Page 48

48

Rupert

As Rupert had walked away, he’d heard her. And he couldn’t erase it, the sound of her wracking sobs. The sound would haunt him. He knew—because it already was. He paused in the doorway of the family sitting room and gripped the doorframe with ghost-white knuckles. Every sob echoing in his mind sent a shock of pain through him, like his body was freezing from the inside out. It was all he could do not to double over. How badly he had wounded her. He had never known one could feel pain so acute because of the hurt of another.

He drew in a fortifying breath and stepped into the room. His mother watched him, her expression inscrutable as he settled in the armchair next to her. It was time for a discussion long overdue. It was time to establish boundaries.

“Did you discuss with your wife her reprehensible behavior? Shall I expect a timely apology for her impudence?”

Wonderful. This was a great start to the conversation. Small shards of patience, the very little he had left, fell away like shredded ice.

“No, Mother, I did not discuss anything of the like with her,” he bit out. “And I do not intend to. She has been through enough today. She needs to be seen by a doctor and to rest. She does not need to be berated.”

Her chin jerked in. “Pardon? I cannot have heard you correctly. You will allow her to disrespect me without consequence?” She blinked up at him with wide eyes, slowly shaking her head like she couldn’t fathom his refusal. “Your mama. Your own flesh and blood. Do I mean nothing to you?” she whispered.

His jaw ticked, his teeth aching from how hard he clenched them. His mother had always been demanding when it came to attention. But all she’d ever had was him. She’d spent a decade caring for his invalid father. And Rupert was really starting to feel like she wielded that dependence like a weapon over him.

“Considering I stayed by your side instead of looking for my wife,” he said pointedly. “I would argue that shows just how much I care for you. And I see how little you appreciate that, especially given the fact that you knew how badly I wanted to be out there looking for her.”

“It’s so much worse than I feared,” she said faintly. “You have been married just over a fortnight, and you’ve already changed so much. You’re already pushing me from your life.” Her dark eyes pooled, and she searched his visage beseechingly. “First losing your father, and now you—” Her voice broke, and she turned away from him, her eyes fluttering shut.

He balled his fists on his thighs. Like that. Right there. The weight that seemed to have lifted the past sennight with Franny came crashing back down. Oppressive.

He wanted to scream. Rail. At her. At himself. He wasn’t trying to push anyone away; he wasn’t lost to anyone. God fucking bloody hell. He just wanted his wife. He just wanted his mother to accept his wife. Why could it not be simple?

His mother’s shuddering breath echoed around them, and she finally lifted her gaze back to his. “I raised you, practically on my own, while caring for your invalid father, and now I find myself abandoned by my own son not even a month into his marriage.”

His brows shot to his hairline. Raised him on her own? That was a stretch given his army of nursemaids. He didn’t have many memories of his mother from his childhood now that he thought about it. Besides her rules. Always explaining the rules. How he needed to present himself. The rules of society. The rules of a gentleman. The rules the Lord had set out for them.

Rules, rules, rules .

And what exactly had these rules done for him?

Because right now it felt like these rules were the crux of the problem. But one-and-twenty years of rules were impossible to erase. So, he swallowed down his frustrations and tempered his emotions.

“Mother, I am not abandoning you. And to be frank, you both shared words in the kitchen garden that were anything but respectful. I cannot ask her to apologize and not expect the same from you.”

“Oh, don’t make me laugh, Rupert. I never said anything offensive in the least to her. She needs someone to apply a firm hand with her. She is out of control. She is going to be the ruin of you. I can see it now. And it breaks my heart that you choose her over me, when I am the one with your best interests at heart. It is like you have forgotten everything I have done for you, everything I do for you.”

“No,” he said firmly. “No, she is not. Franny is going to make an incredible Lady Rutledge. I have complete faith in her, and it’s something you would—”

“She is taking advantage of you.” She cut him off, the whites of her eyes stark in her wide-eyed gaze, fear rippling off her in waves. “Can you not see, son? Of our position in society, our wealth. And I finally see what she is doing. She is trying to drive us apart. And she is succeeding. She has somehow infected your mind, corrupted your way of thinking.” Her voice broke, and she sucked in a choppy breath. “That-that trollop has turned you against me, drawn you into sin. My own son. The most important person to me.”

Rupert dragged a hand over his frown. His mother was spewing nonsense. Franny wasn’t taking advantage of him. They had been betrothed since babes, neither had any choice in the matter. Franny hadn’t once asked him for money. Goodness, she had snuck out and gambled to try to gain money on her own.

And to call her a trollop? His blood simmered even as his voice came out icy. “I would ask you to not refer to my wife in such a manner, if you please.”

“That is what you retained from what I said? Heavens, even when we have a conversation, all you think of is her. I apologize for being such a burden to you, dear son. All I was trying to be was a loving mama. But apparently you have no more use for me now that you have a harlot for a wife.”

Rupert’s body went rigid, his blood heating from simmering to boiling. Breathe, Rupert. Now is not the time for your temper to flare when Mother is in such a state. It wasn’t uncommon for her to grow a touch irrational in her demands when she got like this. He had learned to placate, rein her back in. But it had never been this…extreme. To the point she made no sense whatsoever.

She stood, and Rupert followed suit, the behavior as innate as breathing at this point.

“I will be fine. Don’t worry about me—not that you would—I am used to being alone.”

He tapped his thigh in slow beats and counted to five, centering himself. Calm. Placate. “Mother, I apologize that I have hurt your feelings. That is not my intention.” He stepped in front of her before she could take another step and gently took her hand. “Please, sit with me. I want to discuss this with you. I am not going to leave you alone.”

His mother settled back in her chair with a huff, and he helped arrange her lap blanket, then sat in the armchair adjacent to hers.

“Things are going to be different.” He stared steadily at her. “You are not going to be abandoned. But I have a wife now—”

“Yes, quite different,” she interrupted. Again . Lord, if he did such a thing, she’d flay the skin from his hide. “I will face disrespect and insult at every turn. Do you know the strain that puts on a woman of my advanced years? Constantly living with the fear of not knowing how her daughter-in-law will berate her next.”

Well, that was rich coming from her. Rupert bit back the words, prayed that the fates would be generous and grant him the ability to hold on to his sanity.

“Mother, I ask you to please try to be, in the very least, cordial with Franny. I will speak to her as well. But it will take effort on both ends. Will you do that for me? I feel as though I am in an impossible position. I want to somehow fix this enmity that has fallen between you two. If you spent some time getting to know Fran–”

“It is unfortunate you feel that way, Rupert,” she said abruptly. “While your aim is admirable, it is clear you are much too soft and sensitive when it comes to your wife. I do not see what I could possibly do to better our relationship when she will surely be cutting me down at every opportunity.”

Rupert inhaled slowly through his nose. Let’s try for redirection .

“Perhaps when we return to London, you can aid her in her launch into society. She has never had feminine guidance, and I am sure there is no one better than you for the task.”

She straightened, a small smile curving her lips. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

His mouth went slack. What on earth did that mean?

“And fortunate that,” she continued, her gaze flicking over his shoulder. “I am not sure even I would be able to make something of your wife…given her wild behavior. She wears breeches, Rupert. Rides astride . With other men. It is vulgar.”

“She cannot help the way she is, Mother,” he said, running a hand roughly through his hair, just preventing himself from yanking it. It’s not as though Franny would be walking into a London ballroom in breeches.

His mother let out an aggrieved sigh. “This is all your father’s fault. Why he had to go making that preposterous marriage contract, I’ll never know. I’ve always known from the beginning she was a mistake. The Earl couldn’t even control her.”

Rupert pressed the heel of his palms into his eyes and tried to swallow down his boiling rage. He never lost his composure with Mother. But every time she opened her mouth, it was a different iteration of the same sentiment—her spewing hatred of Franny. For no bloody fucking reason. And it was Goddamned exhausting.

“If I had only had the chance,” she said, an odd smile curving her lips. “I would have chosen the perfect wife for you, Rupert. One who would have helped accelerate your political trajectory. But instead, you have one who will only be a hindrance to it.”

“That is enough!”

His mother flinched, her smile faltering, and she blinked at him with wide eyes.

“The truth of the matter is you did not get to choose, Mother,” he bit out. “ I didn’t get to choose. We have always known that would be the case. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t what we wanted. I am married to Franny. There is no changing it. That is the reality. I came to terms with that long ago. And you must as well.”

A soft throat cleared behind Rupert, and he twisted around, already knowing who he would find. Shite. Bugger. Bloody fucking hell. Franny’s chin tipped up mulishly, and her green eyes blazed. But he hadn’t missed the hurt flash before she covered it up.

And then his mother’s elated words rang through the room. “Oh, but see that is why I had to rush out here to see you, Rupert. We don’t need to come to terms with this marriage any longer. I have found us a way out.”

An icy frost spread through Rupert’s veins, and his gaze darted to his mother, whose eyes glittered with triumph. The chill crawled over his insides, and his muscles twitched. “What do you mean, Mother?”

She slowly lifted her hand and pointed at Franny. “That woman? Is a liar. We have been betrayed, Rupert. She and Lord Pinehurst worked together to fool us. She is a bastard ,” his mother spat. “She isn’t his daughter.”

His gaze shot back to Franny, and the fire in her eyes died. And he saw it for what it was. Defeat.

This is your answer. I’m a bastard. You have been deceived. We can get an annulment, and you’ll be free of me. And me of you.

Never. He never wanted to be free of her.

He held Franny’s gaze, even as he spoke to his mother. “I know of Franny’s lineage.” He needed her to see the sincerity with which he meant his words. “And it matters not at all to me. I do not want out of this marriage.”

He swallowed hard, praying Franny believed him. “I may not have had a choice,” he said hoarsely. “But that is something I will be eternally grateful for. Because I was—am—far too much of an idiot to have ever made that choice on my own. And it terrifies me to think that if it had been left up to me, I would have missed out on marrying the love of my life.”

Franny’s lips parted, and her fingers fisted in her skirts. Her eyes, her beautiful green and gold eyes, swam with heady emotion. With relief.

He walked up to her and cupped her face. “I love you.” His voice shook with the fervor behind his words. “I’m so sorry, Franny. For so many things—”

“I knew it.” His mother’s shrill voice sliced through the room. “She has corrupted you—a disease rotting you from the inside out. It has already begun.”

His hands fell away from Franny’s face as he turned fully toward his mother.

Disdain curled her lips, her dark eyes flashing. “When I found her mother’s diaries in the trunks the Earl had delivered back in London, I knew you were in dire trouble.” Her beady eyes flicked to Franny, contempt flashing. “She’s the daughter of an actor , Rupert. And her mother was no better than a whore. Now her daughter is following in their footsteps, twisting your mind, luring you into sin.”

Rupert’s chin jerked in, and a gasp fled Franny. Good Lord, she’d rifled through Franny’s personal belongings. He glanced back at Franny, her face slack with shock.

“My mother’s diaries?” she mouthed, barely above a whisper.

His heart sagged in his chest. Diaries, it would seem, Franny hadn’t even known existed. And he knew, based on how Franny felt about her mother’s locket, what those diaries would mean to her.

“You went through her possessions? That was an invasion of privacy—”

“That is what you take issue with?” His mother shook her head sadly, disappointment radiating off her small frame. A look he’d seen a thousand times before. But this time, it had no effect. “I see now I made the right decision. It was the only one that would save you.”

“What decision?” The hair on the back of his neck lifted, and every muscle in his body went taut.

“I have already set the annulment in motion. It will not be the best for your reputation”—she waved a hand dismissively—“but if we stand strong, emphasize the true villains in all of this.” Her gaze landed on Franny and her lip curled up. “Your reputation will recover. And it will be worth any setback…to be free of such filth.”

His jaw dropped open. His head spun. Annulment in motion? And her lack of concern for his reputation? All Mother cared about was reputation. None of this made any sense. “What do you mean the annulment is motion?”

Franny’s small hand wrapped around his wrist, tightening, the same way his gut had just done. He would have had to be directly involved. He frantically searched his memory for details of annulment proceedings, doubt and fear weaving through his chest.

“I worked with our solicitor to draft a petition for the ecclesiastical courts, darling. By now it has been filed. Witnesses have been gathered—those who will speak to the deception that has been wrought upon us. It is just a matter of time until the court issues its judgment, which will, without doubt, be in our favor.”

A slow, satisfied smile spread across her face. One that turned the contents of his stomach. “And never fear for your reputation. I have already begun planting the seeds of this woman’s vile motives. She and the Earl will take the fall for this. Society will see them for the deceitful, self-serving creatures they truly are.”

“That’s…not possible.” He shook his head dumbly. He would have had to sign the petition. He was sure of it. This couldn’t happen without his consent. “I didn’t sign anything.”

Franny inched closer to him, her front pressing to his back. He reached behind himself, his hand latching onto her hip. Nothing— no one —would take her away from him.

His mother laughed, and he jerked back at the foreignness to the sound. At the eerie, almost inhuman quality of it. “Of course it’s possible. You spent so many years emulating my handwriting, such a diligent student you were. It was simple enough to match your signature.”

His heart stopped beating, and his fingers dug into Franny, desperate to find something to ground him. Oh, dear God. She’d forged his signature.

Who was this woman? Because the woman who sat before him was no mother of his. She was a stranger.

A throat cleared behind him, and his head snapped toward the door where his butler stood. “The doctor has arrived.”

Rupert blew out a breath, his grip on Franny tightening for a moment before he forced himself to let go. One battle at a time. First, he had to see to his wife—she would never not come first again. Then he would return.

And his mother would answer for this.