Page 73 of Stealing the Rake's Heart
A lump rose to Alexander’s throat. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes.
“Diana cornered me in the gardens, the day of the picnic. She… she tried to kiss me. Miss Atwater saw us. I think I’m love with Miss Atwater, and I was on my way to tell her so. Well, she saw Diana and me, and drew the wrong conclusion. She won’t speak to me. The letters were to try and explain, but she won’t read them.”
William stood there for a moment, then moved over to sit beside him on the bed.
“That’s unfortunate,” he said at last. “I think Lord Donovan intends to propose to Miss Atwater. Did you know that?”
“I guessed. And… and perhaps it’s for the best.”
Clearly, William had not been expecting that. His eyebrows flew up into his hairline.
“Well, I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say that.”
“Oh, it makes perfect sense. Graham will make a better husband than me, I suppose. He’d never have been caught in a compromising position.”
He sniffled miserably and waited for William to respond.
It took a worryingly long time.
At long last, William spoke.
“I… I think I might be able to fill in some of the pieces here.”
“Pieces? What do you mean?”
He drew in a breath. “Don’t you think it odd that Lady Lockwell cornered you in that manner just in time for Miss Atwater to see?”
Alexander blinked. “I assumed I was just lucky.”
William let out a deep breath. “That day you and I spoke in the billiard room, I spotted Lord Donovan lingering outside. I suspected him of eavesdropping.”
“Hmph. He was.”
“Well, I’ve kept an eye on him. It’s ungentlemanly behaviour, after all. The morning of the picnic, he snuck into one of the closed-up sitting rooms with Lady Lockwell.”
Alexander stiffened. “The two of them aren’t…”
“No, it’s not what you think. I overheard bits of the conversation. I remember a few specific words: ‘you follow him’, directed to Lady Lockwell, ‘she’ll see you both’, and ‘it’ll work out nicely for us both’. Now, perhaps I’m making a leap here, but I think Lady Lockwell and Lord Donovan have been working together. He wants to marry Miss Atwater, mostly to spite you, and she wants to marry you, because she’s bored of being a widow and is not nearly as rich as she lets on. To get what they wanted, they both needed to drive Miss Atwater and you apart. I think your meeting with Lady Lockwell on that day was planned, and she intended for you to be seen.”
Alexander blinked, trying to make sense of it all.
“But that’s vile. It’s wicked.”
“It’s Society,” William corrected, shrugging. “Lady Lockwell left, I assume, because she knew she had no hope of you.”
“I told her to leave, or else I’d tell you about what she’d done.”
“That makes sense. However, I must mention that Lord Donovan is still here. Miss Atwater left her room only a few minutes ago and has accompanied him into the garden.”
A cold sensation like fear went crawling down Alex’s spine. He swallowed hard.
“He’s going to propose to her,” he said flatly.
“Yes,” William agreed. “It’s considered likely. Lady Caldecott is expecting it. She mentioned having to convince Miss Atwater that you were not themarrying sort.”
Alexander was on his feet before he knew what was going on.
“I can’t let it happen,” he said, swallowing hard.
