Page 37 of Lady Farah Creates a Scandal (The Season of Secrets #2)

R ockwell took the stairs two at a time, his heart hammering against his ribs like a caged beast. What the hell had just happened?

He arrived outside Blackstone’s study just in time to see Farah’s limp form being carried up the stairs, her face as pale as moonlight. “Farah,” he called, but Blackstone emerged like a storm cloud from the study and pulled him inside, slamming the door after him.

“I should beat you to a pulp…” But Lucien materialized between them, pulling Blackstone off him.

Rockwell stepped back, his fingers trembling slightly as they smoothed his ruffled clothes. He addressed Lucien. “Is Farah all right?”

Blackstone’s roar filled the study. “No, she bloody isn’t all right. She’s ruined. Or she will be once Mrs. Ahearn talks. I should call you out. Regardless of how she ended up on that ship of yours, you should have come to me and offered for her immediately.”

“She wouldn’t let me.”

The duke scoffed. “Let. Let!” His fist crashed onto the desk, making the crystal decanters jump. “She doesn’t understand what her life will be like if she’s ruined. You, of all people, should know because of Ashley. How could you not protect her? Your brother must be ashamed of you.”

“I gave her my word.” Rockwell’s voice roughened with suppressed emotion. “I gave her my word that we would try to return home, and if there was no scandal, I’d respect her choice. Her choice. But if word got out, then of course we would have to marry.”

That seemed to take the wind out of the duke’s anger.

“Well…” Lucien’s smooth voice cut through the tension, “you don’t have to marry her, anyway. As I’ve offered for her.”

Rockwell swung round to face his— friend . “You’re taking advantage of the situation. Farah would never consider you if not for the revelation of this scandal.”

“You seem rather upset at my offer? For a man who told me, and Farah, you didn’t wish to marry, you seem awfully upset at my honorable proposal to save her from ruin.”

Lucien’s smug smile made Rockwell’s fingers itch to rearrange his face.

“Has Farah even said yes to you? I doubt it. She doesn’t love you and you are her friend’s former fiancé.

Courtney’s heart still beats for you, and Farah would never hurt her.

What must Lady Courtney be feeling standing in the ballroom downstairs with all of society watching her abandonment? ”

“God damn it.” Lucien’s face twisted with guilt. “That’s a low blow.”

Rockwell walked over and stood toe to toe with Lucien. “Just because you don’t like the truth, don’t get angry with me.”

Blackstone agreed with Rockwell, and he rounded on Lucien. “While I thank you for coming to Farah’s rescue with your very public offer, Lady Courtney doesn’t deserve this treatment from you. She’s in the ballroom facing this alone. Please explain yourself to her.”

Lucien hung his head and sighed. “I didn’t ask for this. It’s not my fault I lost my memory.”

“But the way you’ve been behaving towards Courtney since you’ve been back is your fault.”

Lucien didn’t refute Rockwell’s words. “I’d best sort out my mess.” Lucien turned before leaving the room. “My offer stands if Farah needs me.”

“She won’t need you,” Rockwell almost growled.

Once the door closed behind him, Rockwell faced Blackstone.

“Do you love Farah?”

Rockwell sunk into the nearest chair and tried to get his emotions under control. “Lucien is not marrying her.”

“Well, someone bloody has to.” He poured Rockwell and himself a drink.

“I won’t have my sister ruined. She believes the world is a forgiving place because she thinks Ashley got away relatively unscathed.

What she doesn’t see is how society and men in particular treat Ashley and why it’s unlikely she’ll ever find a husband. ”

“I have feelings for Farah, but even you must see, I wouldn’t be a good husband.”

Blackstone shrugged. “Throughout life, our priorities change. Look at me. Over the past few years, I’ve consolidated the estates and investments while trying to find my sister a husband.

Once Farah is married, I too will then turn to finding a wife to ensure I provide the next heir. That’s my duty.”

“I don’t need to provide an heir. As a second son, I have no duties.” He closed his eyes and let that thought settle over him. “I’m not needed for anything.”

“Farah needs you.” Blackstone’s words sent a jolt through his body. Did she? She’d seemed to manage on her own quite nicely up until the scandal.

“You don’t know your sister very well. She can be a force to reckon with. If she doesn’t want to marry either of us, she won’t. And right now I’m not her favorite person. But she’d never marry Lucien and hurt Courtney.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s ruined and I shall make her—”

“Good luck with that. She didn’t marry Franklin, did she?”

Blackstone was suddenly standing and pacing. “She can’t just disobey me. She has no money, nowhere to go.”

Rockwell inwardly laughed. He’d learned that Farah had plenty of money from the ladies’ investing, but he wasn’t about to tell Blackstone that.

The duke might guess what the ladies were up to and he wanted both Fane and Blackstone to lose to the women.

Those men needed to be brought down from their high lofty positions.

Blackstone looked incredulously at him. “What about your reputation? If you walk away, Farah tarnishes you as well. Society would never forgive you.”

“Then I’ll be free to sail around the globe.

” Rockwell stood to take his leave. “I’ll come back in the morning and I will marry her if she’ll have me.

But don’t be surprised if she tosses me out on my ear.

” He looked at his friend. “I’m sorry for all of this, but it’s really your fault.

If you hadn’t tried to force her to marry Franklin, she would never have ended up in my trunk and on that ship. It’s ironic, really.”

“If she won’t marry you or Lucien, then it will be Franklin. I’ll not see her ruined.”

“Good luck with that edict. Just be careful what you wish for. If you push her too hard, you’ll lose your sister forever. Is that what you want? I know that I’ve never regretted standing by Ashley. She’s still in my life and safe. How do you think Franklin would treat Farah after this?”

The fire died in Blackstone’s eyes. “What a bloody mess. I’ve made this mess.”

“Yes, you have.”

Rockwell turned to leave. “Let’s work together to try to sort this situation out before all our lives are ruined. I’ll see myself out. Best you go back and ensure the worst of the gossip is contained and you end the ball.”

The evening’s revelations sat heavy in Rockwell’s chest as he made his way home. He prayed he could convince Farah to wed. He was right when he said to Blackstone too many people would be hurt if they didn’t.

But the thought of how to win her trust back made his head spin. He tapped on the roof of the carriage. “Actually, can you take me to Wolfarth House, please?” Perhaps Wolf might have some words of wisdom.

*

Wolf was already waiting up for him in the library. “Tiffany’s gone to bed, which is just as well, as she’s really upset with you.”

He plonked himself into a chair by the fire and accepted the drink his brother handed him. “There is a long line. What have I done wrong according to your wife?”

“As soon as you knew Mrs. Ahearn was at the ball, you should have gone to Blackstone and announced your engagement to Farah, instead of trying to hide the fact she was with you in Ireland. Not well done of you.”

He hung his head. Wolf was right. He didn’t want to face the fact he hadn’t acted that honorably.

“I think you’re using Farah’s reluctance to wed you as an excuse for not having to do your duty.” He hesitated before adding, “And I think this reluctance is because you’re afraid to marry her because you have feelings for her and this realization has you running scared.”

He swallowed back a denial because his brother was right. She’d slipped into his heart with little fanfare. It wasn’t like with Charlotte, where with one look, he’d fallen head over heels in love. No, his timid mouse had awoken his desire first and then had put his broken heart back together.

His brother continued. “When I offered a marriage of convenience to Tiffany, I did not know how important she’d become to me, and how much I would grow to love her. Love isn’t anything to be afraid of, if it’s the right person. Is Farah the right woman for you?”

“I think she could be.” He sighed.

“Then what is stopping you from committing?”

He sat in silence for a moment, his thoughts all jumbled.

“I think Father prepared me to be the spare by instilling in me the excitement of travel. He knew what it would be like for me. What was my purpose? What could I do with my life? I fixated on it after he died and thought that was all I could do with my life.”

“I sense you might be rethinking that…”

“My trip with Farah has made me question what I want out of my life. I loved being with her. I loved her company, and she is so…desirable. Armley has approached me with an idea to set up a Merino breeding farm to supply their mill and I’ve also been thinking about crossbreeding with our native sheep.

What wonderful things we could develop, maybe even become world leaders?

Could we lead the textile revolution? I now realize travel is not all ‘the spare’ can do. ”

Wolf smiled. “I’m sure Father didn’t think that’s all you could do. He merely loved talking about the world and all the wonders that it held. He wouldn’t have expected you to spend all your life traveling. Father, of all people, understood the joy of building a family and having children.”

“I believe you could be right. Now I only have to convince Farah to marry me and all will be well.”

Wolf frowned and twirled his brandy in the glass. “I thought she was in love with you?”

“I think she is, but she doesn’t believe I’m in love with her.”

“Are you?”

“I don’t know. I know I don’t want any other man touching her, looking at her, or bloody marrying her. But I fell in love once before.” He waved his brother to silence. “It ended badly. But I don’t feel the same with Farah. It’s different.”

“I suspect it’s because you’ve known her all your life and she’s our sisters’ friend. Your relationship is bound to differ from that of a woman you’ve never had in your life before. I would suspect your relationship with Farah would be deeper because you are not strangers. Do you want children?”

Did he? He thought about his relationship with his father. He’d like a son to teach and nurture. He could picture a blond boy who looked exactly like Farah. If he had a daughter, he would treat her better than Blackstone treated Farah. He’d ensure she was fully aware of the dangers in this world.

“I believe I do.”

“Can you imagine having children with anyone other than Farah?” Wolf’s questions pierced through his carefully constructed defenses.

Rockwell closed his eyes, memories washing over him like waves: Farah’s sleepy smile in the morning light, her cold feet seeking his warmth at night, her brilliant mind challenging his own, her laugh that could brighten the darkest day.

She knew his world as he knew hers. His heart swelled with the realization that had been growing all along—she wasn’t just in his life, she was essential to it.

“No,” he whispered, the truth finally breaking free. “But is that love?”

“I agree this is all very sudden,” Wolf added.

“However, whether you love her matters little because you have to marry her. You can’t taint the whole family with this scandal and walk away.

Ashley is already under a cloud. If you disgrace the Wolfarth name, Ivy will have very few chances of a good marriage.

And I can’t see Blackstone letting Farah remain unwed. ”

He took a long swallow of the fiery liquid. “It’s funny. I don’t feel at all upset that I must marry Farah.”

“That speaks volumes. She’s a beautiful woman and you’ll have a good life with her by your side. Ivy and Ashley will be very pleased to welcome her into the family, as will my wife.”

“Then best I work out a way to ensure Farah agrees to marry me. Blackstone will help because he’s determined she marries someone and that will only be me.”

“That’s easy, brother. Simply give her your heart. You know you want to.”

*

The predawn darkness wrapped around Farah like a conspirator’s cloak as she slipped out of the servants’ entrance.

Trying to get into the Marquess of Lorne’s townhouse to reach Courtney without being seen was much harder.

If one of Courtney’s brothers or her father caught her, her desperate bid for freedom would crumble like a house of cards.

When she’d roused herself from her fainting episode and realized her brother would make her marry either Lucien or Rockwell, she’d done the only thing a lady could do.

She’d run. And who better to aid her escape than Courtney?

The woman who understood better than anyone how love could turn to ashes in your mouth.

She’d found a pair of trousers and a boy’s outfit in Blackstone’s old wardrobe, relics of his own youth that now served as her armor against society’s demands.

The rough wool scratched against her skin, so different from her usual silks, but it was a small price for freedom.

The masculine attire made scaling the tree outside Courtney’s window possible, though her arms trembled with each reach upward, as she was unused to such exertion.

She pulled herself onto the window ledge and pushed up the sash window. Thankfully, it opened easily, and she tumbled into the room landing in an ungainly heap of borrowed clothes. She put her arms up and cried out, “Don’t hit me. It’s me, Farah.”

“I should hit you over the head with this lamp anyway. Friend indeed. You stood there and let Lucien announce your engagement when it should have been Lord Rockwell.”

Farah scrambled to her feet, her borrowed boots scuffing against the fine carpet. “Yes, well. It should be Rockwell, but I’d prefer it to be neither gentleman. That’s why I’m here. I need your help.”