Aslight knock on her bedchamber door made Thea cringe. It was her father. They’d been home for over a day now and she’d exhausted her pleas of being tired and in pain to keep her father away. Very well. She’d put off the conversation long enough. The time had come. She sucked in a deep breath, pushed herself up on the pillows, and straightened her shoulders. She had to be prepared. “Come in,” she finally called, folding her hands in front of her.
The door opened and her father strode inside and bowed to her. “I trust you’re feeling better this morning.”
“Less tired at least,” she allowed, inclining her head to the side.
Her father grabbed his lapels and cleared his throat. “We must speak about your future, Theodora.”
She tried to keep her voice pleasant and calm. “I am well aware of what you plan for my future, Father, but I must tell you I disagree.”
“Disagree with what?” Her father narrowed his eyes on her.
She folded her arms across her chest. “With your plan to marry me off to Lord Clayton.”
“Theodora, you must understand—”
“I understand perfectly.” Her words came out in a clipped tone. So much for calm and pleasant. “The two of you discussed it, without my input, and decided quite high-handedly that a wedding would be the best way to handle the fallout and the potential scandal of my having stayed at Lord Clayton’s house for so long. I don’t agree with you.”
Father’s jaw clenched and his lips turned into a thin line. “At the risk of angering you further, Theodora, I don’t require your agreement.”
Her eyes flashed fire and she clenched her fists into the covers. This man may have been able to coerce her beautiful, sweet, quiet mother, but Thea was not about to let him frighten her into an unwanted marriage. The rest of her life, her future happiness depended on it. She would not die a wasting death in her bedchamber while her husband was in London with his mistress as her mother had. “On the contrary,” she shot back, “you do need my agreement. If you plan a wedding, I promise you I will not be there on the appointed day.”
“What do you mean?” Father narrowed his eyes on her.
“I mean exactly what I said. You cannot have a wedding without a bride. No matter what I have to do, I will not be there.”
“Are you threatening to harm yourself?” Father demanded.
She shrugged. That just showed how little her father knew her. She would not harm herself. She hadn’t even considered that thought, but if he wanted to believe that was a possibility, so be it. It suited her purposes to allow him to think that she had more than one option. “Or run away,” she replied, giving him a tight smile.
“Run away? Where would you go?” Father clipped.
She’d never wished she could stand more than this moment. “I’m hardly going to tell you that, but rest assured the scandal that would result from Lord Clayton being left at the altar would be much larger than my ruined reputation over the gossip in the paper.”
Her father’s voice raised to nearly a shout. “May I remind you, Theodora, that this scandal and everything about it isyourfault to begin with?”
Her words shot like bullets through clenched teeth. “May I remind you, Father, that I asked you to take me home after I broke my leg and you refused?”
Her father cursed under his breath. “You are stubborn to your own detriment, Theodora. Can you not see this is the best choice for your future?”
“Can you not see that I am the best judge of what is best for my future? I do not wish to marry Lord Clayton.”
“What does that have to do with it? You’ll be saving yourself from additional gossip. You’ll be sparing your brother and me, as well.”
“Spare me the recriminations, Father. The fact remains I refuse to allow the two of you to decide my future so cavalierly.”
Her father turned toward the door. “So be it, Theodora. You may remain an unwanted spinster the rest of your life.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Ewan slammed his palm against the top of his desk in his study, making the papers along with the quill and ink bounce. “Damn it!”
Humbolt came rushing to the door. “Is something wrong, my lord? May I assist you with anything?”
“Yes, something is bloody well wrong, but no, it’s nothing you can assist with,” Ewan replied. “My apologies for startling you, Humbolt.”
Humbolt bowed and took his leave while Ewan picked up the letter from Blackstone that he’d just read and scanned it again. It was every bit as maddening reading it the second time.
Clayton,
