“I’m sorry, Evelyn, but if you are here, then you will have to hear the frank discussion.”
Asher glanced at her without emotion before returning his attention to her father. “She was the soul of propriety. Any fault lies within the circumstance… and with me.”
Evelyn’s heart twisted at his unexpected gallantry. Did he mean to take the burden from her, or was he used to taking on responsibility for everything and everyone else in his life?
There was a long pause before the duke continued, his voice low and resolute. “I have spent the night considering theconsequences for us both. There is only one way to protect our reputations.”
Evelyn’s father braced himself, and Evelyn stiffened, knowing what was coming. She felt like she was no longer breathing as shock, fear, and a strange, faint thrill she tried to suppress immediately filled her.
“We must marry.”
Asher feltthe weight of overwhelming responsibility settle on his shoulders.
This was the last thing he had wanted — to be forced into marriage.
He had just always assumed a young lady would have trapped him deliberately.
He didn’t want this, but he could not allow Lady Evelyn to be ruined.
She didn’t deserve it.
At the moment, however, she said nothing, but was simply staring at him. He wasn’t sure how long they would have remained in such a tableau had the tea not arrived.
“Evelyn,” her father asked quietly once the maid departed, “do you consent?”
Evelyn lifted her head, meeting Asher’s eyes. In her gaze, he didn’t find a young woman eager for opportunity, but rather someone caught in the same trap as he.
“Yes,” she whispered. “If this protects my family, then I will accept.”
Asher hadn’t wanted to bind himself to anyone. At least, not intentionally. He had already lost too many people, had no wish to tie himself to someone he might also risk losing. He alsohad too many people to answer to, too many responsibilities to add another. He could barely look after himself, his mother, and his sister, let alone everyone and everything else within the dukedom.
Yet here he was. Practically engaged.
“And in the meantime,” he said, “we will determine who has spread the rumors. I will not stop until I determine who stole the diamond, who wanted to make it seem like we were the ones who did so, and who has spread these rumors linking us together.”
“I will help you,” Evelyn agreed, standing as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She hadn’t realized just how much she was holding onto. While she hadn’t asked for the situation to play out like this, in some ways it helped to share the burden of responsibility, to know that, even if the duke wouldn’t be her partner in truth, he could help lighten the load, face this beside her.
Her step faltered for a moment, and the duke was there, beside her, his hand coming to her elbow to steady her.
She looked up, their eyes holding.
While trepidation simmered there, so did heat. Fear. An unspoken question of what could be between them.
Evelyn supposed they would discover that together.
Still holding her gaze, the duke said, “Lord Stratford, perhaps we could now speak about the practical arrangements?”
“Come to my study,” her father said. “Evelyn, why do you not go find breakfast?”
She nodded woodenly, but even after they had departed, she couldn’t help but wander down the hallway, close to the door, pausing for a moment, wondering just what the two of them would have to say to one another.
“I will do everything in my power to safeguard her reputation — and yours,” the duke was saying, and Evelyn’s heart softened toward him.
He cared, in his own way, which she appreciated.
“We should announcethe engagement this afternoon,” Asher said to Lord Stratford, who sat woodenly behind his desk. Asher had asked his mother aboutLadyStratford last night, wondering more about Lady Evelyn. She had told him that Lady Stratford had passed when Evelyn was just a girl. She had then quickly proceeded to remind him about why her friend Lady Tottenham’s daughter would make him a better match.
Interesting that Evelyn’s father had never remarried, as most others would have.
