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Edwin nodded. “Indeed, I am still interested in marrying your daughter.”

The Viscount nodded once, looking so triumphant he might as well pump his fist in the air. “I suppose you are here to formally ask for Stella’s hand in marriage. You do not have to worry about the proposal; she will certainly say yes.”

“Ah… See, there is one little problem, Lord Notley,” Edwin said. “I am here to ask for Ava’s hand in marriage, not Stella’s.”

The grin on the Viscount’s face immediately vanished.

“I… You must have…” His eyes then lit up, and he forced a smile. “I never knew you were a jester, Your Grace. That was certainly funny. Now, about Stella, you?—”

“This is not a joke,” Edwin cut in, his tone hardening. The Viscount recoiled in fear. “I am marrying Ava.”

The Viscount shook his head in confusion. “But why would you want to do such a thing? Ava is an old spinster. She could n?—”

“Isn’t it for that reason you should be happy that I have chosen to marry her? Would you rather keep your eldest daughter at home instead of marrying her off?” Edwin questioned, arching an eyebrow.

The Viscount was strange, indeed. After all, most fathers would be happy to marry off their eldest daughters, but Lord Notley did not seem too elated by this.

“I suppose I simply did not expect that Ava would leave the house. After all, I have gotten used to having her around,” Lord Notley explained, laughing nervously.

He averted his gaze, and Edwin could tell that the man was not being truthful.

“That is quite interesting, isn’t it?” Edwin remarked. “If you do not want to marry off Ava because you have grown fond of her, then you must not be fond of Stella because you are so excited about marrying her off.”

“It is quite… You must…” Lord Notley knew he had been caught in a lie, and he was now scrambling for an answer.

That irritated Edwin even more.

“It would behoove you to tell me the truth,” he warned.

Lord Notley threw his hands up in surrender. “I suppose I do not want Ava to leave the house because her presence is simply convenient.”

“Convenient?” Edwin did not quite understand the man.

“Ava has managed the household ever since we lost her mother when they were all so young. She has been like a mother to her sisters, and truly, I do not quite know what I would do without her here. She is the reason I can focus on my business without having to worry about her sisters—because I know she will take great care of them. I suppose all these qualities would make her a good wife for you and the best mother for your children. However, her absence shall cost me.”

By the time the man was done speaking, Edwin could not help the disgust he felt towards him.

How could he talk about his own daughter as though she were a governess hired for convenience—or worse, a horse bought to toil without complaint?

“Lord Notley, if I heard you correctly, you do not wish for your eldest daughter to marry so she would simply continue to make your life easier?” Edwin asked, glaring at the man.

The Viscount slowly stepped away from him. “I suppose when you say it like that, I do seem like a terrible father.”

“Indeed, you are,” Edwin agreed.

“But you do not know how hard it was when I lost my wife. I was lost, and I did not quite know how to begin taking care of my daughters. I was so relieved when Ava took over.”

Edwin shook his head. He rarely pitied people, but at that moment, his heart went out to Ava. She must have had a difficult childhood, raising her sisters when she was only just a child herself.

CHAPTER 8

As Ava slowly walked down the aisle in her lilac silk dress, she felt like a lamb being led to the guillotine.

For a brief moment, she wondered if most brides also felt this sense of dread hanging over their necks. Or perhaps she only felt so doomed because she was marrying a beast.

Speaking of the beast, he was already standing in front of the priest. At least, he was dressed in a finely tailored tailcoat and breeches. And to his credit, he cut quite a fine figure.

Under different circumstances, she might have even been happy that she was marrying such a handsome man.