Page 74 of Stealing the Rake's Heart
William crossed one leg over the other, smiling wryly up at him.
“Then you had better hurry.”
The ground was still soft and wet from the rain. Alexander ran, boots slipping on the mud.
It was too wet for many people to be out walking, and the gardeners weren’t out for the same reason, so he spotted Graham and Abigail at a distance.
They had stumbled upon a little paved clearing with a stone bench and stone parapet above it to keep off the rain. Abigail was sitting on the bench, back very straight, hands folded in front of her. She did not smile.
Graham was standing in front of her, smiling complacently down. Alexander was still a little way away when the man went smoothly down to one knee.
Abandoning pride, Alexander shouted.
“Wait!Wait! Don’t marry him, Abigail!”
In a second, both Abigail and Graham were on their feet, one looking almost hopeful, the other enraged.
“What is the meaning of this?” Graham snarled. “How dare you say such a thing?”
“Alexander?” Abigail ventured, eyes fixed on him. “What’s going on?”
Unfortunately, Alexander was out of breath, and was obliged to take a moment to regain it.
“It was all a plot,” he gasped, which in hindsight did not make much sense, but it was better than nothing.
“He’s drunk,” Graham stated, face reddening.
“I am not,” Alexander insisted, regaining his breath at long last. “Abigail, Diana embracedme, I swear it. It was a plan hatched between Lord Donovan and her, for her to embrace me and for you to see it. That way, you’d be driven into Lord Donovan’s arms and I’d be free for Diana to take.”
“That is a vile lie, and I will have satisfaction for it,” Graham spat. “Let’s see how smug you are with a bullet in your brain.”
“Lord Donovan!” Abigail snapped. “That’s a terrible thing to say! Alexander, what proof do you have?”
“My brother overheard them. I imagine that Diana might be willing to say a word or two about Lord Donovan’s part in this, seeing as she ended leaving in a bit of a hurry, while he stayed.”
“I only did it for Miss Atwater’s good,” Graham said, taking her arm. “We won’t hear another word of this.”
She yanked her arm away. “So it’s true, then?”
He bit his lip. “He’s a rake. And, what is more, he doesn’t have any money!”
Alexander sucked in a breath. He noticed that Graham deliberately left off the part about the money he would inherit if he married.
Abigail lifted her chin. “So what? Neither do I.”
Graham gaped for a moment, glancing between Alexander and her. When he was met only by stony expressions, he bit off a curse, turned on his heel, and stormed away.
Silence fell, and Abigail and Alexander were left alone.
“I’m sorry about all that,” he said in a rush. “I… I panicked. You wouldn’t read my letters, I didn’t know what to do. Truly, there’s nothing between Lady Lockwell and me. If anything, I’ve only realised that I haven’t loved her for a long, long time.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, you don’t owe me anything. You can marry her if you want.”
He blinked, finding himself, for once, at a loss for words. Where were all those clever speeches he planned?
“Graham was telling the truth,” he said at last. “I am penniless. My father’s will is a strange one, and I have no money. Would you marry me with no money?”
She glanced sharply up at him. “You… you’re asking me to marry you?”
