Page 37

“Then why are you so insistent that you need it? A gentleman of your status should consider it pennies, and if you do, then there is no need for it.”

“It is not for me. It is for your daughter. Is it truly not at all possible for you to think of your daughters at all?”

“I think of my daughters,” he spat. “Why else would I have married them off to dukes? Had I not cared, I would have found them gentlemen as soon as they were of age and had the matter settled years ago.”

“Let me be clear, you had nothing to do with our match. We have come to this decision independent of you and any expectations you have of your daughter. Lady Samantha and I are going to marry, and it will have nothing to do with you at all unless you change the contract, and I will be more than happy to tell thetonwhy you are not in attendance. I doubt that they will take lightly that you have deprived your daughter of something that is her right.”

“She does not have the right to demand more from me. I have done more for her than any good father typically would. Had she been more grateful, she might not have been so awful and found a husband sooner.”

“So, you believe that it is her fault that you cannot afford her dowry?”

“I can afford her dowry. That is not and has never been a question.”

“Then you are not going to deny her it. It is to be the one thing that you have ever given her in her life, the one thing that you did not take away, and you even begrudge her that. Truly, you are a despicable man.”

The Earl coughed a few times into his handkerchief before tucking it away again. He looked at Graham as if he were scared of him or at least what he knew. Graham tried not to smile at that.

“Listen here, Your Grace —”

“The dowry. It is not negotiable. If you do not provide it, then I will tell thetonprecisely why your daughter remains unmarried. She is happy to be ruined, you know that as well as I do, and I am happy to see the end of you. The thought of it thrills me.”

“Your Grace, I —”

“I do not wish to hear anything more. I wish to see the money. Until you provide it, we have no further need to speak to one another.”

He snatched the contract from the Earl’s hands, tearing it and then scrunching it and throwing it on the floor.

“My solicitor shall draft the contract, and I expect to see it signed within the week. I trust that you will comply.”

The Earl said nothing, instead glaring at him as Graham turned away.

“I did not hear your response. You will comply, yes?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

It was only a mumble, but it was a victory, nonetheless. Lady Samantha would never know what he did, and she would never have to because the dowry would be paid whether her father wished to or not. He would not allow the Earl to deprive her of the final thing he would ever need to give to her, not after he had never given her anything at all.

Graham wanted to protect her, just as he had done in the park that day, and even if he did not know why that was, he was determined to do it no matter the cost. She would be his wife, his duchess, and perhaps in time the mother of his children; she could not be treated like this by anyone, especially not some drunkard that she was forced to live with as he was her father. She was nothing like him, nothing of the sort, and he had always misjudged her for that.

“So, Graham,” she smiled as they promenaded the following morning.

“Graham?” he echoed.

“Yes, you agreed that it was time for the two of us to drop that formality, remember? In light of the circumstances, it isbest that we call each other by our given names, else it shall be strange when we are married.”

“Ah, yes, I did agree with you, didn’t I?”

“I knew that you had not heard me. You certainly seemed out of sorts yesterday.”

“My mind was elsewhere.”

“Were you thinking about your discussion with my father?”

“It was less of a discussion and more of a lecture on my part,” he confessed.

“I know,” she smirked. “That is what I was hoping to discuss with you, but you were so distracted by the use of your name that I could not finish.”

“My sincerest apologies Lady — Samantha. Please do tell me what you wished to say.”