Page 65 of Finding Hope
“You may stop there, your Grace. No amount you offer would be amenable to me. You may not have a conscience or a soul, but I do, and accepting a sop such as you offer is repugnant to my very being!”
“You pretend to take the moral high ground with me? Everyone can be bought! Ten thousand pounds, and that is my final offer. Then you will leave this estate, never to return!” She growled the words, visibly shaking with anger.
“I will leave when my host asks me to, madam.”
“I will see you and your sisters ruined,” she threatened, with the look of the devil in her eyes—and Hope believed her.
Regardless of the threat, Hope refused to back down from this bullying. “You will do what you will regardless of what I say. I am returning to the Dowager.”
“You will regret defying me!”
Hope turned on her heel and marched back into the ballroom, her face flushed and her pulse racing with fury.
Max walked backtowards the house, lost in thought. Whoever was doing this to Hope needed to be caught and held accountable. Unless—and until—that happened, Hope was out of his reach, and that thought was unbearable. There had to be some clue, some connection that he was missing.
Much though he loathed the idea, he was afraid they were going to have to set a trap. Placing footmen as guards had only caused the person to be more creative with sending their vile notes.
But what kind of trap could they set that wouldn’t be too risky for Hope? He could think of nothing. Moving chambers had not helped. He would have to consult with his friends to see what they thought.
A noise caused him to stop and listen. It was probably an animal, but he stepped off the gravelled path to see. The sound of hurried, agitated footsteps fell to his ears. A disgruntled servant?
Angered mutterings could be heard as they grew closer, but he could barely discern that it was a female voice, not what they said. Shrinking back further into the shadows, he waited for the person to come into sight. “What the devil?” he whispered, then stepped out into the path.
Startled, her Grace grabbed at her chest. “Rotham! Whatever are you doing out here?”
“I ask the same of you, your Grace.” He spoke her title as an insult.
“As you well know, your father has banished me to the Dower House. Am I a prisoner that I may not walk outside?” she asked in an offended tone.
“Is that all you have been doing?” Max could not but ask. She was dressed for the ball, and Max wondered if she’d been to the house.
“I did not go into the ball if that is what you are asking, though it is still my house!” she said indignantly.
“But you were watching,” he said, with sickening realization.
“Why should I not? Lord Montford is making up to Vivienne Cunningham. You need to redirect your attention back to where it belongs, Rotham!”
“Good for Monty. He will make Miss Cunningham an excellent husband.”
She huffed her disapproval. “You enjoy thwarting me, do you not, ungrateful son? Well, I will have you know that Miss Whitford has agreed to take a sum in exchange for staying away from you,” she imparted with pleasure.
Max narrowed his gaze. “I do not believe you.”
“No? Did she dance with you this evening?”
Max opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again.
“You made her an offer, did you not? Did she accept it?”
Good God, is that what had happened? How could she know Max had declared himself to Hope? “You promised not to meddle.”
“I did what I thought was necessary for the dukedom. You may not hold your name and blood in high esteem, but I have not forgotten what is due our family and country! I have sacrificed everything—everything!—for this family. You will not destroy everything I stand for with one callous act. You may keep her on the side if you cannot control your base urges, but your children will not be of inferior blood.”
Max seethed, his rage barely contained, on the brink of unleashing. “I can, and I will, marry whom I choose. You have nothing to say to it. You have not earned that right. Do not preach to me of what is due our name. The only role you played in bringing up a duke was giving birth to me.”
The Duchess was shaking with fury. “How dare you?”
“If anything, your opposition is all the more reason to go forward with the marriage.”
