“I’ll make it up to them,” Edward said, sounding not in the least contrite.
Jonas frowned at him. “How? You do not have the blunt to make them whole.”
Edward laughed. “But you do. I plan to borrow it from you.”
Jonas could not help but laugh, much as he wished to remain serious.
But honestly, were all men plagued by such families?
He loved his mother and brother, of course. He also loved his younger sisters, who were both quite happily settled in London,married to fine husbands, and giving said husbands a host of children.
In truth, he could not ask for a better family, even though they could all be quite irritating. They claimed he was even more so, but he was the duke and had every right to be insufferable.
“Mother, let’s cut short this farce. You need to find a way to send those young ladies and their parents home.”
“No, I am not going to do it. You need to stop your holier-than-thou attitude and see these young ladies for the prizes they are. Granted, they were not taught the importance of a love match such as I happily shared with your father. Nor did I ever expect to marry for love, since ours was a negotiated arrangement. And yet it grew into a beautiful marriage filled with love and respect between us. These diamonds are excellent matches in every regard. And who is to say they will not grow to love you?”
“They’ll grow tohateme, is what they’ll do. If I marry, it will be to someone I can trust to keep her legs shut to other men.” He grunted as he raked a hand through his hair. “I am leaving the two of you in charge of entertaining our guests for the day.”
“Where will you be?” his mother asked.
“Seeking refuge at the vicarage. I’m going to look in on Miss Temple because she is another one with a mind of her own and is going to damage her shoulder by attending to church business when she ought to be resting.” He took a deep breath. “I am going to invite her and her uncle to supper tonight.”
His mother shot to her feet. “You cannot.”
“Why not?” Jonas asked.
“The other ladies will believe she is their competition and…” She emitted a defeated sigh. “They might not be very nice to her.”
“Their competition? That is laughable,” he retorted, even though she had perhaps struck too close to home. “Well, good.So what? Let them think I am considering her, and we shall see their true colors come out, won’t we?”
“At the expense of Miss Temple’s hurt feelings?” Edward frowned. “Is this the only reason you want her here? To give others the impression that she has captured your heart? But that is quite a low thing for you to do if she hasn’t, and now you are making her think that there could be something more between the two of you. Giving her that hope is not only low, but cruel, especially if you are only using her to chase the others away. You do realize you would be tossing her to the wolves.”
“I’ll protect her,” Jonas said with a stubborn set to his jaw, for he would never let anyone hurt Ailis, and how could his brother believe otherwise?
Edward seemed unconvinced. “You cannot repel their onslaught once it begins. I thought you had a better understanding of this Marriage Mart business. It is cutthroat. Ruthless. Miss Temple will be defenseless against their attacks.”
“I am sending her the invitation. You underestimate Miss Temple’s abilities. I will make it up to her if anyone insults her.”
“And will you also make certain she understands you have no interest in her? That you asked her here to endure the mockery of others just for your convenience and nothing more?”
Jonas let out a heavy breath. “I’ll see you later. I have to get out of here.”
He strode out, leaving his mother and brother gaping at him. They began whispering between themselves before he had even made it out of the study. Obviously plotting something to do with him.
Were there not enough plots and counterplots going on already under his own roof?
“Grimes, have my carriage readied.”
The reliable butler regarded him with some surprise. “At once, Your Grace. Will you be riding out with company?”
“No, I shall be blessedly on my own. My mother and Lord Langford will attend to the guests for the rest of the day.”
“And should a guest ask where you have gone? What may I tell them?”
“It is no one’s business, that’s what you are to tell them.”
“Very good, Your Grace,” Grimes said with all solemnity, and remained watching Jonas as he climbed into his carriage a few minutes later.
