Page 32 of His Illegitimate Duchess

“I need to leave,” she said in a strained voice and tried sidestepping him, but he anticipated her move and took his own step to the side, which caused his leg to become lodged firmly between her skirts.

Elizabeth retreated (and he followed) until her back was pressing against the window. Colin was standing between her legs, and he used the back of his index finger to tilt her chin up. Lizzie’s hazel eyes appeared almost black.

“Curious,” he whispered and, without thinking, leaned down to trace the side of her neck with his nose.

He heard her gasp and was trying to interpret why her entire body had arched into him when, suddenly, the door of their sanctuary flew open.

“What do we have here?” Lady Helena asked in a nasty tone.

Several voices started talking at the same time.

Talbot felt Elizabeth’s body go utterly still.

He looked into her face, and it seemed that all the blood had drained from her cheeks.

She looked like a doe cornered by hunting dogs.

He realised that he was gripping her waist, and he slowly let go of it.

They both turned to the door to face the crowd Lady Helena had assembled. Most of them looked intrigued, some were appalled, and one man was absolutely furious . As he ran out of the room, Harding loudly called for Lizzie’s brother in what Talbot guessed was his military voice, "Hawkins!"

The duke had initially assumed a relaxed stance against the wall in order to conceal his visible response to Elizabeth’s earlier closeness, but he stepped in front of her when he saw an angry Nicholas striding towards them.

“Get out of my way, Talbot,” Nicholas said as he grabbed Elizabeth by the elbow and dragged her out of the room.

What have I done? Colin asked himself, and, with a start, ran after them.

When he exited the Pearsons’ home, he saw Nicholas climbing into his carriage and driving away. Talbot quickly found his own carriage and followed them.

In the cocoon of the carriage, Colin went over the events of the last two hours, then the events of the last two months, and then he went back as far as his first meeting with Elizabeth more than two years ago. None of it made any sense to him.

He could hear his mother’s venomous tone in his ear, telling him that he had made a mockery of his dukedom by getting caught in such a compromising position by his peers.

It was vulgar, ill-bred, and unbecoming. No one expects me to be chaste, but they do expect me to be in control of myself, not an animal pawing at women in dark corners of eminent household cloak rooms.

He sighed.

But if we were to be wed, he thought, suddenly, older men would conspiratorially pat me on the back and the women would smile knowingly.

Duke Talbot examined himself in the glass of the carriage window.

Yes, he concluded, that is the way forward. That way, this evening becomes an amusing anecdote which will fall into oblivion after a few years instead of a stain on my name.

After a confused manservant let him in, Talbot found the Hawkins brother and sister standing at opposite ends of the room in silence.

“Lizzie,” Nicholas whispered, but she stood frozen. Hawkins then turned his fury on the newcomer, “What do you want?”

Talbot stood a little straighter, his eyes trained on Elizabeth.

“Let us talk outside, Nicholas.”

Once they stood near the spot where he first laid eyes on Elizabeth, Talbot steadied himself on his feet in preparation for what he knew was coming. Only a moment later, Nicholas’s fist hit him in the face.

Talbot pressed the back of his hand to his throbbing lip and felt the wetness of blood. He saw his friend struggling to breathe through his anger.

Talbot, on the other hand, felt more alive than he had in weeks. His whole body was humming with energy.

“What have you done to my sister, you pig!?”

Talbot raised a disapproving eyebrow at Nicholas. “I’ve done nothing to her.”

“I know you and I have had our problems, but I never thought that you would stoop so low as to harm a member of my family!”

“Will you stop?” Talbot raised his voice in exasperation. “How am I harming her? I shall make your baseborn sister a duchess, give her the Talbot name and all the prestige that goes with it!”

“Never! Over my dead body!” Nicholas yelled back. “I would never sentence Lizzie to a life with a man with your attitude towards marriage and family.”

“I doubt Harding will want her now,” Talbot said pointedly.

Nicholas took an angry step towards him, but Talbot lifted his palm and tsked. “I allowed you to hit me once, as a courtesy. Don’t get a big head. We both know I’m a better fighter than you.”

“Only because you fight dirty,” Nicholas retorted petulantly, but then his anger seemed to drain away. “I want a good life for Lizzie, a good husband. Not someone like you,” he said almost apologetically.

“You went through great trouble to legitimise her, do you truly believe her reputation could endure this scandal?”

“Since when do you care about anyone but yourself?”

“I don’t care. But this might reflect negatively on me as well. I may be many things, but I do my best not to be dishonourable. I shall make her my wife and salvage both of our reputations in the process.”

Nicholas exhaled, and Talbot knew he had won.

“All right, but only because I don’t see another way out of this mess.”

“I shall obtain a special licence as soon as possible.”

“Let’s go tell her.”

When he entered the room his future wife was in, Colin felt like a blood-stained warrior returning home from the battlefield. Elizabeth couldn’t tear her eyes away from his wounded lip.

“We shall marry,” he announced, trying to keep the tremble from his voice, “I shall obtain the license and then I’ll write to inform you of the date.”

When Elizabeth said nothing ( She is most likely overwhelmed by the news, he thought), Talbot turned to Nicholas. “I shall meet you at your lawyer’s office tomorrow at 10 to negotiate the marriage settlement.”

*

Colin Talbot exited the Archbishop’s Court the next morning in an exceedingly good mood.

He’d had a good night’s sleep for the first time in over a month; he was one step closer to getting what he wanted (which was to keep the Talbot name pristine, of course), and the London weather was charming for once.

Not even the thought of discussing the marriage settlement with Hawkins could spoil his day.

Hawkins’s lawyer, Mr Collins, conducted his business in an office that could easily be mistaken for a library. Talbot looked around approvingly before settling into a plush armchair next to Nicholas.

“I’ve already informed Collins of the need for a settlement last night, and he has taken the liberty to write a preliminary document this morning,” Hawkins said without preamble as he handed him several sheets of paper.

Talbot glanced at the pages, trying to appear even more disinterested than he already was.

“What are you so worried about, Hawkins? I'm not a fortune hunter, unlike your beloved Corporal.”

Hawkins didn’t take the bait. “I want Elizabeth and her children to keep the interest from her dowry. And the Mayfair house is hers alone; it was a gift.”

“Do you think I have need for your mistress’s house?” Talbot said scornfully.

A muscle in Nicholas’s jaw pulsed.

Talbot waved his hand nonchalantly. “By all means, Hawkins, I have no need for your sister's dowry either.”

He then reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out his own sheets of paper.

“Here is the proposal of the jointure and allowance I had in mind for my future duchess. Feel free to look at it as I read through these,” he said.

He pretended to read but secretly observed the two men as they went over his list together. It brought him great satisfaction to see their eyes widen in surprise. Talbot prided himself on his generosity and his wealth, and he would never allow Hawkins to even imply the opposite.

Nicholas cleared his throat, and Talbot pretended he needed to finish a paragraph before looking up.

“This looks good. Collins will draw up the papers now for us to sign if that is all right with you?”

Feeling like one more thing had gone his way that day, Talbot nodded like a benevolent king.

All that was left to do when he got home was to inform his bride of the time of their wedding. Talbot sat down in his study to pen his first-ever note to Elizabeth. His hands felt damp. He stood up and opened the window, then sat back down.

I am unable to observe the usual conventions of writing to one’s betrothed, he realised, but we are not simple acquaintances either. I am most uncertain about how to proceed.

He leaned back in his chair and interlaced his fingers on his stomach as he stared at the ceiling.

I need to stick to the facts. I am writing to inform you, etc.

He dipped his pen in the inkwell.

Miss Hawkins, he wrote, through my close acquaintance and, dare I say, friendship with the Archbishop of Canterbury, with whom I sit in the House of Lords -

Colin stopped writing. He felt he sounded too eager to impress her with his connexions. He took a new sheet of paper.

Miss Hawkins,

I secured the license.

Talbot felt that this was much better and to the point. This was, after all, a simple note which was meant to inform.

He continued in the same vein.

We shall be wed tomorrow morning at 8 at your residence and shall be off to Norwich immediately after.

Colin wondered whether she perhaps wished to give a wedding breakfast, but remembered Nicholas hadn’t said anything about it, so he discarded the thought. He didn’t want to make any suggestions that had the potential to be rejected.

Do I write that I’m looking forward to it? No, best leave it like this, it sounds more like me. How do I sign off? How does one sign a letter to one’s unexpected future wife whom one has never really courted?

Talbot stared at the paper for a long time before writing

Yours, etc., Duke Colin Talbot.

Talbot was mightily pleased with himself when he handed the note to Stevenson. Everything was working out in his favour today. This time tomorrow, all his problems would be solved. But first, there was some furniture that needed to be ordered.