Page 13 of The Pirate’s Stolen Bride (Cavalier Cove)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NOTHING BUT A BURDEN
A t Viscount Prescott’s manor, Harriet’s time with Rémy began to fade into dreamlike unreality. Yet one thing remained fixed in her mind: she did not want him punished for kidnapping her. She had to make her uncle see reason.
Upon their arrival, she had been ushered into the care of Miss Clarissa Penfirth, the viscount’s visiting cousin, and told they would discuss it after she had recovered.
Now Harriet was fed, clean, and ready to argue.
“You should be resting,” he said grumpily when she strode into Viscount Prescott’s library. “You still have a cough. You must recover in time for your wedding.”
“I am not marrying Lord Lucarran.”
The duke dropped his head into his hands. “Yes, Harriet, you are.”
“No, I am not, and if you would only listen to me, you would understand why.”
“Fine. Do inform me why you are acting like a petulant child instead of a grown woman with a responsibility to honor her word.”
Harriet swallows her hurt. “I don’t regret breaking my promise to Lucarran. While I was with Rémy, I learned that the earl is not a man of honor. You have been deceived. He shows one side of himself to you, but he treats his tenants poorly. Had I known about his cruel streak I wouldn’t have agreed to marry him.”
“I suppose you learned this from your entirely truthful and wholly upstanding kidnapper.”
“Rémy didn’t kidnap me,” Harriet declared for what felt like the umpteenth time. She had tried to argue during their ride back to Viscount Prescott’s manor. Uncle Monty had refused to listen then, either.
Lord Montague sighed. “We saw the Frenchman put you over his shoulder and carry you down a hidden stairwell. We heard you screaming. How is that not kidnapping?”
“I admit it started off that way,” she hedged. Think, Harriet! There had to be a way to convince him that she’d chosen to be with Rémy willingly. “When the Riders arrived at the Windswept Tides Inn, he tried to leave me there so they would find me. I refused to stay behind. I wanted to go with him.”
“You were upset, Harriet. You were rationalizing staying with the man who saved you from drowning. Yet he was the one who put you in danger in the first place, is he not?”
She opened her mouth and shut it again, unable to find any counterargument. She wouldn’t have been anywhere near the waves if not for Rémy’s intervention.
“He didn’t do it on purpose. He was helping me.”
Lord Montague stared at her. Even Miss Clarissa Penfirth, whose unassuming presence Harriet had almost forgotten about, blinked in surprise.
“Helping you…by kidnapping you?” Miss Penfirth echoed.
“He knew I didn’t want to marry Lucarran.” How many times did she have to say it before her uncle listened? He could be infuriatingly stubborn. They were arguing in circles.
“I wish you had told me that before we trekked halfway across England to bring you to him.”
“You could have had us married in London,” Harriet pointed out.
“It was Lucarran’s request that the wedding take place in his home country. Do you have any comprehension of the time and money I have devoted to making these arrangements? Special dispensations. Pleading with the Church. Travel expenses. My own time. I have been forced to beg, Harriet. You know I despise having to ask for any boon, yet I have done it over and over to make this possible. Now you want to turn him down? I will not stand for it.”
Harriet shrank. But Miss Penfirth’s sympathetic look shored up her courage.
“Uncle Monty, you presented me with one choice, take it or leave it. You made it very clear that if I refused Lord Lucarran, I would remain at Acton Heath as your perpetual ward and nothing but a burden. I only said yes to his offer because you so obviously wanted me to and I was desperate to please you.”
She could not possibly marry the earl now, knowing what Rémy’s touch did to her. But she could only imagine the duke’s reaction if she told him she was no longer innocent. He must suspect.
Lord Montague paced the carpet.
“You are not a burden, Harriet. My sister, in her impulsive youth, made a great mistake and you have been the one to bear the blame. The only way to rectify her error is if you marry a proper gentleman.” His already-thunderous scowl darkened. “One that required a considerable bribe to secure. Your marriage contract includes a generous supplement to your dowry that I will forfeit if you break the agreement.”
How deflating. Lucarran hadn’t even genuinely desired her, and God knew the man was no catch, despite his title.
Her fortitude wavered in the face of Lord Montague’s anger, but again, a slight encouragement from Miss Penfirth gave her the strength to continue speaking.
“I would have been satisfied with any gentleman, provided he showed an interest in me. But no one ever did. During my Seasons, you only permitted me to associate with titled men, who only wanted to court titled women. I was so afraid of making the same mistake my mother did that I never challenged you. I was sure you had my best interests at heart.”
“I do,” the duke snapped.
“Hear me out, Uncle. Rémy didn’t need to know my name to see how unhappy I was. He is the first person who ever truly saw me. Harriet. Not the illegitimate disgrace, but the woman with her own heart and mind.”
A cold silence swept through the room.
“I am not your little niece in need of protection anymore,” she added. “I can make my own decisions. I am pleading with you to help Rémy make amends for his crimes, which I do not believe to be as bad as they have been painted by the Waterguard. No one was injured when his cousin sank that ship. He brings goods to England, but he is French. He owes nothing to the King of England. If anything, it is the people who accept his goods who ought to be paying the duties.”
Harriet wasn’t entirely clear on how excise taxes worked, but this felt true. The Cornish people were insular and clearly took no issue with smuggling as a general proposition, yet they were plenty happy to let Rémy take the blame for a crime they all collectively committed. The dynamic offended her sense of fairness even if it didn’t bother Rémy. He certainly didn’t deserve to hang for it.
“Clearly, my darling little niece is still in need of protection, if this is the kind of decision she makes when left to her own devices.”
Lord Montague strode out of the sitting room, leaving Harriet crestfallen.
Miss Penfirth touched her arm. “I know we have only just met, Miss Turner, but I have had several days to become acquainted with your uncle. I trust you will understand when I advise you to let him think for a bit. He despises being backed into a corner. Give him time, and he will come around.”
“Will he?” Harriet said despairingly.
“I believe so. In the meantime, I have a suggestion. Come. Let us speak with my cousin. Viscount Prescott may have an idea.”