“My case?” Ash asked.
“You plan to marry her, of course,” Hurtheven said.
He hadn’t. He hadn’t, not because he did not want to marry Alicia, but because he had not dared to believe she’d agree. And that was before he’d poured salt in her wounds.
“What if I break her?” Ash whispered.
“She survived the admiral,” Hurtheven answered.
“Even Bianci—”
“Bianci? Miss White?” Hurtheven laughed aloud. “She clawed her way from a job as costume girl to be the prima donna of the stage on pure ambition. You did not break her. She left you for someone with more shine. And why shouldn’t she? You didn’t care if she stayed or left.”
Ash frowned. Was that true? He’d been put out when she’d left. Mostly because she’d been vicious. But he hadn’t been heartbroken. And, she had left him for someone better, hadn’t she? A Prince, no less.
“Miss White and her Prince?” he asked.
Hurtheven shrugged. “Besotted.”
Maybe he did not ruin everything he touched.
“Do you think Lady Stone would agree to be my wife?” Ash asked.
“Iwouldn’t marry anyone who left their home a wreck.” Hurtheven patted Ash’s knee. “It is time, I think, for you to put Wisterley to rights.”
“Wisterley...” Ash’s voice trailed as he remembered Alicia’s words.
It was a sad house. A shell of what it had been. I used to look up and wish with all my being that someone would come along and see the beauty there. That someone would rescue the ruin, love the house and all it could be and make it whole once again. Make it a home.
“Wisterley is a wreck. No one besides Kent would dare set foot within the walls.”
“The servants I hired would return, if you asked.” Hurtheven stretched his legs. “And they are a crippling expense. Absolutely crippling.”
Ash snorted. “You aren’t needling me because of the expense.”
“Notjustbecause of the expense,” Hurtheven said. “I am selfish to my core. I want you to join society.”
“Weren’t you just accusingmeof being selfish?” Ash asked.
Hurtheven shrugged. “Selfishness is part of my nature. It is not part of yours.”
Ash swallowed. “What if I restore Wisterley, and she still does not want me?”
“That,” Cheverley replied, “is a risk you must take.”
“Youhave work you must do. You have a special license to procure and,” Hurtheven lifted his brows, “a great deal of construction to plan.”
The wraith-like specter of hope crystalized. Wisterley, a home. Alicia by his side. His breath slowed.
“It seems so impossible,” he said.
“Faith,” Hurtheven replied.
Faith.Yes, faith. And what did faith do? It made the impossible possible. It brought what had been in darkness into the light.
“By the way,” Chev said, “the sooner we implement a plan, the better. After you have won your lady, I’m planning to takeyouradvice.”
“Go home to Penelope?” Ash asked.
