“As Brentworth, it is your duty to—”
“My duty is to the Crown. Not to your whims.” He stood. “I will take my leave now, with your permission. I repeat, find another plan.”
“We will no longer receive you if you do not do as we say,” the king yelled when he reached the door. “You will be banned from Court, from our presence, and all society will know of our disfavor.”
“Do your worst, Your Majesty. Only remember that if society learns of your disfavor, it is apt to also learn the reason for it.”
* * *
Eric prided himself on clear thinking. Logic and reason marked his consideration of any matter. He therefore found it extremely uncomfortable to find his mind jumping from one indignant curse to another for the next few hours.
The conversation with the king would have been comical if it had not been so outrageous. Where in hell had he decided he had the power to decree that a duke marry? They weren’t living in the Middle Ages. No doubt all the toadies around him acquiesced to his slightest desire, and he mistakenly had grown to believe anyone would.
I am Brentworth. Hell yes, he was Brentworth. He would be ostracized from Court? What a welcomed respite that would be.
Marry that fraud? Not likely. Not ever. Yes, he needed to marry, it was past time, etcetera. He had already planned to take care of that next season. He’d pick some dutiful girl and get on with it. But not at the command of someone else. Not at the point of a sword.
Was the king going mad like his father? Or was this just a desperate move by a king foreseeing how his honor might be mocked by the people he sat with at dinner parties?
By evening, he was still pacing his house with his jaw as tight as a screw press. He called a footman and sent him out with a message. A half hour later, Stratton arrived, entering the library like a man in a hurry.
“Are you unwell?”
Eric saw the mask of concern on his friend’s face. “Not unless fury’s fever counts.”
“The note—it was vague—Come at once if you can, it said.” Stratton took a deep breath. “You have never done that before. I thought perhaps you had been stricken in some way. Hell, I didn’t even wait for my horse to be saddled. I came on foot. Iran, damn it.”
“My apologies. I have been stricken in a way, however. When you hear about it you will understand.”
“Will I be taken by fury’s fever too?”
“It is my hope that you will bring me to my good senses so maybe I will laugh.”
He pointed to the decanters. Stratton poured himself some whiskey. “If you also sent for Langford, do not wait on him. He was going out tonight and will not receive your message until very late.”
“I did not send for him. He would enjoy this too much. Then I would have to thrash him and the night would end poorly.”
“If he would enjoy it, perhaps I will laugh even if you don’t. What has happened?”
“I saw the king today. At his request. Regarding Miss MacCallum’s little problem.”
Stratton pursed his lips. “Why do I think the conversation did not go well?”
“Because it didn’t. The king devised a clever plan, you see. A way to make his obligations go away. His solution was to command me to marry the woman. He was not joking either. He meant it, as did that worthless Haversham.”
Stratton’s mouth twitched, but he avoided laughing. “What did you say to that?”
“What did I say?Damnation, I refused, of course.” He repeated the conversation, so Stratton would know all of it.
Stratton got up and poured more whiskey. He sat again. “So you reminded the king that he did not have the power to make such commands, and you all but dared him to do his worst.” He paused. “You lost your temper with him.”
“Not completely, but, yes, I was a bit sharp.” More than a bit, now that he thought about it.
“That is unlike you. Completely so. It is not how I would have expected you to respond. The Brentworth I know would have listened, promised to consider, then gone home and devised his own clever plan that was far cleverer than anything the king and Haversham could ever concoct.” He examined Eric thoughtfully. “So why did you do it the wrong way instead?”
It was enough of a scold to cause some chagrin. “I was caught unawares, I suppose.”
“That is also unlike you. Do you want my advice? I dare not give it unless you say you do, because you are acting like a madman on this topic.”
