He needed to win Joanna back. That much was clear to him. But somehow, he needed to prove to her that he really loved her and wasn’t just asking her out of some sort of obligation. He also needed to ensure that she would only accept his proposal because she loved him too, and for no other reason.
By the time they reached the manor, he had come to a decision. The Viscount of Folly was a problem that needed to be eliminated.
CHAPTER 37
After a spare bedroom was prepared for Joanna’s father, a message was sent to Clifford Manor to let them know that the viscount was safe.
Peter and the viscount both retired for the night, and his grandmother was luckily already fast asleep. He was happy about that because he did not want to deal with her strange mood tonight.
However, Evan didn’t sleep. Instead, he paced around his study, drinking water and tea until his head was clear enough for him to think about what to do.
He did his best to recall every random fact that he knew about the viscount that he could use to carry out his plan. By early morning, he had a vague idea of what he wanted to do. He just hoped it would work.
He didn’t bother knocking on Peter’s door. Instead, he burst into the room. “Good morning!” he called.
Peter shot up in bed, half-asleep, half-surprised. “Fire?” he mumbled. “Is there a fire?” He groaned and clutched his head. “Oh, I had too much to drink last night.”
“There is no fire,” he said, taking vindictive pleasure in intruding in his brother’s space without knocking first. “Get up, Peter. We have a lot to discuss.”
Peter looked at the clock. “At six in the bloody morning?”
“Yes. Because I am going to eliminate the Viscount of Folly today, and you are going to help me.”
Twenty minutes later, the two brothers were in Evan’s drawing room, while a maid served them a pot of strong tea.
Peter glared at his brother. “What is this about?”
Evan described his plan to Peter, who went from irritated to thoughtful. “Interesting,” he said. “And this is the grand gesture you have settled on for Joanna?”
“No,” he said. “This is because you painted a haunting picture last night about the love of my life, accepting my hand in marriage out of duress.”
Peter smirked. “The love of your life? You have fallen hard, dear brother. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
Evan rolled his eyes. Lack of sleep made him careless in his word choices, but that didn’t make it any less true. “You will help me, yes? And we can’t tell Grandmother about this.”
“Tell me what?” said a sharp voice.
Evan winced and looked at the older woman, who was standing in the doorway, already dressed, despite the early hour, and with her hands on her hips. “My maid told me something very interesting this morning,” she said. “Apparently, the Viscount of Clifford is in one of our guest rooms. I thought I told you to forget about Miss Thorne.”
“We ran into him last night,” Peter said. He looked from Evan to their grandmother, looking conflicted for a moment, before talking. “Evan has a plan that you might be interested in hearing.”
Reluctantly, Evan told his grandmother the same plan he told Peter. He expected her to be angry, but instead, her expression softened, and she nodded.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “Yes, I think that is a good idea.”
“Really?” he said, surprised.
Her expression hardened a moment later. “Yes, I do. If you are successful, then you will no longer feel obligated to Miss Thorne, and you can forget about her. You have one day. Tomorrow you will meet Lady Katherine Preston for tea.” She swept out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Peter looked at Evan with a furrowed brow. “You are right. She is acting very odd.”
“I know,” Evan said. “But we can’t worry about that right now. We must make the arrangements before the viscount wakes up.”
Peter nodded. “It’s a bold plan,” he said. “Risky, too.”
“Risky for others,” said Evan. “Not for me. I am in the wonderful position where I can get away with just about anything.”
“There will be variables that you cannot control. And we both know how much you hate that.”
