“You’re lying,” Piper managed, although her conviction wavered. Harry had been there? Why hadn’t he spoken to her? Written? It had been weeks since she’d heard from him.
She glanced at the contracts spread on the table and the seal of the marquisate stamped at the bottom. Her heart sank. She refused to believe her ever-loving and affectionate brother would abandon her to a marriage to the most disgraceful heir in the land.
He wouldn’t.
A shaft of sunlight made its way through a gap in the curtains to illuminate the blank lines next to the seal. Her unbreakable confidence in her brother’s devotion revitalized. “His signature is not on those agreements.”
“A technicality,” Celeste insisted, glaring at her.
“A necessity,” she countered, optimism renewed. “Until I see it there or hear it from my brother’s own lips, his grace can take his offer and shove it up his blistering ar—ouch!”
Piper glowered at her mother and for the briefest moment, something vulnerable showed through Celeste’s shrewd gaze.
“Darling, I’ve never wanted you to experience a moment of life’s uncertainties. Not as I have. Think about the benefits that will be yours. Not only a title and wealth, but security. The settlements and jointure Rutledge offers are beyond generous. You will never want for anything in life. What more could I ask for than to know my child is settled in the best possible situation?”
The words rang with a truth Piper didn’t often hear from her mother. A smidge of sympathy crept into her steadfast resolve. Contracting an advantageous marriage for their daughters was the cornerstone of a mother’s ambition and hallmark of their success. All the girls at her boarding school had mothers who said that very thing. Many who’d accomplished it.
Perhaps Celeste was no different from them, after all.
“I want nothing more than to see you safe and sound,” her mother added. “Well taken care of.”
Piper’s defenses rose once more at that addendum. Her mother might be like all the rest in wanting the best for her child. Contrary to the notion, the last thing Piper would be as Viscountess Dormer was safe or well taken care of. Not in his hands if there were the tiniest grain of truth to the rumors.
She wasn’t willing to take that chance. “I will not do it, and Harry would never insist. Of that, I am confident.”
“Lady Sedmouth.” Rutledge smoothly employed the lesser title Celeste abhorred so much. Piper might have admired his maneuvering against her mother if she weren’t furious with them both. “Perhaps you might allowmea word alone with your daughter?”
Such a disregard for propriety provided even Celeste a moment’s pause. A second later, she blinked away her consternation and stepped toward the door. “I’ll be right outside, your grace, if you… I’ll be right outside.”
She left, shutting the door firmly behind her. Either she had incredible, unfounded confidence in the duke’s good manners or Piper’s reputation was nothing in comparison to her ambition for a duchess’s tiara.
Piper knew which it was without a second thought.
“Do you know, from what I’ve heard about you, I imagined a feeble-minded child with naught but beauty to recommend her?” He shook his head and clucked his tongue, as if the folly of rumor were tiresome. “It’s true.”
“My guardian may not be present, but I assure you, I’m strong enough to stand up for myself.”
“Yes, I can see that. Admirable quality.” Rutledge took her arm and drew her away from the door, insistent yet gentle. Lacing her arm through his, he propelled her into a measured promenade around the room. His head bent close to hers. “You are young, my dear. Perhaps too young to realize that there are only three things that truly matter in life. Power, wealth, and reputation. The first two will get you far. Nevertheless, without the third, a man is nothing. My good name has been besmirched by malicious defamation against my son. A wife of noble repute and impeccable lineage will go far to restore the Waldegrave name.” The duke paused near the window and smiled down at her, the gesture taut without a hint of emotion. “While you’ve quite charmed me with your vivacity and steadfastness, my dear, I think you will find that I, too, am known for my determination. I will have this union.”
Dread curled in her gut at the chilling declaration. Piper steeled herself. “With respect, Duke, I must decline.”
He braced his hands on the mantel, one on either side of her, effectively pinning her in place as he loomed over her. “You refuse the title of duchess?”
A lump formed at the back of her throat. She swallowed it back. “No, your grace, I refuse to wed your son.”
Though his expression had remained impassive until then, his eyes glittered with something she couldn’t identify yet instinct tempted her to flee from it. He stepped back and she took a deep breath. “Is that so?”
In that moment…for the blink of an eye, it felt like Piper had achieved a victory.
The merest blink. That was all.
Chapter 1
I pray Harry can sway Mother from her absurd plan to force me into marriage with the viscount. The turn of the century draws near, after all. Arranged marriages are so passé.
~from the diary of Piper Brudenall, Dec 1892
Dinton Grange
