be the only reason that anyone would marry my daughter?”
The thought that struck in James’ mind frightened him beyond measure,I would marry her in a heartbeat.And yet, he could not bring himself to say the words aloud. If he were to do so, he could only imagine the kind of trouble it would cause for everyone involved.
With the threat of scandal already looming on his doorstep, he could only imagine what Mr Thornton might think. He might even believe that he had come here making up stories of Mr Colton simply to try and have her for himself.
“Mr Thornton, I am quite certain there are a great many reasons why a man would seek to marry your daughter but unfortunately I cannot ascertain that is why Mr Colton has chosen to ask for your daughter’s hand,” James explained very carefully, hoping to make himself entirely clear.
“It has been suggested that Mr Colton has tried to marry outside of the country though when it came down to it, the Scottish family he tried to fool came to learn of his father’s debts just in time.”
“I have been made aware of Colton Senior’s debts in the past, but I have also been assured that the man has since corrected himself,” Mr Thornton stated, and his tone suggested that he was half-beginning to listen.
James grew hopeful.
It was dashed again the moment that Mr Thornton shook his head and a distant look appeared in his gaze. “I think that you ought to leave, Your Grace, you have made your point clear, and I need hear no more.”
Chapter 26
