Page 37 of The Lady Was Lying (Greydon #3)

Chapter Sixteen

L ate the next morning, James had no choice but to halt when Belinda grabbed his arm and yanked him back from the staircase. She pressed him against the wall and whispered, “My brother.”

“Which one?” he asked, straining to hear the murmurs that were drifting up the stairs.

“Both,” she responded with a grimace as another voice joined the mix.

“We cannot avoid them if they are already here.”

It was far too late to decide they didn’t want to be caught.

There was nowhere to hide in the small inn, and there was no way they could leave without being spotted.

Staying last night had been risky, but lingering this morning had made it a virtual certainty that her brothers would catch up with them.

For obvious reasons, he didn’t regret that she’d convinced him to stay, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to confronting her brothers. Even if they were only slightly angry, it would be difficult to bask in the afterglow of lovemaking while they glowered at him.

Not impossible, but difficult.

“What if they expect me to return to London?” she asked, speaking quietly into his ear.

Surprised by the trepidation in her voice, he dipped his chin to look directly into her eyes.

“I thought you were confident of their support?” A harrowing thought occurred, and he forced himself to ask, “Do you want to return to London?”

Her eyes widened. “Is that a joke?”

“Absolutely not, but this is your last chance to change your mind.” While it might kill him to let her brothers take her back to London, he’d do it if that was what she wanted. “If you don’t want to end up in a Scottish village in the not-so-distant future, you should tell me now.”

Her squawk of outrage was so extreme he would have smiled if her boot hadn’t connected with his shin half a second later.

“Blasphemy,” she whispered fiercely. “Don’t even suggest I’d leave you. You’re stuck with me. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.” She punctuated the last word with a steely glare.

With his shin smarting and his heart swelling, there was nothing for him to do except pull her closer and nuzzle the space between her collarbone and chin. Maybe it was his imagination, but he swore the scent of debauchery lingered there, and he sought to enjoy it as long as he could.

The sound of boots clomping up the stairs registered, but since it was impossible to pretend he hadn’t absconded with Belinda, and since he intended to marry her with all due haste, he didn’t bother putting a respectable distance between them.

She didn’t move away either, staying tucked into his side as first Greydon and then Edward appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Good day, brothers,” she said, her voice unusually cheerful. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Belinda.” Greydon’s expression was devoid of emotion. “Avondale. We did not believe we could catch up with you this quickly.”

Edward crossed his arms over his chest and added, “Makes one wonder whether you hoped we would find you.”

“Perhaps we were too busy fraternizing to consider your whereabouts at all,” she responded rather tartly.

Both brothers winced, and the last thing James wanted was for Belinda to expound on their fraternization, so he smoothly interjected, “Lady Belinda and I have come to an understanding about our future.”

“I should hope so,” Edward responded. “Otherwise, the conversation we need to have is going to be uncomfortable for all of us.”

“Perhaps, we should continue in private,” Greydon said, gesturing in the direction of the stairs and giving no indication of his feelings on the matter. “The innkeeper offered a room below where we can talk without being interrupted.”

“Our bedchamber is just there.” Belinda raised her hand and pointed down the hallway.

“Downstairs would be lovely,” James stated.

“Is it truly necessary for you to provoke them?” he whispered into her hair before releasing her so he could follow her down the stairs.

“Probably.” Glancing over her shoulder, she raised her eyebrows and shrugged while her grin remained as wide as ever.

A corresponding grin formed on his face as they silently filed into the private dining room. Instead of taking a seat, Greydon and Edward both remained standing, arms crossed, expressions serious.

Belinda squared off in front of them like she was a fierce warrior ready to stake her claim, and after closing the door, James slid into the space next to her.

Greydon spoke first. “We have a problem.”

“No, we don’t. Belinda has agreed to come with me to my estate,” James refuted, determined to make his intentions clear and indisputable. “We will?—”

“We have a problem,” Greydon interrupted, rubbing his hand over his eyes.

“Don’t get me wrong. Belinda should absolutely accompany you to your estate.

Whatever plans you already made should proceed accordingly.

Kidnapping was perhaps not the path I would have taken, but after what we witnessed upstairs, it appears to have been effective.

Violet is following in one of my carriages.

She should be here within the hour. Once she arrives, you can continue the rest of the way with both Edward and Violet serving as Belinda’s chaperones. ”

Belinda’s hands flew to her hips. “I do not require a chaperone any more than I require your permission to leave London.”

Greydon continued speaking as if she hadn’t interrupted. “The problem is unrelated to your disappearance. As far as we could tell before we left, there was no gossip about your departure. It’s possible that no one beyond Jane even witnessed you leaving.”

“You should have waited to follow us until this morning,” Belinda said. “Then you could have checked the gossip rags.”

“Even if there was a witness, it won’t be in the scandal sheets,” Greydon replied, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the ground.

“Whyever not?” James asked.

“I’m paying a man quite handsomely to keep Belinda’s name out of the papers.”

“You what?” Belinda sputtered.

“You don’t like attention,” Greydon argued, a slight flush to his cheeks. “It was the least I could do.”

“Why would you—” Belinda stopped. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Greydon nodded. “If only I could take care of this problem in the same manner. Speculation and gossip are harder to control than the papers.” He paused, his gaze settling on James. “Unfortunately, the gossip I refer to is centered around your paternity.”

“What?” James fumbled through space, pulling Belinda’s arm off her hip so he could latch onto her hand.

Somewhere along the way, he’d stopped worrying whether society discovered that the duke was not his father.

Not because he didn’t care, but because he’d been too focused on Belinda to dedicate any energy to anything else.

The worry he’d neglected returned with vengeance. “How?”

“Before I explain, please know that you have my sincerest apologies,” Greydon replied, his face lined with misery.

“I promised you that we’d keep your secret, but I didn’t think to consider our mother.

I don’t know how she discovered it. I’ve only seen her twice since she’s been in London, and it never occurred to me that I needed to explain your connection to our family.

She’s usually too oblivious to notice anything that doesn’t directly impact her.

” As if realizing he was rambling, he shook his head once.

“Our mother announced to a room full of people that Emmeline is your sister. Em is going to try to smooth things over, but once gossip has started, it’s impossible to quell it completely.

If anyone realizes your mother grew up close to Danford Manor, it won’t be difficult for them to accept the gossip as true.

We will stand beside you, of course, but?—”

“My mother is still in London,” James interjected. “I must return.”

It was the worst time for him to be absent. She would be completely desolate when the gossip reached her ears. There was no telling what she might do, and while the last thing James wanted to do was go back, he couldn’t abandon her at a time like this.

“You don’t need to return. Your mother is being attended to,” Greydon assured him.

“I sent my mother and her husband Charles to call on her. They will explain what happened and convince her to return to your estate as soon as possible. Charles has already secured a post chaise and an appropriate traveling companion so she can depart as soon as she is ready.”

“You sent your mother to see my mother?” James sputtered, unable to imagine his mother coming face-to-face with the arbitrator of her doom.

“I admit it is not ideal, but Charles is rather adept at dealing with dramatic women, and he suggested that it might make sense for them to approach her before they return to the country. Their presence in your townhouse won’t increase suspicion.

” He gestured between Belinda and James.

“Once your interest in Belinda becomes public knowledge, it’ll make even more sense for them to drop in before she leaves. ”

His interest in Belinda .

Bollocks.

All the light. All the joy. All the happiness he’d experienced since kidnapping her flickered. Would he have to give her up? Let her go back to London without him? Was his name too soiled to be desirable?

It wouldn’t be fair to drag her into scandal. Even if she didn’t have a particular interest in society, would she want to be the wife of a man whom everyone knew wasn’t supposed to be the Duke of Avondale?

“Don’t you dare doubt my loyalty,” she warned, squeezing his hand as if she could read his mind.

“Belinda,” he whispered.

“James,” she demanded. “Look at me.”

With a steady breath, he raised his gaze and was struck by her steadiness.

“Ask me,” she ordered.

“What?” He blinked.

“Ask me.”

He blinked again. “Ask you?”

“I will say yes if you ask me. I’m not scared anymore.

” Her grip on his hand tightened, and she moved so she could grasp his other hand too.

“I’ve been lying to myself for years. Telling myself that I was fine being alone because it hurt too much to admit that I couldn’t connect with anyone.

My life was a never-ending cycle of wishing that I were different.

More normal. Less mercurial.” She licked her lips.

“I do not wish that when I am with you.”

He vaguely heard a door opening and then closing behind her brothers as she continued, “I want to share my life with you. I don’t care what society thinks of me. Or what society thinks of you. The only thing that matters to me is that we are together.”

His mouth opened. No sound came out.

“Ask me,” she whispered, leaning forward and pressing her lips briefly against his.

He blinked again, but this time it was to dislodge the tears that were welling in his eyes. It didn’t make sense that a potential scandal was the catalyst for obliterating her fear.

Or maybe it did.

She wasn’t the sort of woman who would allow him to suffer alone.

“You. Are. Spectacular.” He kissed her gently.

“I’ll probably feel guilty about dragging you into this scandal for the rest of our lives, but the thought of living without you is too depressing to bear.

When I decided to kidnap you, I promised myself I’d do everything in my power to convince you that we could be happy together.

I didn’t expect it to be so easy. Belinda, will you do me the tremendous honor of becoming my wife? ”

“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Take me to Scotland directly. There’s no reason for us to stop at your estate first and accidentally end up in a village across the border. Let’s make our future a deliberate choice rather than an act of happenstance.”

* * *

The next hour passed in a haze of discussion and activity.

Belinda hadn’t been able to convince her brothers to let her continue on to her wedding without a chaperone.

She’d given in to their refusal more quickly than James had expected, and he assumed she secretly wanted Edward and Violet at their wedding.

Family was important to her, so it wasn’t outlandish to think she might appreciate the comfort of their presence.

When Violet arrived at the inn, they hastily explained their plans and then prepared to leave. Greydon was returning to London forthwith, while the rest of them traveled across the border before settling at Bramblewood.

“I feel awful about leaving my scandal in your lap,” James confessed to Greydon quietly. Belinda had already climbed into the carriage with Violet, and all that was left was for James to mount his horse and join Edward in front of the carriage.

Greydon waved his apology away. “Don’t concern yourself about it. It isn’t really even your scandal. You aren’t responsible for your parents’ actions any more than I am for mine.”

“Your parents didn’t steal a dukedom.”

“Neither did yours. You said yourself that the duke was your father. No one can prove otherwise, and since you’re gone, no one will bother investigating.

By the time you return to London, the rumors will have faded.

People won’t forget, and they will linger, but the sting will fade as more time passes.

I believe you’re making the right choice to continue on your way now, and I’ll do my best to limit the fallout, but do not think, even for a moment, that you need to remain at your estate forever.

The threat of scandal always seems worse than the reality. ”

“Thank you,” James replied, grateful beyond measure. “I appreciate your support, and I appreciate your quick thinking in getting my mother out of London.”

“You are family.” Greydon turned his gaze to the carriage.

“Before you go, Belinda is quite dear to me, and it pains me that I can’t accompany you the rest of the way.

If Jane wasn’t in the middle of her season and if Emmeline was up for the trip, we would follow as soon as we were able.

As it is, I’m afraid it’ll be some time before we see you again.

” He reached out and grasped James’s shoulder.

“Please take care of my sister and let her take care of you in return.”

“I will. Thank you for giving us your blessing and for trusting me with her. She would have married me without your approval, but it eases her mind to have your support.”

“Belinda always has my support, and she always will.”

James nodded and swung up onto his horse. “Please send word if there are any further developments.”

“Will do.” Greydon patted the horse. “Safe travels. And congratulations.”