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“ N ever fear, cousin. We are here to find a way out of this mess you’ve created for yourself,” Beatrice said.

William regarded the elder of his two cousins with some amusement. “Is that so? I’ll indulge this. Tell me what you have in mind.”

“Well, you’ll simply go to her and tell her that there has been a misunderstanding, and that you won’t be able to marry her after all,” Beatrice explained. “That’s fairly simple.”

“A misunderstanding. In other words, your suggestion is that I try to convince her I didn’t think things through before making my offer of marriage? You don’t think that’s a bit beneath me?”

“I think she is beneath you,” Beatrice said.

“The daughter of the Baron of Highgate, William? Truly? You might as well have married one of your own servants. In fact, you might have done better to choose a servant because at least she would have been unknown among the ton. Miss Arabella, on the other hand, comes with a built-in reputation for being poor and desperate. Everyone is going to think her family has something scandalous that they’re using against you in order to force your hand! ”

“Do you think so?” This, funnily enough, had not occurred to William. But perhaps that was no surprise. After all, he didn’t spend nearly as much time thinking about appearances as his cousins did.

“Beatrice is right, you know,” Grace said, leaning forward slightly. “This makes us all look bad.”

“Well, you two will simply have to publicly disavow my decision to marry her,” William said. “That ought to separate you from any shame you might have faced as a consequence of my actions, don’t you think so?”

“Oh, you can trust that we’ll be doing that,” Beatrice said. “But this isn’t only about us and the way this reflects upon us, William. We do care about you. We don’t want to see you making decisions that will have a devastating impact on your life.”

William had to laugh at that. “We’re talking about a marriage proposal,” he said. “I’m not going off to war. Surely, I can survive Miss Arabella!”

“You cannot make light of this,” Beatrice said. “She is low born, she is poor… I’m not sure what’s driven you to this recklessness, if I’m being honest, William. This will destroy the good reputation you have among the members of the ton.”

“I don’t know that my reputation has ever been all that good,” William objected, but in his heart of hearts he was thinking, I hope it hasn’t . The good opinion of the shallow members of society was like that of his father—something he wanted nothing to do with.

“He’s right,” Grace confirmed. “People find him odd, just as we do.”

“Your company is always such a joy to me, Grace,” William said, tipping his glass in her direction.

“Don’t be glib,” Grace said. “You like that people find you odd and you know it, William. I think you do it on purpose.”

“Oh, he does,” Beatrice agreed. “You know, William, your father is the only reason your reputation is as good as it is. He has created a good name for the Duke of Redmayne, a name that you inherited when he died.”

“I’m aware of what my father created.”

“And you spend all your time and energy trying to destroy it.”

“I don’t wish to live by his standards,” William explained. “Nor do I feel I should have to. My life ought to be decided by what I want for myself, not what my father would have wanted for me.”

“And I don’t see why the two things are always so at odds,” Beatrice argued.

“Your father was a good man, and he wanted what was best for you and for the dukedom, William. You seem determined not to take that fact into consideration as you go about your life. In fact, you seem to want nothing more than to push against what you know he would have wanted. You seem to place so much importance on the idea that you can be someone he wouldn’t have been proud of. Why do you want that?”

William sighed. “I don’t feel the need to explain these things to you, Beatrice,” he said.

“What matters is that I have made my offer of marriage to Miss Arabella. She has accepted, and so, we will be married. And yes, I do take some pleasure in the fact that my father would not have approved of this union?—”

“And that’s so foolish of you!” Beatrice exploded. “To allow yourself to become preoccupied by a vendetta against a dead man— that is what you should truly consider beneath you, William. It’s an embarrassment. You need to move on.”

“You don’t understand,” William said. “You can’t.

” His cousins had lived a very privileged and spoiled life.

Although he supposed there had been expectations set for them, as well-bred young ladies, to marry worthy gentlemen and bear children, the fact of the matter was that neither of them had ever wished for anything else.

They had been captivated by the parties and the trappings of society, and they had both made matches young and married without incident.

There had never been any conflict between what their lives were supposed to be and what they were.

They didn’t know what it was like for William.

For a moment, he allowed himself to wonder whether they had a point and he was the problem.

After all, to marry appropriately and produce an heir was not some wild and rare expectation that his father had devised for him.

While it was true that his father had been uncommonly strict and withholding of any personal affection, the things he had actually wanted William to do were fairly normal—nothing more than most young men of his station were asked.

He understood what his cousin was saying.

In a way, it was the same thing James had said to him.

They were making the point that it didn’t make sense to make these decisions based on what would upset his father when his father wasn’t even here to be upset by them.

William should be focusing on what would make him happy, not what would make his father angry.

Well, that was James’ point. William didn’t think Beatrice cared what would make him happy.

But what neither of them realized was that the knowledge that his father would be displeased made him happier than anything else ever could.

There was no woman he could marry who would make him happier than this knowledge would.

“All right,” Grace said. “Perhaps we ought to look on the bright side. At least he is getting married.”

“To the lowest young lady he could possibly have chosen,” Beatrice stormed. “It’s a disgrace. It’s an embarrassment.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Grace considered. “If you’re determined to go through with this, William?—”

“I am,” he told her firmly.

“Well, there may be a way to make the best of the situation. We just have to make sure that Miss Arabella understands the standards she’s required to adhere to as a member of this family—and as a duchess.”

“I can’t believe that young lady is going to be a duchess ,” Beatrice groaned. “She’s so unworthy of the title. And Duchess of Redmayne, no less! How can either one of you not be positively humiliated by this? I don’t think I’ll ever live it down, having her in this family.”

“People overcome their beginnings all the time,” Grace said. “We’ll just have to teach her about the expectations of a duchess. I’m sure it’s nothing she’ll ever have learned in her upbringing. Her parents couldn’t possibly have had such high hopes for her.”

“You don’t think so?” Beatrice raised her eyebrows. “You don’t think it’s possible that they sent her into that library after William in order to entrap him into a marriage?”

“Even if they did, they must have known that it would be a long shot,” Grace said.

“They’d have to have understood that there was no guarantee William would choose to save the girl, even if she did disgrace herself like that.

My lord, could you imagine being that desperate?

” She shuddered. “I think that’s the worst of all this—knowing that we’re associating ourselves with someone like that. ”

“She wasn’t trying to entrap me,” William objected.

“No?” Grace raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know how you can say that, William.

Even though you think you’re choosing this marriage for your own reasons, you had no plans to marry this lady—or any other—until this happened.

Her actions brought this about. And you truly believe it wasn’t intentional on her part? ”

“She didn’t know that I was in the room when she came in,” William explained.

“So she told you.”

“Grace is right,” Beatrice said. “That’s exactly what she would say if she was trying to entrap you, William.

You cannot simply believe everything you’re told.

Didn’t you say yourself that she was a clever one?

More clever than you, perhaps. It’s possible she’s told you all this to try to deceive you, to make you believe that she’s more innocent than she really is. Have you considered that?”

“She has no reason to need me to believe that,” William argued. “I would be making the same decision if she had tried to entrap me.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that, William,” Beatrice said despairingly. “You wouldn’t reject her even if you knew she had tried to trick you?”

“It’s not about her. That’s what you’re both failing to see.

It’s understandable, of course, that you would view this situation from her perspective since you’re ladies yourselves.

But try to see things my way. It doesn’t matter to me what she was trying to do or what she hoped to gain from it,” William pointed out.

“I don’t believe she was trying to entrap me, but had she been, it would not change anything as far as I’m concerned because I still require a wife.

I still need to marry someone, and she perfectly fits the description of what I am looking for. ”

“I can see there’s no persuading you that this is a mistake,” Beatrice said heavily.

“You’re right,” William agreed. “There’s not. My decision has been made, and it is final, Beatrice. You and Grace are simply going to have to find a way to accept Miss Arabella as your new cousin.”

“Before we can do that, you’re going to have to let us speak to her,” Beatrice said. “It’s the least you can do.”

“Let you speak to her?” William repeated. “Why would I do that?”

“You have to let us inform her of the expectations of her station,” Beatrice replied. “It’s obvious someone like her won’t know what that entails.”

William couldn’t have explained the surge of anger that swelled up within him at his cousin’s arrogant words. They didn’t come as a surprise to him. This was the kind of thing Beatrice always said.

And yet, somehow, today he found himself loath to listen to it. Even more so than he ordinarily would have been.

“I think the two of you can take your leave now,” he snapped.

“Oh, William, don’t be so sensitive,” Beatrice scolded.

William snorted. If she thought accusations of sensitivity were the way to manipulate him, she didn’t understand him at all.

He wasn’t so insecure. “I’ve had enough of your bile, the both of you,” he growled.

“I’ll manage my wife. I will inform her of the expectations she faces in becoming my duchess.

Your assistance is not required or welcome.

Show yourselves out, or I’ll have to summon members of my staff to rid me of your presence. ”

His cousins looked at one another. Mercifully, they got to their feet and walked out, leaving William on his own.