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D espite his hopes to break the news to his mother himself, the sound of her raised voice emanating from the breakfast room to the corridor outside his bedchamber alerted Will to the fact that she’d learned of his betrothal already.

When he reached the breakfast room itself, he saw that only his mother and sister were there. Clearly the servants had decided to wait until the atmosphere improved.

“Margaret,” Lady Gilford said to her daughter, “you can persuade Lucy to break things off with your brother, can you not? I know you have a fondness for her, but you must see that doesn’t make her worthy of elevation to Viscountess Gilford.”

Will had heard enough. He stepped into the room and said, “That is enough, Mother. I have made my choice, and there is nothing more to be said about it. I will be wed to Miss Lucy Penhallow by special license in the coming weeks.”

He hadn’t spoken to Lucy about a wedding date last night. She’d fallen asleep on the drive to her house last evening, and he hadn’t wanted to bother her with such details. He hoped she wouldn’t object to his plan.

Not waiting for Lady Gilford to respond, he went to the sideboard and loaded a plate with eggs, kippers, and bacon. Behind him, however, he heard his mother continuing on as if he hadn’t even spoken.

“Who was her father? He was in some sort of manufacturing, was he not?” the viscountess said with disapproval. “No, not suitable for this family at all. Your brother has lost his senses, Margaret. I mean really. I could have introduced him to any number of eligible ladies from some of the highest-ranked families in the beau monde. But what must he do but become ensnared by a policeman’s cousin.”

Placing his plate at the head of the table—though there was no set seating for breakfast, he hoped to reinforce his role as head of the family—Will took his seat and accepted coffee Meg poured for him.

Their eyes met and he mouthed “sorry” to her as their mother continued her tirade. But Meg only grinned and mouthed “excellent choice.”

At least one member of the household was happy for him, Will thought wryly.

Not allowing his mother to spoil his meal, he methodically worked through his food. Once he was finished, he stood, having ignored most of his mother’s complaints.

When he took to his feet, however, he turned his attention to her. “Mother, I should like to see you and Meg in the drawing room in a quarter of an hour.”

If he’d expected her to be cowed by the steel in his voice, he was to be disappointed. Instead she sat up straighter and said triumphantly, “I knew you would see reason, Gilford.”

Apparently her appetite had been revived by his summons; she took a new slice of toast from the warmer and spread butter over it.

In the drawing room, Will stood looking out the window into the street below when he heard Meg enter.

Turning, he saw that her grin from earlier remained. “I am so pleased for you both. Though I could wonder why anyone would wish to marry my odious brother. But I have no doubts why you’d want to marry Lucy.”

“I am glad you approve of my choice,” he told her with a matching grin. Then, his expression turning serious, he told her, “Whatever you can do to reconcile Mother to the match, I beg you to do it. I don’t ask on my own behalf but Lucy’s.”

Meg opened her mouth to reply, but the viscountess sailed into the room and took her customary seat near the window.

When Will and Meg didn’t immediately hurry to her, Lady Gilford called out, “Pray, whatever it is you wish to discuss with me, Gilford, please make haste. I have an appointment with Worth himself in a few hours. You know how rare it is to see him in London.”

Will stared at her in disbelief. “I told you only days ago that we must curtail spending until I find a way to replenish the family coffers.”

Instead of an apology, however, Lady Gilford met her son’s words with dismissal. “Oh, I have no doubt you will find a wealthy young lady of good family soon, and we needn’t be bothered by such matters. Now, what is it you wish to talk about?”

He would, Will decided, need to be firm with her. He could see now that what he’d considered a firm talking-to about expenses when he first arrived home had been interpreted as a suggestion rather than an order.

He gestured to Meg to have a seat, too, then, choosing to remain on his feet, he turned to them. “I believe you learned of it from someone else before I could tell you,” he said, looking from one to the other, “but I have asked Miss Lucy Penhallow to be my wife, and fortunately she has accepted me.”

“Oh, not this again,” Lady Gilford said with a shake of her head. “I thought we’d agreed that Lucy isn’t the right wife for you.”

“No,” Will returned. “She is not the right wife for you , my lady. Which is fortunate, because I am the one who wishes to marry her.”

“But her family!” Lady Gilford cried with real agitation. “And not only that, what of her reputation? In the past week she’s been involved in a kidnapping and a shooting in the middle of Mayfair.”

He waited for her to mention the events of last night, but when none was forthcoming he realized she hadn’t yet heard of them. “How did you learn of my betrothal to Miss Penhallow? You clearly haven’t seen the papers yet.”

At his question, his mother’s expression turned sly. “I have my sources. And I refuse to reveal them. There are certain privileges of being Lady Gilford that I simply will not give up.”

Since only Kate and Gilford were aware of the betrothal, and he was more than certain that they hadn’t been the ones to tell his mother about it, Will suspected someone must have seen his carriage outside Lucy’s house last night and had made a deduction that turned out to be right. In all likelihood a servant, since apparently everyone knew how quickly gossip traveled from household to household through the people who served the residents.

Deciding that was a matter for another time, he moved on. “However you learned of it, the betrothal between Miss Penhallow and myself is real, and I will expect you to behave toward her with the utmost courtesy when you see her again. Perhaps you will look more kindly upon her when you consider that she will bring with her to the marriage a sizable fortune, thanks to her late father, whom you were so quick to condemn for his lack of connections.” Will watched as his mother seemed to wrestle with the news.

Finally, she said with an inclination of her head—like the queen, Will thought with an inward sigh—“I suppose I must learn to do so, since it seems you have no intention of listening to my advice and will marry the chit whether I approve the match or not.”

She clearly meant the words to prompt him to apologize abjectly and beg her forgiveness. Instead, Will simply nodded and said, “I am glad you see reason.”

To Meg he asked, “Is there anything you wish to say?”

He had no fear that his sister had complaints like his mother’s, but Will thought she deserved to be given a chance to speak.

Glancing over to where her mother was scowling toward the window, Meg rose and hurried toward her brother and threw her arms about his neck and gave him a hard hug. “I am so pleased for you both,” she said as she stepped back. “Truly.”

Then, as if afraid her mother would somehow manage to trap her into listening to her further complaints, she hurried from the room.

Deciding Meg had the right of it, Will was about to flee as well when he remembered something.

“I checked the safe in my bookroom for my grandmother’s rings, but they weren’t there. Do you know where I might find them?”

At the mention of the sapphire set his grandmother had worn as her betrothal and wedding set, Lady Gilford’s mouth pursed in anger before she sighed. “Am I to keep nothing of the life I had with your father? Soon you will demand I leave this house, where I have lived for the decades since my marriage.”

Since he’d heard this same complaint from her already, Will didn’t rise to her bait. “You are welcome to choose any of the country houses other than the main one, or I can purchase a townhouse for you in London. I will discuss the matter with Lucy, of course, though.”

When she didn’t reply, he pressed on. “If the sapphire set is being kept with your jewelry, I would like for you to have your maid bring it, as well as whatever others of the Gilford family jewels you have, to my study within the hour.”

He left her then. And seconds after he shut the door behind him, he heard one of the Dresden figurines from the mantel shatter on the other side.