Now is the time,she told herself.Put a stop to it.
But before any action could be taken, and before the officiant could continue, a loud thud from the church doors opening interrupted them.
All eyes turned to the back of the church, gasps rippling through the crowd. And then, as everyone was in a state of collective shock, there was only silence. Isadora’s breath caught.
Evan Marwood stood in the doorway.
He had kept his promise!
Oh, the relief that washed over her was immense.He was late,infuriatingly so,but he had arrived at last.
To his credit, the Duke was calm, as if he had simply arrived late to an ordinary gathering. There was no rush in his stance, no apology in his expression. He surveyed the room, eyes sweeping past the horrified onlookers. Then, at last, he found Isadora.
He had the audacity to wink at her before shifting his attention to the altar.
“Ah,” he said, his voice cutting clean through the heavy silence. “Very sorry to interrupt this little gathering, but I do believe there has been an unfortunate mistake.”
At the altar, the Marquess looked ready to murder him. His face twisted with fury, his nostrils flaring as he clenched his fists.
“What is the meaning of this?” he yelled.
Evan, however, did not even glance at him. Instead, he turned smoothly to George Morton, who stood frozen in his place, his mouth slightly ajar as if trying to process what had just happened.
“I have come here to collect my payments,” he announced, simply. When he noticed the astonished expressions on everyone’s face, he explained further.
“Oh, is this a surprise to you?” Evan said, his tone almost conversational, “I suppose Hartenshire forgot to mention his towering debtsbeforehe planned this wedding.”
George blinked, his confusion evident. “Debts? No, he had assured me that his business had been doing rather well.”
“Ah. I see. Then he must have forgotten to mention them. I cannot say I am surprised. The Marquess has a tendency to play up his worth, pretend to be a rich man when the reality is far from it.”
George’s face darkened as he turned slowly toward Harry, whose already ruddy complexion deepened to a darker shade of red.
“Is this true?” George demanded.
Harry’s jaw twitched. “This is absurd. There are no debts to speak of. His Grace seems to have some personal grudge against me.”
Evan shrugged his shoulders. Isadora could not help but notice how sure of himself he seemed at every step—like he feared no one. It was notthe stance of someone who had just interrupted a wedding.
If it had been Isadora in his place, she would have been shaking from the anticipation alone.
“There is no personal grudge, no.” The Duke walked to the front, now facing the audience. “Lord Hartenshire owes half the ton money including me. An amount, I might add, that greatly exceeds his current wealth. I suppose he forgot to mention that to you, Lord Morton.”
The reaction was instant. More gasps, some nods of approval, and heads turning to one another in disbelief.
“Ah, see?” Evan smirked. “Even some of the people in here seem to agree with me. How pitiful is that?” Evan turned to the Lord. “Did you manage to borrow money fromeveryoneon the face of this planet?”
“He has not said anything about borrowing money from me,” George answered though he appeared quite furious.
“Not directly, but do you really think he is marrying your daughter from the goodness of his heart?” Evan challenged. “Or perhaps because he stands to gain something in terms of material wealth?”
“That is quite the accusation. Is he telling the truth?” George asked Harry, turning red.
Harry’s expression turned murderous. “The Duke is just trying to cause trouble. Who among us does not have a few debts?” he said, trying to defend himself though his tone lacked any sort of conviction. “I will pay back every single one of them soon enough,” he ground out through clenched teeth.
Evan’s lips curled into something almost resembling a smile. “Pay them back. But the last I heard was that you had exhausted all of your personal means and are on the verge of bankruptcy. So, I wonder, will it be Lady Morton’s dowry that allows you to do so?”
Harry’s face resembled that of a child who had been caught by a parent doing something naughty.
