Through the open salon door, they heard the noise of their butler admitting a visitor. And a male one, by the timbre of his voice.
Purity sat up straighter, her mother glanced at her with an air of speculation, and her father rose from his chair.
“You ladies wait here,” he ordered. “I will deal with Foxford, one way or the other.”
Lord Diamond was no longer merely her father. The way he strode out of the room, he was every inch the head of the household.
Her mother sighed. “I love that man.”
Her father and Foxford must have gone to the earl’s study, for Purity heard their feet upon the stairs. For the next five minutes, she was on pins and needles. Her breathing was irregular, her heart was racing, and she felt all over cold.
“Stop twisting that napkin,” her mother said. “I would suggest a walk outside, but I assume you want to be here when the men finish talking.”
“I do. Besides, what if Bri or Ray come in for breakfast and I am not present?”
“What of it?” Lady Diamond asked. “I doubt Lord Foxford will mistake one of them for you.”
Her mother had a peculiar wit at times, but she was correct. Purity could go wherever she pleased in the house. And at that moment, the music room called to her.
“I’ll go play the piano. That will help calm me.”
She wandered down the hall to the salon and seated herself at the instrument of torture, as she used to think of it until she became proficient. Now, she cherished her elegant grand pianoforte with its mahogany case and was happy her mother hadn’t let her quit. More than once, Purity had found an hour at the piano soothed her.
Thus, after lifting the fallboard to reveal the decorative gold leaf inlay and the words “John Broadwood and Sons,” also in gold, she let herself get lost in a piece she used for practice, Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier.” In the past, she’d let itchallenge her for hours, taking her through twenty-four pairs of preludes and fugues. Certainly, Foxford would complete his meeting with her father long before that.
This wasn’t Matthew’s firstencounter with Lord Diamond. And while the previous ones had gone well, considering he’d compromised one of the man’s daughters less than twenty-four hours earlier, the outcome of this meeting was dodgy at best.
After scanning the morning newspapers and being both surprised and immensely relieved not to find any mention of himself or Purity, he had headed directly to Piccadilly.
On the doorstep, after presenting his card and asking to see his lordship, Matthew was unsure of his reception with no idea whether Purity’s father knew anything of the ill-advised incident by the statue.
If the Earl Diamond brought it up, then Matthew would apologize and confess how the fault was entirely his. He would explain how overwhelmed he’d been with the depth of his feelings for Purity. Accordingly, he had embraced herbeforedeclaring his resolve to marry her. A mere error of order, not of intention.
On the other hand, if the earl said nothing, then Matthew would simply ask for her hand as if this was planned. He was probably no more nervous than any other man asking permission to wed, except most other men didn’t have the burden of an inglorious reputation hanging like the sword of Damocles, ready to destroy his happiness.
Sure enough, when Lord Diamond appeared in the front hall, he told rather than invited Matthew to follow him to his study.It was as impressive as an earl’s study should be and clearly not a place merely to drink good brandy. Books, papers, and ledgers were strewn across a massive desk behind which Lord Diamond took a seat before gesturing for Matthew to sit across from him.
Then Purity’s father looked him squarely in the eyes to take his measure. After a long moment, he nodded.
“I hope ninety percent of what I have heard or read is either false or blatant exaggeration,” Lord Diamond began. “I experienced a little of such infamy myself,” he added.
Matthew relaxed a moment. Here was a man who understood how difficult it was to be titled and wealthy and not be the object of everyone’s scrutiny.
“As for the other ten percent, however, I would advise you to rein in your questionable tendencies and cease them immediately.”
With that statement, he fixed Matthew with a blue-eyed stare that looked so much like Purity’s, it was uncanny. Moreover, the earl sounded like his daughter, who was forever urging Matthew to change his rakish ways.
How could he convince the man he had already done so, particularly in light of why he was there?
“I would like to marry your daughter, my lord, and I assure you I will not dishonor her in any way for as long as I live.”
Lord Diamond raised a dark eyebrow. “You may live a long time,” he pointed out. “That’s many years of being faithful. I believe there is only one way to ensure such fidelity, and that’s with a loyal, loving heart. If your heart is not engaged, then neither shall you be, not to my daughter.”
Matthew caught his breath. He hadn’t expected to go to Piccadilly and have the depths of his emotions plumbed or dissected. He nodded but remained silent, not wishing to speak with the earl about his devotion instead of with Purity.
The Earl Diamond leaned forward. “Despite whatever occurred yesterday, and I don’t wish to know as you two are adults, I don’t want my daughter to become your wife unless I am assured of her future happiness, in so far as I can be.”
Again, Matthew nodded.
