Page 95 of Rogue of My Heart

She stole another look over her shoulder at Christian. He clearly wasn’t any happier about the situation than she was. But once again, Marie caught sight of Lady Kilrea and the pure joy in the woman’s eyes as she joined the conversation with Lady Aoife. Misery ate a hole in Marie’s chest.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive you for this, Fergus,” she said in a dangerously hollow voice.

Fergus and Henrietta exchanged a wary look.

“Perhaps this whole plot was entered into with a bit too much haste,” Henrietta said. “Marie likes Mr. Darrow, not his brother.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” Fergus argued. “The agreement has already been made.”

“How many times have I told you not to enter into business dealings while angry, darling?” Henrietta scolded Fergus.

“Undo it,” Marie said, balling her hands into fists at her sides. “I don’t care what it costs you, undo the betrothal this instant.”

“And if that is even possible?” Fergus stared up at her, his one eye sharp. “I suppose you want me to convince Lord Boleran to undo his sister’s engagement to your Mr. Darrow as well?”

Marie winced. “Lord Boleran is a marquess. You’re just an earl. Surely, Lord Kilrea would want his eldest son and heir to marry the sister of a marquess instead of an earl’s wicked sister.”

“Kilrea was a little too intrigued by my English connections,” Fergus said with a frown. “Not to mention Henrietta’s connections. Boleran might be a marquess, but he doesn’t have the connections I do.”

“Dammit.” Marie stomped her foot, feeling far too boxed in by the machinations of an aristocracy she had never had the time of day for.

Her tiny outburst caught the attention of everyone at the other end of the room. Lady Kilrea’s face pinched with regret, which spilled even more guilt through Marie. Lady Aoife kept her head down, of course, but Lord Boleran and Lord Agivey frowned in disapproval. The sight of her fiancé’s frown sent dread pooling in Marie’s stomach. That was what she had to look forward to?

Christian’s expression was the only one that hardened into a sense of purpose. But when he attempted to step away from his group and head across the room to Marie’s, his father caught his arm and jerked him to a stop. Christian remained off-balance for the amount of time it took for his father to whisper something to him. After that, Christian’s expression flattened and he stood straighter, turning back to the conversation in front of him.

Not that there was much conversation after the awkward interruption.

“Well, isn’t this a fine kettle of fish,” Marie said, shaking her head in annoyance and stepping away from her brother and sister-in-law. She couldn’t think of anything to do in the moment to get out of the horrific situation. The only thing she could do was to gather more information so she could figure out a way to save her skin.

That meant putting on a polite smile and returning to Lady Kilrea’s side. Her potential future mother-in-law was the only bright spot in the muddle, so she would focus her efforts there to start.

“You must be so pleased to have daughters-in-law on the horizon, my lady,” Marie opened the conversation with the woman. She reluctantly included Lady Aoife in the small circle they made adjacent to the conversation the men carried on with. Henrietta wheeled Fergus into that conversation, then joined the women herself.

“I am,” Lady Kilrea said, placing a hand on her chest and glancing fondly from Marie to Lady Aoife. “I have had so little female companionship in my day, you see.”

“Oh? Do you not have sisters?” Henrietta asked.

“Alas, I had a younger sister, Evelyn,” Lady Kilrea sighed. “She was a year younger than me, but the poor thing died of a fever when she was ten.” The tragedy had clearly happened decades ago, but Lady Kilrea teared up all the same. “And I have given birth to two beautiful baby girls in my time,” she went on. “Sadly, neither of them made it out of the cradle.” She glanced between Marie and Lady Aoife again. “They would be about your ages now, I believe.”

Marie wanted to burst into tears herself at the revelation. She wanted to throw back her head and wail. Lady Kilrea was far too precious and much too fragile for her to callously throw over her son. She couldn’t possibly deny the woman the love that she must have felt she’d been missing her whole life. Even though it meant she was about to enter a prison that she would never be able to escape.

A prison that would be made a thousand times worse by the proximity it would bring her to Christian. She glanced to the side, finding Christian staring at her with his lips pressed shut and anger in his eyes. Marie felt that anger in her soul. It was bloody well unfair of the fates and their male relatives to ruin their lives before they’d even had a chance to begin. And yes, she was fully aware of the reality that she had only just met Christian. It was impossible for her to have developed feelings for him worth building a lifetime on after one encounter, no matter how jolly and…and naked that encounter had been. But that didn’t stop her from wanting to scream over the whole thing.

“It’s only right that Miles marry first,” Lady Kilrea said, pulling Marie’s attention back to the matter at hand. “He is the eldest, after all. And I believe my husband is in something of a hurry to have the wedding. You wouldn’t mind if it was held in September, would you, my dear?”

Marie smiled, in spite of the fact that she wanted to weep. “Not at all, my lady.”

Lady Kilrea beamed, then turned to Lady Aoife. “And yours shall be a Christmas wedding. Won’t that be grand.”

“Lovely, my lady,” Lady Aoife muttered, eyes downcast and cheeks pink.

“What’s this I hear about a September and a Christmas wedding?” Lord Kilrea asked. He managed to subtly maneuver them all so that they formed one large conversation.

“Are we certain September is soon enough?” Lord Agivey asked, leering at Marie.

Christian looked as though he wanted to throttle his brother.

“We’ll have a party to announce the engagements immediately,” Lord Kilrea said. “An engagement party is as good as a wedding in some circles.” He laughed proudly, as though he’d accomplished a coup.