“You round-heeled little chit!” Lady Longmorten squawked like an insulted peahen. “Causing a scene merely to draw attention away from your whoring after the man my daughter is engaged to marry.”
“The engagement is off,” Wolfe said as he descended upon them with long, purposeful strides. “Why would I marry a woman intent on doing my brother and sister harm? A woman whose mother would gladly see to their disposal as if they were nothing more than scraps from the dinner table?” He glared at Sir Andrew. “Why would I want a woman who thinks me such a fool that I wouldn’t even notice her lover living under the same roof as us?”
Both Lady Margaret and Lady Longmorten paled while Sir Andrew became even more red-faced. “You insult me, Your Grace,” the knight said. “I demand satisfaction.”
“Any time. Any place. Any weapon. Have your second contact mine.” Wolfe swaggered closer. “And while I’m at it, would you also be insulted to learn that Lady Margaret intended to leave for Gretna Green with the Earl of Middlebie on the morrow? He drank himself into delirium because he wished her to leave with him today.”
“What?” Sir Andrew looked not at Lady Margaret but at her mother. “Did you know of this?”
“Of course I did not know of this, you fool. And how could that be true? The drunken ape was bemoaning his inability to snare a Broadmere daughter and her dowry.” Lady Longmorten shook a finger at Grace. “You ruined everything. Everything! But my daughter and I shall prevail. You can have Wolfebourne. Keep him in good health. But we shall have everything but his entailed properties. The two of you will be the Duke and Duchess of Paupers.”
“You are a pitiful creature,” Grace told the bitter woman. She barely restrained herself from clawing out her eyes and snatching off her hair. The only thing saving Lady Longmorten from a robust thrashing was Grace’s delayed regret for ruining Serendipity’s picnic. “And you have spoiled an otherwise lovely day. Get off Broadmere land, out of my sight, and tell your solicitor he best study his facts well, because the attempted murder of a peer’s brother and sister far outweighs something as ridiculous as a breach of promise. As a matter of fact, I am sure there must be a clause in there somewhere regarding your daughter’s purity. There usually is. Shall we ask the village doctor to examine her? I’m sure we can clear one of the tents to grant her some privacy.”
“Gracie!” Serendipity stood nearby, eyes flashing and cheeks as crimson as roses.
A deeper regret swept through Grace.Poor Seri.Perhaps shehadgone a bit far with that one. But if they were going to entertain their guests with a show, they might as well offer them an exemplary spectacle they wouldn’t soon forget. “Is Lord Middlebie awake yet? Perhaps he would like to leave with the ladies, since he is so anxious to get to Gretna Green.”
“They are mine!” Sir Andrew roared, reacting with more passion than the man had ever exhibited before.
“They?” Grace asked as loudly as possible to ensure none of the guests missed it. “Are we to understand that you share motheranddaughter?”
Sir Andrew stormed toward Grace, only halting when Wolfe stepped in and blocked his way. Wild eyed, the knight bared his teeth. “They are mine. Both of them.”
“Silence yourself, you fool!” Lady Longmorten told him.
“Oh, Mama, please,” Lady Margaret said with a pitiful wail.
“My solicitor made you an offer this morning, my lady,” Wolfe said to Lady Longmorten. “Shall I send him back around with the papers you and Lady Margaret refused to sign?”
“Yes!” Lady Margaret snapped before her mother could answer. “Please do, Your Grace. Freedom will be a refreshing change.” She turned and glared at Lady Longmorten. “As will Scotland and the attention of a man who wishes to be a real husband to me.”
“Do not dare defy me,” Lady Longmorten said. “You can’t marry that empty-pocketed Scot!”
“As soon as he recovers from his whisky, we set off for Gretna Green, and I shall sign over my properties and allowance—over which you have no authority.”
“Walters!” Serendipity clapped her hands. “Have the footmen escort the Longmortens and Sir Andrew out.”
“And throw Middlebie in the carriage with them,” Chance said.
Grace clenched her fists to keep from latching on to Lady Longmorten again. She so badly wanted to punish the woman for hurting Sissy. But a glance at Serendipity stayed her hand. It would be a long while before Serendipity forgave her for such a spectacle.
Chapter Fourteen
Wolfe stood besidethe fence row, watching Grace tromp across the field with her hounds. She appeared to be trying to instill some semblance of discipline into the seven half-grown pups that would probably never go to different homes—especially if Grace, Connor, and Sissy had their way about it.
He propped his arms atop the wooden rail and leaned against the fence. He didn’t care if they ended up with a thousand dogs at Wolfebourne Lodge as long as Grace was his forevermore.
She had fought like a lioness, protecting his brother and sister with no thought to the rumors her actions would trigger. Gratitude and adoration did not begin to describe all he felt for her. The woman amazed him, humbled him, and he loved her with a terrifying fury. If he’d had his way about it, they too would have eloped to Gretna Green and returned to Binnocksbourne as man and wife.
But she wished to wait because of the damage she’d done to the annual Broadmere picnic. The gossips would retell the story about this year’s event for ages to come, and his softhearted wife-to-be felt guilty about spoiling her sister Serendipity’s perfect day even though it was not entirely Grace’s fault. If any one person should shoulder the blame, it was him. He was the common thread running through the entire tapestry of all that had gone wrong that day.
At his feet, Gastric groaned and rolled over, turning the other side of his pink belly toward the sun. Galileo perched atop thenearest fencepost, the stoic feline war general overseeing the troops’ training. Hector bounced alongside Grace, attempting to help her keep the puppies and older hounds herded in some semblance of order.
Connor and Sissy were enjoying a day with their friends in the village. The vicar and his wife had invited all the children known to have taken part in spying on the Longmortens to enjoy a day of serving the church by sprucing up the grounds, followed by a much calmer picnic that was not fraught with such astonishing gossip. The couple had also promised to instill a proper biblical sense of that which was right and that which was wrong in the young ones, but Wolfe suspected the vicar and his wife also wanted access to any additionalon ditthat the children might not have already shared about his former fiancée, her mother, and their lover, Sir Andrew. The man of the cloth and his spouse had been quite entranced by all the truths that had come to light at the Broadmere picnic.
A glance back at the line of great, sprawling oaks shading the outskirts of the manicured grounds surrounding the manor house revealed the remainder of the Broadmere family and extended families. They were not about to grant Wolfe and Grace any compromising time to themselves, and from the look of it, they fully intended to guard her virtue en masse.
He didn’t care. Well, he did, but he was still grateful for any time spent with her.
