Page 52 of An Earl Like You
Hugh didn’t answer for a moment. Eliza wondered why, but his handsome face gave away nothing. “It’s a complicated and disagreeable story,” he finally said, dropping into the worn leather armchair. “His father is kicking up a fuss, and Benwick has taken his side.”
“About the marriage settlements?” Eliza had asked her father about her own marriage settlements after Hugh proposed. She hadn’t wanted them to drag on and delay the wedding, not after Hugh made love to her in the folly; she’d been prepared to plead with her father to be reasonable, even lenient. But Papa had laughed and said Hastings was so eager, there were no disagreements at all. The documents had been drawn up and signed within a week.
“In a way.”
Eliza came to sit in the chair beside his. “Hugh, what is going on? With Edith, and with Henrietta, and now with Mr. Benwick. It almost seems like...” She twisted her hands together. “I cannot help but notice that every time I come into the room, everyone grows quiet.”
He frowned. “You were just shopping with Henrietta. Did she refuse to speak to you all the way to Bond Street?”
“No, but Edith will hardly say a word to me!”
“The dog,” he reminded her.
Eliza flipped one hand impatiently. “It’s more than Willy, Hugh! Why would Mr. Benwick give me the cut direct?”
He rested his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Don’t mention a word of this to Edith.”
Eliza shook her head. “Of course not.”
“Benwick wants more money,” he said in a low voice. “A great deal more. I feel it would be unfair to give my sisters unequal dowries, which makes Benwick’s demand unreasonable.”
“But didn’t your father put aside their dowries?”
Hugh still didn’t meet her gaze. “Not as much as Benwick wants. He’s being... difficult.”
Oh dear. Eliza sank back on the sofa. No wonder. “Was that what sent you out of the house on our wedding night?” she asked softly.
“Yes.” He cocked his head to look at her. “Edith loves him. He told me he loves her. I’m trying to strike a fair compromise, but I admit—I’m not sure he deserves her anymore.”
“Not at all,” Eliza murmured. A burst of love for her husband filled her chest. Hugh had been so eager to wed her, he hadn’t argued with Papa at all. And now he was trying to save Edith’s betrothal as well, even in the face of outrageous demands that belied any affection Mr. Benwick claimed to have for Edith. She reached for his hand. “You’re a magnificent brother.”
He flinched. “Edith won’t think so if Benwick jilts her.”
“No! Surely he wouldn’t do that!” Eliza was aghast.
“I don’t know, Eliza. But please—say nothing to anyone. Especially not to Edith. If all my efforts with Benwick fail, I shall tell her myself.”
“Of course not,” she murmured. He smiled, a little grimly, and squeezed her hand. She was pleased he had confided in her, even such unsettling news.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling that he still wasn’t telling her everything.
Hugh was being a coward and he knew it.
Not only because he hadn’t told anyone about Benwick’s demands. After some thought, he’d instructed his solicitor to contact the Livingston solicitor and inquire if they wished to proceed, with Edith’s dowry at fourteen thousand. He’d set a deadline as well, making it clear that his permission would not be renewed at a later date. If Benwick did care for her, that might shake the boy back to his senses.
Perhaps Benwick had merely been taking a gamble, asking for forty thousand. He had to know it was not only offensive but utterly mad to demand that much. The only girls with dowries that size were daughters of merchants who’d made obscene amounts of money in trade and were now keen to buy their way into the aristocracy. Girls like Eliza, whom Benwick disdained.
But if this failed, Hugh swore to himself, he would break the news to Edith, as gently as possible, and then to everyone else. Since Benwick had displayed no courage and even less affection, Hugh had already begun composing his speech. He just wanted to be able to say he’d done everything he possibly could, so Edith wouldn’t pine away for the fellow.
He hoped he would never have to say anything about the other secret he was keeping. Eliza had noticed Edith’s animosity, and now Benwick had given her the cut direct in the middle of Bond Street. The trouble was, he didn’t know what to tell his wife. He had no qualms about calling Livingston and Benwick snobbish and rude, but Edith was a harder case to explain. And if Eliza ever discovered that Benwick jilted Edith because of her... Even worse, if she ever discovered why Hugh had married her...
He didn’t even want to think about it.
There was one thing he did know, and that was the importance of presenting Eliza to thetonbefore Livingston had a chance to blacken her name. He searched through the post stacked on one side of his desk—he’d pensioned off his father’s secretary and not hired a new one, thanks to his impoverished state—and unearthed several invitations. He took them to his mother with instructions to accept them all, thinking it was better for her to do it this time. Once she was known to London hostesses, it would be Eliza’s task.
“So many,” Rose exclaimed in surprise.
“If you don’t wish to attend, I will take her alone.”
