Page 30 of Let Me Be Your Hero
But the possibility thateveryonecould guess what they had been up to was slightly horrifying.
“Please,” her mother said, gesturing to the shards of porcelain scattered across the floor, “think nothing of it.” She turned to face Izzie. Like everyone else in the room, she seemed determined to ignore the considerable evidence that significant improprieties had taken place during Archibald’s ‘offer of marriage.’ “Have you accepted Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy’s proposal, Isabella?”
“I have,” Izzie said, her voice sounding dazed to her own ears. She cleared her throat, trying not to give the impression that she was swimming drunkenly through an ocean of pleasure. “I do believe that Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy and I will suit.”
“Hmmm…” Her mother narrowed her eyes, then turned to Archibald. “If you will excuse us for a moment, I would like to confer with my daughter.”
As her sisters flocked around Izzie, Archibald crossed to the far side of the room, where the men had gathered.
Izzie’s eldest brother, Edward, poured a round of drinks. “To my future brother-in-law,” he said, raising his glass.
A chorus ofhear, hears broke out.
Archibald could hear Izzie conversing with her mother across the room. “I know everything has happened very suddenly, but I am not displeased about the match. Quite the opposite.”
Beside him, Morsley said, “You’ll be good for Izzie. She wouldn’t do well with some high stickler.”
Her brother Harrington snorted. “Lord, is that the truth. If you were the type to throw a fit every time she bent one of society’s rules, you’d find yourself in a never-ending fit for the next fifty years.”
“Perfect,” Archibald said. “I’m scarcely aware of society’s rules. We’ll rub along splendidly.”
Across the room, he saw Izzie roll her eyes. “Yes, Mama. I know that I don’thaveto marry him. It happens that Iwantto…”
“The challenge,” Harrington said, “will be getting Izzie safely inside your house. But I’ve got an idea how we can go about it.” He gestured to the circle of men. “I’ll need all of your help.”
“What do you have in mind?” Morsley asked.
While Harrington described his plan, the Duke of Trevissick sidled up to Archibald. Leaning in, he whispered, “I agree with your assessment that you and Lady Isabella will rub along splendidly. Indeed, it seems that you’rerubbing alongsplendidly already.”
Archibald gave him a disbelieving look.
Across the room, Izzie raised her voice. “I will not even consider marrying anyone other than Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy!”
The duke glanced Archibald up and down. “Impressive,” he stage-whispered.
“Shut it,” Archibald hissed.
Trevissick flicked his wrist toward the section of the room where a pair of maids were sweeping up the last few porcelainshards. “Don’t be so prickly,” he whispered. “I’m sure everyone observed that your proposal was ratherexplosivein nature.”
Archibald’s voice was tight. “I kissed her.Notthat it’s any of your affair. But I am given to understand that sharing a kiss is considered to be acceptable after issuing a proposal of marriage.”
“Hmm.” The duke sounded baldly skeptical. “Where, exactly, did you kiss her?”
It was a good thing that Morsley was the one who happened to glance over just then. No one else in the room would’ve had a prayer of restraining Archibald as he lunged for the duke’s throat.
“Very well, then,” Lady Cheltenham said, rising from the sofa. “I suppose we will be having another wedding just as soon as it can be arranged.”
That was probably the only sentence that could have made him forget his plans to strangle the Duke of Trevissick. Pure, unadulterated joy washed over Archibald.Hewas going to marry Izzie.
He couldn’t believe it. Two days ago, he’d been unsure if she even knew his name.
Now, through some miracle, she was going to be hisbride.
“Tomorrow,” Archibald said, not wanting to give her time to change her mind. “I will secure a special license this afternoon.”
Everyone murmured their agreement.
Samuel Branton stepped forward. “You’ll need a marriage contract. If you’ll tell me the basic points you want included, I can draw something up tonight.”
