Her brother folded his arms over his chest and eyed her down the length of his nose. “May I ask why?”
Thea shook her head impatiently. “I should think it would be obvious why. I have no intention of ruining that man’s life.”
Anthony’s brows shot up. “Ruining his life?”
“Yes. Marrying him would be forcing him into an unwanted marriage with a woman who inserted herself into his life in the first place. Lord Clayton has been nothing but kind to me. I owe him an apology, not an unwanted future with an unwanted wife.”
Her brother gave her a dubious look. “From what I know about Clayton, he’s not one to be forced into doing anything.”
Thea gave her brother an impatient glare. “What would you call it, then? He obviously only offered for me to do the honorable thing.”
“Heishonorable,” Anthony agreed, “but that’s not a bad thing, Thea. You’re the daughter of an earl. It’s not as if Clayton would be marrying beneath him.”
Thea dropped her gaze to her lap. “He’s engaged to someone else.”
“Are you certain? I’d never read about that in any of the papers.” She could hear the skepticism in Anthony’s voice.
“I heard it from his own lips,” Thea replied. She lifted her head to see her brother’s reaction.
“Well.” Anthony’s mouth snapped shut. He rubbed his chin, still looking a bit skeptical. “I suppose that does change things somewhat. But I’m certain Clayton wouldn’t have agreed to it if he hadn’t been willing to marry you.”
Thea fought the tears that stung the backs of her eyes. “There is a large difference betweenwantingto marry andagreeingto marry,” she said softly.
Anthony’s voice grew softer too. “Do youwantto be a spinster, Thea? Don’t you want your own home? Your own family?”
The tears threatened to spill. Thea swung her chair around to face the windows again. “I’ll tell you what I don’t want. I don’t want to force a man to marry me.”
Anthony cursed under his breath. “Damn it, Thea. Why must you be so stubborn? I truly believe you’re making a mistake.”
Thea stared out the window at the gray skies.Never marry a man who doesn’t love you back, Thea.It’s pure torture.
“No,” Thea replied in a whisper, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering from the cold. “If I married Lord Clayton,thatwould be the biggest mistake of my life.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Beau Bellham, the Marquess of Bellingham, had been at Ewan’s house for two days. Ewan had summoned his good friend there after writing him a letter. They needed to discuss Phillip’s future. And Beau, a spy for the Home Office as well as a marquess, was the perfect person to discuss such matters. Ewan, Bell, and Phillip were sitting in the study in the late afternoon, having a glass of brandy and discussing that exact subject.
Ewan had begun the same sentence twice and both times he’d let it trail off as he stared past his friends out the windows of the study. For some reason, Ewan was imagining Thea riding Alabaster through the meadow, laughing and tossing her long dark hair.
There had been no laughter in the house since Thea had gone. There had been no life. He and Phillip had begun speaking to each other in monosyllabic words. The things Ewan had done for pleasure before Thea had resided under his roof were no longer particularly pleasurable. None of it made any sense. He’d been perfectly content to take his meals alone before Thea had arrived, but now when Humbolt served him, he sorely felt the absence of her presence at the end of the table, laughing and jesting and answering his questions and asking her own. Phillip had replaced her at the dinner table of late but even his old friend’s company couldn’t account for Thea’s loss.
She’d been unpredictable and unconventional. Both things that Ewan would have sworn weeks ago were undesirable to him, but now when he stared at the empty spot at the dining room table where she should have been, all he felt was the loss of her presence. He’d come to rely on their talks, her company.
The truth was, he’d written Bell to get a little more company. This time of year, Ewan normally returned to London to see his mother, visit friends, and participate in a variety of holiday parties to which he was invited.
This year, he told himself he was staying away due to the scandal in the papers. He would allow time for the commotion to die down before he returned to the city. But deep down, he truly hoped Thea would change her mind and agree to the marriage contract. He’d stayed in the country, day after day, waiting on tenterhooks for another letter from Lord Blackstone telling him that Thea had reconsidered. It made no sense, and he couldn’t even explain why he hoped for such a letter, but he did. And he was a bloody fool because no such letter appeared to be forthcoming. It had been nearly a fortnight.
“What were you about to say?” Bell asked from the other side of the desk.
“I— What?” Ewan blinked and refocused his gaze on the marquess.
“You were saying something about how we should escort Phillip back to London when the time comes,” Bell said, eyeing Ewan warily from his seat in the large leather chair in front of Ewan’s desk.
Phillip glanced up from his brandy glass. “Don’t be too harsh on him, Bell. The man is missing his houseguest.”
Bell frowned. “What do you mean? You’re right here.”
“Not me,” Phillip said, the hint of a smile playing about his lips. “Hisotherhouseguest.”
