Caroline leaned forward, her voice deadly serious. “It’s not just that. People will start looking at Reed again. They might even reopen the investigation. And this time, they won’t stop until they find something—or make something up.” She frowned. “Max and I can control what’s written in theGazetteand theTimes, but not the other papers.”
“Or what people are saying…” Goldie added with a wince.
Melanie’s heart dropped at the mention of Reed’s safety, her pulse quickening. No, they couldn’t. Reed was innocent—she knew it. But why? Why did her memory of that night elude her? The harder she tried to grasp it, the more her mind locked it away.
“Imagine that, something Malum can’t control,” Reed said. It wasn’t like her brother to smirk like that. He was kind, and loving, and gentle.
All eyes shifted to him.
Over the past year, the truce between the two men had held up. If it broke down now, it would be because of Melanie.
Another wave of guilt washed over her. This wasn’t fair!
“The duke will simply have to offer for you, Melanie. And you will accept.” God help all of them, but her mother sounded almost pleased.
Even so, no one argued with her, and the finality of her mother’s words hovered in the air.
True, marrying the duke would resolve… everything, but there had to be some other way out of this mess.
Melanie’s fingers dug into the fabric of her gown. She had until tomorrow at noon to come up with some acceptable alternative solution. Or perhaps longer, depending on how the meeting between Reed and Malum went.
Unless the duke came up with something first.
Regardless, her family’s reputation, Reed’s freedom—perhaps his life—hung in the balance.
And it was all because of her.
A BARGAIN WITH THE DUKE
Melanie’s eyes darted to the clock on the mantel, feeling more uncertain with each passing minute. The delicate hands ticked forward, the sound unnervingly loud in the silence of the withdrawing room.
“It’s been nearly two hours,” Goldie said, her voice edged with anxiety. “What on earth can they be discussing?
Caroline, who had been perched restlessly on the edge of her chair, leapt up and paced to the mantel once more. Her fingers grazed the polished wood as she paused to stare into the hearth—before pivoting sharply and striding back to the bookshelf. It was a well-worn path by now. “I swear, if they’re discussing other business, I’ll strangle them all,” she muttered.
The withdrawing room, usually a place of comfort, felt stifling—a reflection of the tense atmosphere that had settled over the house.
“The duke will make an offer,” their mother stated from where she had sat peacefully since Reed and Lord Helton had left for their meeting. Seemingly unbothered, her attention hardly left the book that was propped in her lap as she turned a page with a quiet rustle.
How could she be reading at a time like this?Melanie thought just a touch hysterically.
From the time Melanie took her morning tea, Caroline, Josephine, and Goldie had spent an inordinate amount of time fussing over Melanie’s appearance. Despite Melanie’s protests, they had pinned her hair into a more elaborate style than usual, adjusted her gown repeatedly, and insisted that she sit in her favorite chair by the window, where the sunlight would highlight the decorative beads on her gown. Too much time had passed, and Melanie’s legs were jumpy, her back stiff.
How many times had she sat here before, finding peace in the familiar view?
There was no peace today.
She would rather be anywhere but here, sitting idle—waiting for her fate to be decided in a meeting that she was, most unfairly, barred from attending.
“How long does it take to draft up a marriage contract, anyway?” Josie asked the obvious question.
“Not this long,” Caroline snapped, her tone more cutting than usual. “One would think they were over there setting up a compact between two warring countries.”
Goldie forced a tense smile. “Itisa bit absurd, isn’t it?” she murmured, glancing toward Melanie as if trying to read her thoughts. “I mean, what is there to discuss?”
Melanie ignored them both and bit her bottom lip. The longer they were gone, the more certain she became that the duke wasn’t going to cooperate.
Did she want him to cooperate?
