“Are you well, Papa?” he asked. “I am so sorry he came here, though I do not understand why. He should have come to me at Pembridge.”
Christopher put his hand on Roi, his emotional son, and pulled him closer as if fearful Roi would break away and throttle Robin right in front of him.
“Cheltenham is a valuable ally,” he said simply. “This situation is… difficult. He came to offer his condolences, but he also wants to know what we intend to do about the situation now that it has happened. He paid for a husband. He wants one or he wants his money back.”
Roi’s jaw twitched furiously as he looked at Robin still sitting in the chair. “I shall give him his money back,” he rumbled. “I will shove it right down his contemptible throat.”
“Roi,” Christopher snapped softly. “I realize you are upset. We are all upset. But I told you that this was an important situation to us all. Cheltenham would like to be allied with us by marriage, and whoever marries his daughter will inherit the earldom. That is quite a prize, and one I intend to keep, so this is not all his doing.”
When Roi realized that his father wasn’t all for kicking Robin from Lioncross, he looked at the man sharply. “What do you intend to do?”
Christopher sighed heavily. “I have other grandsons,” he said. “I also have other sons that are not married. That is what Lord Cheltenham and I were discussing.”
Roi’s brow furrowed. “Then you do not want me to give the money back?”
Christopher shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “For the good of all of us, I would like to provide Cheltenham with a de Lohr son. He will be the next Earl of Cheltenham.”
Roi stared at his father, understanding what the man was saying. One way or the other, Robin would get his de Lohr husband and Christopher would have an alliance with Cheltenham. That was what all of this boiled down to—he could see that both of them were in on it. Both were determined to have an alliance, no matter the cost. But in this case, Christopher was determined that the earldom would have a de Lohr name. One more feather in the cap of the de Lohr empire. But the problem was that his father hadn’t made the bargain in the first place.
Roi had.
This was all his doing.
At that realization, he began to feel sick. It occurred to him what he had to do, what the most logical choice in this situation would be, though he was loath to do it. The more he thought on it, the sicker he felt until he finally, and reluctantly, opened his mouth.
“You needn’t select a de Lohr son or grandson, Papa,” he said, suddenly sounding quite resigned. “It is not your responsibility to shoulder the problem that originated with me. I made the bargain. I would not ask anyone else to assume the burden.”
Christopher looked at him curiously. “What do you mean?”
Roi’s gaze lingered on his father for a moment before finally turning to Robin.
“You want a de Lohr husband?” he said. “Then you shall have one. Not a grandson of the earl, either, but a son. A son with wealth, reputation, property, and title. You can have me, Robin. It is only right, since your daughter was to marry my son. I shall wed your daughter in his stead, and then you can have everything you want.”
Robin shot to his feet. “You?” he said. “Youwill marry her?”
“I am the best candidate. And the moral one.”
He was right, and they all knew it. If the son could not marry the daughter, it was not only expected, but preferred that the widowed father marry the daughter in his son’s stead. That had been the one solution neither Robin nor Christopher had suggested, given the fact that Roi was undoubtedly mourning his son. Adding a new wife on top of that would have been too much for any man.
But Roi made the offer.
Robin’s jaw went slack as he took a few steps toward Roi, absolutely stunned by the offer.
“But you…” he said. “Are you serious, Roi?”
“I am.”
“You’re twice her age.”
“I have seen forty years and three.”
“She has only seen twenty.”
“That does not matter, and you know it,” Roi said steadily. “Age has no bearing here. I have more money than you do. I have property, prestige, and political position, and a family name that is respected throughout England. I have proven that I can father children, and, quite honestly, I am sure you would rather have your daughter married to a man who knows how to treat a wife than some young lord who has no concept of how a marriage should be conducted. I understand how to treat a woman. What more could you want?”
Nothing. That was the point—there was nothing more Robin could want. It was the perfect solution. The more he thought on it, the more thrilled he was.
“Roi,” he said with sincerity in his tone. “I am truly at a loss for words. I never expected to marry my daughter to the second son of the Earl of Hereford and Worcester. That is a great and noble destiny for any woman.”
