They gasped in unison and stared at him, aghast.
“But it is theSeason,” Eleanor said, her high-pitched whine angering him even more.
“You ended your London Season when you attacked the Broadmeres, a finer family never to be found.” He calmly folded his hands in his lap. “What shall it be, cousins? India or the country?” He focused on Eleanor. “Or perhaps one of each? Eleanor to India to proceed with her arranged marriage and Agnus to the country? I rather like the sound of that.”
Agnus fisted her lacy handkerchief, clutching it to her chest. “Please do not separate us, my lord. I beg you.”
“Then both to India?” He arched a brow, knowing they would choose the small cottage on the edge of the Lake District near the village whose name he couldn’t recall.
Agnus reached over and clutched Eleanor’s hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. “We shall move to the country and be grateful for your tolerance.”
Chapter Seven
“Did you notthink it strange that Essie would sendEleanorto fetch you?” Grace gently asked. “I mean—of all people.”
“I do not need reminding of my naïveté or my stupidity, but thank you, dear sister, for being kind enough to do so anyway.” Fortuity paced the breadth and width of the siblings’ shared sitting room that connected their bedrooms. How in the world had she allowed Eleanor to trap her so easily? And after she’d informed the conniving little chit that they were all smarter than that and knew better than to trust her? Eleanor must surely be laughing so heartily right now that she spewed tea out her nose.
“Other than joining a nunnery, I can think of no way out of this that will not drag us all into ruin.” Fortuity stopped pacing and threw up her hands. “I could tolerate being ruined. Who knows? Such a scandal might even make my books more enticing to publishers and readers alike. But it would also taint the rest of you. It is simply not fair, and there is nothing I can do about it. I am truly doomed.”
Grace hefted one of her overly plump hounds up onto the settee beside her. “But you do love him, so it will be all right in the end. Will it not?”
“Would you want the man you loved forced to marry you out of a sense of duty? He never wanted to marry, Gracie. Never!” Fortuity hugged herself tighter as she made another circuit around the room. The hot chocolate she had forced down hours ago raged in her stomach like a stormy sea. It would surely bea miracle if it didn’t come sloshing back out. “And Chance is less than delighted with what happened. Did you see his face at breakfast?”
“That is only because your marriage of convenience does not satisfy the requirements of Mama and Papa’s will. He knows if Mr. Sutherland gets wind of your marrying for the sole reason of saving the rest of us from ruin, things will get messy, and he might never come into the full of his inheritance. You know how Chance hates the restrictions of his monthly stipend. He considers himself a duke in name only until all of us are happily married, and Mr. Sutherland presents him with the key to all the coffers.”
Fortuity gave up on pacing and plopped down onto the lounge in front of the hearth. “I cannot marry him, Gracie. Not like this. It isn’t right. Not when I love him, but he does not love me.” Her stomach churned harder, making her curl her toes and tense to keep from casting up her accounts. “I would only end up loving him more, and when he eventually took a mistress, it would break my heart.”
“Why would you think he would take a mistress?” Grace scratched behind her dog’s floppy ears until the beast started kicking its back leg in delight. “Did you sleep any last night? Your arguments are weak this morning, and that is so unlike you.”
Serendipity and Merry entered the room, their cautious expressions tensing Fortuity even more.
“He is here to speak with Chance, isn’t he?” She clapped a hand over her mouth and concentrated on slow, deep breaths to keep from being ill.
“Oh dear. She has gone quite green.” Merry rushed to the bellpull and rang for the maid.
Serendipity sat beside Fortuity on the lounge, grabbed her by the back of the neck, and forced her to bend forward and put herhead between her knees. “Breathe in and hold it to a count of five, then breathe out, and do it all over again.”
Fortuity twisted away and straightened. “I am not about to swoon, Seri. I am about to eject my breakfast chocolate into the chamber pot.”
Her sister gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “But I thought you were quite fond of Lord Ravenglass?”
“I shall ask you”—Fortuity turned and glared at Merry—“and you as well, the same thing I asked Gracie. Would either of you wish for the man you loved to beforcedto marry you?”
Merry shrugged. “It would simplify things, actually.”
“What?” Fortuity stared at her, unable to understand her youngest sister’s reasoning.
“Once married, he would be trapped, and I would have more time to make him love me back.” Merry bobbed a satisfied nod. “Much easier than trying to win him when he still had options.”
Serendipity gave young Merry an impressed look. “I agree completely.”
Fortuity sagged forward and held her head in her hands. “The two of you defy logic.”
“Why?” Merry asked. “Because we know how to make the best of a situation?”
“She thinks he will take a mistress,” Grace told them in an overly loud whisper.
Fortuity lifted her head. “I can still hear you.”
