“She made it very clear that she doesn’t wish to see me again because she wishes to spare me from public ridicule. She even returned all the presents I gave her and rejected my offer to pay for her dowry.”
Peter swallowed, his expression full of remorse. “I am sorry,” he said.
“I am not,” he said. “Joanna made a practical assessment of the situation and was kind enough to consider my feelings over her own. There is nothing to be done about it now. Please gather all the staff in the ballroom.”
His brother nodded. “Of course.”
Evan went up the stairs to his study so he could have a moment alone, but he found his grandmother waiting for him.
She was glaring at him, holding up her copy of the scandal sheets. “Can you explain this?”
“Later, Grandmother,” he said. “I need a moment alone, and then I am going to talk to the staff.”
“Where were you this morning?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.
He sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to budge on this issue. “I went to Clifford Manor with the intention of proposing to Joanna.”
Her face went white with panic. “Well, you must end the engagement at once.”
He frowned, certain that he had misheard her. “Excuse me?”
“You hear what I said. You must end it, Evan. I will not have you married to some gold digger.”
His anger flared with every word from his grandmother, along with his confusion. “Until recently, you didn’t care who I married, as long as I did so. I thought you liked Joanna.”
His grandmother gave him a stern look. “I did, but I am allowed to change my opinion, aren’t I? End the engagement.”
“There is nothing for me to end!” he shouted. He took a deep breath. “We are not engaged. In fact, we were never properly courting. It was all a lie, a ruse. I would sponsor Seasons for her and her sister, as well as provide dowries in exchange for dates. If we were publicly courting, then I would not have to attend dates with all the ladies of theton.We were going to end it by the end of the Season.”
His grandmother’s expression turned from surprise to anger. “So you lied to me. You concocted all this scheme, and you entered a deception to avoid my nagging.”
“Yes,” Evan said. “Until Joanna, I had no intention of marrying. Today I tried to propose, and she refused. That will be the end of it, Grandmother. No more scheming to get me wed. I do not want to ever hear a word about it. Now, if you will excuse me, I must talk with the staff.”
He slammed the door in his grandmother’s face before hurrying to the ballroom, where a small crowd of staff was waiting, along with Peter. The house employed so many people that the ballroom was the only room where everyone fit properly. They all waited nervously as he entered.
“Someone has been gossiping about personal matters involving myself and Miss Thorne,” he said coldly. “The lady was hurt in the process. Luckily for you, I am not looking to punish a chatty member of my staff. I want to find the writer themselves. If you have talked to someone about this matter outside of this household, then step forward and tell me who you told. You will get a good reference and parting wages.”
There was silence for a moment, and no one spoke. The duke felt his anger rise with every passing second.
Eventually, his cook stepped forward, shame-faced. “I told the butcher about the meal I prepared for you and Miss Thorne,” he said. “I just talked about the food. I didn’t even know she came without a chaperone. I was in the kitchen all night.”
Evan gritted his teeth. “Thank you, but that is not the information I am looking for. Anyone else?”
One of the footmen came forward. He was a young man, maybe twenty years old, and his face was as white as a sheet. “Your Grace… no one has seen Jimmy since yesterday. His room is empty.”
Evan knew Jimmy was one of the footmen who was present during the dinner he organized for Joanna. “Do you know where I can find him?”
The young man shook his head. “No, Your Grace. I know he has a brother who works as a stable boy somewhere in London. That’s all I know.”
Evan sighed. “Thank you. You are dismissed.”
The servants were quick to disperse, and Evan turned to Peter. “Find Jimmy,” he said. “We need to find this writer before the Season ends. That will take first priority.”
Peter nodded, looking grim. “Very well.”
Evan left the ballroom, only to find his grandmother waiting for him. He felt his irritation rise at the sight of her, mostly because he could not understand her sudden change of heart. She had never been one to take the gossip rags so seriously before today.
His grandmother looked at him sternly. “You are lucky Miss Thorne had enough sense to turn you down. She managed to salvage your reputation from that foolish scheme you entered into.”
