Page 15 of Wedded to the Cruel Duke
At that, she could not help the slight blush that rose to her cheeks. While it could not be denied that he was cold, mysterious, and perhaps a littleodd, no one could ever say that the Marquess of Wentworth was not an attractive man.
His sinfully good looks and masculine physique, combined with his titles and immense wealth would make him one of the most eligible bachelors in London, despite whatever character flaws he was presumed to have.
“Mama,” she said softly, squeezing her mother’s hands in turn. “You know that this is thebestsolution to our predicament. If I marry the Marquess, not only would I become a Marchioness, but it shall spare Daphne and Minerva the pain of having to uproot their entire lives and live like outcasts on the fringes of Society. You know I cannot subject them to that.”
“Yes, but there must be some other way,” her mother insisted, tears shining in her eyes. “There has to be, my darling. One that does not require you to bind yourself to a man you hardly know.”
“Mama, he is our neighbor,” she said gently. “And the fact that he even offered for my hand as soon as the scandal broke out speaks a lot to his character as well.”
“Phoebe is right, my dear,” her father smiled at his wife. “Lord Wentworth might be a lot of things, but I must admit that today, he has shown himself to be a man of good character.”
She had seen her mother wavering, but when she heard her father speak, she knew that Lady Townsend had already been won over. A mother only wants what is best for her daughter, and her Mama knew that as difficult as it was to accept, this was the best solution going forward.
“All right,” Lady Townsend finally relented with a sigh. “But some sort of announcement must be made, or it will only encourage those who have spread this nasty scandal to make things even worse.”
Lord Townsend let out a small smile. “Of course, but we must first let Lord Wentworth know of our decision. The man has been waiting in the parlor for much too long.”
“See, Mama?” Phoebe teased her mother. “That only shows that he has the patience of a saint as well.”
“Well, I hope he shows you that same patience every single day for the rest of your lives together,” Lady Townsend murmured.
“Of course,” she reassured her anxious mother. “We are going to live happily together, respecting each other.”
She linked her arms with her mother as they walked back into the parlor. She hoped that she looked far more confident than she felt inside.
When Lord Wentworth saw them, he immediately stood up and his gaze fell upon her. It might have just been her wishful fantasy, but she swore that she saw his eyes soften just the slightest bit.
Even then, she had never seen such a beautiful shade of blue in all the world.
I am doing this, she told herself, still somewhat awestruck by the rapidly progressing events.I am actually marryinghim—the Marquess of Wentworth!
Deep down, however, she was not quite so sure that it was cause for celebration.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Charles took his time to stir the sugar in his tea, watching as Lord and Lady Townsend took their seats. Miss Phoebe had already taken the seat opposite him, but this time, she did not duck her head, nor did she avert her gaze from his.
No, she looked right at him instead.
Her eyes were naturally round, and clear and inquisitive, as if she was genuinely curious about him. Charles had been so used to studying the world around him, always on the lookout for aberrations of any sort, that he found it both novel and discomfiting to be the object of study himself.
“We apologize for making you wait overlong, Lord Wentworth,” Lord Townsend told him. His voice had taken on a softer tone. More resigned, it would seem. “You must understand—this has all come as a sort of a shock to us.”
Charles merely shrugged. “On the contrary, it is to be expected somewhat.”
Lady Townsend frowned. “What do you mean by that, my Lord?”
He looked over at Miss Phoebe, whose brow had furrowed a little in confusion. It was quite adorable, really, how she seemed to be waiting for an explanation. Very well, he was going to appease her curiosity in the matter.
“Miss Phoebe is a beautiful young lady, objectively speaking,” he explained. “It is only natural that someone would wish to damage her reputation in such an insidious manner to… shall we say, remove her as an obstacle.”
At that moment, he was treated to the very hilarious sight of Miss Phoebe spewing her tea back into her cup and he could not resist a small smile. Yes, she was indeed a rather fascinating creature.
“You do realize that I am aspinster, my Lord?” she remarked with a dubious tone. “That should mean that I am hardly anyone’s obstacle, as far as marriage-seeking goes.”
“Nonsense.” Charles remained unperturbed by her claim.
A spinster, indeed. It would seem that all of London had gone blind since he withdrew from the social scene. Either that, or Society’s standards had fallen so low. Or exceedingly bizarre.