“No,” I hurried to say. “I mean yes, but not always.”
“If you’ve met someone over the last month, he will hardly keep. Who is he? Who dares to touch my intended?”
I would not name him. I couldn’t.
“Mr. Winston.” His flat voice sent a chill down my spine.
“Please, Your Grace. He has respected our engagement; it is I who am not satisfied. Do you see? I know who you are and what you offer, and I know that I am mad to refuse you, but I have fallen in love. Please understand, nothing less would keep me from your offer.”
Marlow stood still, facing me but not meeting my gaze. A vein in his temple protruded, but this time, he did not temper his emotions.
“Nothing, in fact,willkeep you from my offer. Not even your little infatuation. You signed an agreement. Youwillmeet me before the vicar, and so help me if I am left standing there alone, your family will spend the rest of their lives regretting the day they bargained with me. Have I made myself quite clear?”
His voice echoed around us with enough power to make me shrink in my spot. With authority. With promise. As though he could create worlds. And yet. His eyes did not match his tone. They were almost ... fearful. Like I could wound him if only I found the right entrance.
Somewhere hidden under all his threats and evident frustration was just a man. A man desperate to save himself at whatever cost.
My family would pay the price.
I swiped a loose tear from my cheek. “There must be another way.” I hated how weak and fragile my voice sounded. “Perhaps my father will sell the land.”
“I offered him an outrageous sum. He would not sell.” His teeth clenched as he spoke. “And at this point, I’d rather make his sons pay for that mistake before offering to purchase a second time.”
“I will speak to him. We could come to a reasonable agreement and cry off amicably.” I wrung my hands together. “No one need know the details. We will be in your debt—”
“Enough!” His voice rang harsh and heavy in the air. Then, in an apparent effort to control his temper, he whispered, “Enough.”
“You are blackmailing me.” My voice wavered.
“What other choice do I have? In fairness, Rosalind, your father forcedmyhand when he offered this union as the only means by which I might purchase his land.”
“My father wouldneverforce your hand like this.”
“Your father’s ambitions are no more saintly than my own. He gave me a choice, just as I am giving you one now.” He stepped closer, towering over me, and spoke in a hushed voice. “Believe me, I have seen the ugliest sides of the world, and they can be much uglier than this.”
I stepped back. How could this be happening? How could I finally reach the edge, only to be pushed back the length of my progress. “You are in earnest, then? If I do not marry you, you’ll—”
“Do whatever it takes to make you regret it.” He lowered his chin. His eyes were set.
I looked down at my hands, at the bunched fabric of my skirts in my fists. The choice was clear: Charlie or my family? If I chose Charlie, the duke would ruin my family. But if I chose my family, I would never see Charlie again.
In a flash of memory, I faced the cliff’s edge, the same one he and I had visited in Dover. How free I’d felt. How happy and fearless, infinite and alive.
And yet, I feared heights for good reason. Just beyond the cliff was a sharp and dangerous fall. Andthistime, I stood on the edge not with Charlie, but with Benjamin, Mama, Father, Jasper, and Nicholas. How could I ask them to face the fall with me? How could I lead them toward certain outcast, ridicule, failure, and despair at the expense of following my heart?
I could not have my familyandCharlie. One would suffer.
Or maybe not.
Maybe onlyIhad to suffer.
My family would rise if I married Marlow. Charlie would recover in time. He’d already decided to go home, to live a life Henry would be proud of. Whether he and I created a life together would not change that.
He’d told me he loved me in so many ways and words, but he had not offered for me. He could move on with his life never truly knowing I’d have said yes. He’d mourned and lived again once before.
With a title, I could help my family, but even more than that, I could combat whatever rumors Lord Langdon spit on Charlie’s name. I could ensure Charlie lived a happy life.
Far away from the cliff’s edge.
