This made Gory feel worse.
How could she hate him when he was risking so much to protect Sarah and her daughter? “You need have no fear that Lord Thorne or I will ever break your confidence. Do what you must for Miss Martin. Let me know if I can help in any way.”
She now turned to his uncle’s ward. “My own uncle was murdered several days ago and the killer is still unknown. Our wedding must be put off because it is inappropriate for a celebration to go ahead as planned under the circumstances. You see, my uncle was my guardian. Our household is in mourning.”
She grimaced and continued. “Not that my aunt considers me a part of the household any longer. She despises me and does not even want me to attend the funeral. I would not be surprised if she has already tossed all my belongings onto the street. It is nothing new. She has always despised me.”
Allendale expressed surprise. “Gregoria, I am so sorry. I should have…well, there are many things I should have done. I did not think… Is this why you turned to Lord Thorne and not to me?”
He did not appear at all enraged, another confirmation that theirs would have been a distant and loveless marriage.
She nodded.
“So is this it then? Perhaps we can merely postpone until a more suitable time. Please, I do not want to lose you.”
“Oh, I do not think you will really care,” she said, now speaking gently but with certainty. “We both deserve better than what we were about to settle for. The breakup can be done discreetly. No one will question our ending the betrothal. They’ll blame the murder as the reason. They’ll also understand my circumstances have changed for the worse and I may not be quite the prize you expected. The new earl is a distant relation I have never met. I no longer have any significant standing in Society. Nor would anyone blame you if you doubted my innocence regarding my uncle’s murder.”
“I never doubted your innocence,” he assured her.
She was glad he felt this way, but it would not stop the gossips from spreading malicious lies. “The point is, no one will question your reasons when we break it off. The whispers will spread that you came to your senses before marrying that ghoulish Easton chit.”
He cast her a wry smile. “You did play it up quite a bit, scaring most of the young men who sought to court you.”
She winced to acknowledge the truth of his words. “In piling the blame on me, no one will bother to dig further about you and your reasons. This means Sarah and her daughter will safely remain a secret.”
“So I am to be saved while all the ill will falls upon you, Lady Gregoria?” Sarah remarked, looking dismayed.
Gory nodded. “They think the worst of me anyway. It is nothing new for me. However, Lord Thorne and his family will protect me. Do not worry, for I will be fine. Just do what you must to protect yourself and your daughter.”
Julius cleared his throat. “Allendale, there will be formalities to ending the betrothal. I’ll have my solicitor draw up the proper release papers this very day. I’ll let you know when they are ready.”
Allendale set his lips in a thin line. “What if I refuse?”
Gory’s heart beat faster in dismay, but Julius was the one to immediately respond. “You’ll lose everything. Lady Gregoria may be softhearted, but I am not.”
“Is that a threat, Thorne?” her betroth shot back with a growl.
“Take it any way you wish, but you will never get your hands on Lady Gregoria or her funds. It is all out of your reach now. Must I say more? You do not fool me for a moment. What’s it to be? An amicable parting…or must I have a chat with your uncle?”
Allendale’s expression was one of resignation. “I’ll sign whatever is put before me.”
Gory breathed a sigh of relief.
He now turned to her. “But in exchange for my cooperation, I ask that we merely tell everyone the wedding has been postponed due to Lord Easton’s death. Then in a few weeks we can declare the betrothal ended. We are less likely to draw less attention upon us if we proceed in this manner. I am only thinking of protecting your good name, Gregoria.”
“All right.” Gory was hoping it would end sooner, but could not complain about achieving the desired outcome. What did it matter if it took a week or two longer to be fully free of him? In truth, she was saddened it had to end this way.
Julius did not look pleased, but Sarah chose the moment to burst into tears and this ended their conversation.
Gory had never thought of Allendale as particularly tender or caring, but he was quite attentive to Sarah. Perhaps she was the one he secretly loved. Perhaps he and Sarah were in love with each other, and she had foolishly given herself to another man.
Dear heaven.
Gory had come so close to making this same mistake by agreeing to marry Allendale when her heart had always belonged to Julius.
As for Allendale, he had proposed to her because he purposely did not want to fall in love. He’d chosen her because he thought she would keep her distance, bury herself in her work at the Huntsford Academy, and leave him in peace to do whatever he wished to do with his life. He would not give a fig about her plans because he had no romantic feelings toward her.
All quite logically reasoned out and so pitifully sad.
