Dozens of wide eyes darted his way in unison. But the only eyes that mattered to Hudson were those belonging to Tabitha.
“This injustice cannot continue,” he said. Softly, firmly. Not a shout, but a voice that carried throughout every corner of the chapel. “Not this day, and not any day. Stop the wedding. Stop all of this. It should never have started.”
“Now see here—” began Lord Oldfield, his cheeks mottled with anger.
Hudson whirled on him. “I’ve seen everything I need to see. Thanks to standing in your shadow for over a decade, I’ve seen the careless disregard you hold for other people, for women in general, for this woman in specific. She doesn’t want you. You don’t even want her. And you certainly don’t want to heal old family rifts. All you care about is her dowry.”
Gasps ricocheted throughout the chapel.
Viscount Oldfield vibrated with embarrassment. “My financial circumstances are not the business of this congregation. As my man of business, you—”
“—are not your anything anymore,” Hudson interrupted. “Consider this my resignation. And, if the lady agrees, a new beginning.”
Tabitha’s eyes widened. Hudson turned his attention to her.
“This isn’t the future you want,” he said softly. “So don’t take it. Do you know what matters more than an agreement someone else made before you were even born? You do. You matter. This is your life, Tabitha. You’re the one most impacted by whatever does or doesn’t happen here today. You shouldn’t be given the power to decide for yourself. You should already have it. You do have it, if you’re brave enough to act on it.”
“Act…how?” she whispered.
“Do you want to marry Lord Oldfield?” he asked quietly.
She froze, her eyes enveloping him for a long moment. Silence grew about them, thick as gravy. Tabitha sucked in an audible breath, then gave a short, decisive shake of her head.
Gasps echoed around the chapel.
“Then don’t do it.” He grasped her hands.
“Now, wait just a minute, Mr. Frampton—” the marquess rasped.
“No, you wait,” Hudson said, earning even more shocked responses from the rapt audience. “Your daughter has spent her entire life doing her level best to please you. She wants to be dutiful. She wants you to be proud of her. But what about your duty as a father? Should you not be proud of this wonderful woman you’ve raised, without obligating her to submit to being a pawn or a plaything to a man who spent the wee hours of this very morning gambling and whoring on credit, because he sees your daughter as a purse rather than as a person?”
Tabitha’s eyes filled with tears.
Hudson pressed her fingers to his lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to find out like this—”
“I’ve known,” she managed in humiliation. “I just didn’t know that everybody else knew, too.”
The marquess harrumphed. “I’m certain you’re overstating the extent of the matter, but… What a man does on his own time is neither your nor Tabitha’s concern.”
“That’s right,” Lord Oldfield put in. “Just because I have a few flaws—”
“Your flaws are not of Lady Tabitha’s concern… if she doesn’t marry you.” Still holding Tabitha’s hands, Hudson dropped to his knees and gazed up at her beseechingly. “You deserve a man who wants you. I want you. You deserve a man who loves you. I love you. You deserve a man who would spend his last breath in praise of you, or protecting you, or picking wildflowers with you. Anything that brings a smile to your face.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath.
He forged on. “Pleasing you is no sacrifice. It is how I will gladly spend the rest of my life, if you let me. Which should be your decision. If you want me, you need only to say so. And if you do not want me, again, you need only to say so. All I desire is for you to have anything and everything you desire. That’s what love is.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
Hope shot through him. “Then do something about it. Leave here, with me. Be my wife. Let me dedicate the rest of my days to ensuring every moment of your life is full of joy.”
Her voice wobbled. “I would love that. But we’re in the middle of a ceremony…”
“An easily resolvable situation,” he promised. “To be clear, that was a yes?”
She bit her lip, then grinned. “An enthusiastic yes. I just don’t see how—”
“Watch carefully.” He dropped her hands and grabbed her waist instead, tossing her over his shoulder as he pushed to his feet.
