ChapterOne
Marlow
“They are calling you a hero, Marlow.” Gabriel sat at his desk, sloppily signing his name at the end of our contract. Still in his silk banyan, he reeked of stale rum and cheap cigars from what I could only assume was another late night out. I dared not ask. “Some sort of god for what you did for your Miss Newbury.”
I stood above him, raking an impatient hand through my hair, ignoring his rambling, as usual, and particularly so in this case. I did not care what thetonsaid of me. And I certainly no longer cared about Miss Newbury’s well-being. I needed this document signed and Grandmother’s ring in hand before I could leave Gabriel’s home and begin my search. If I did not find a wife soon, this contract might prove more necessary than either he or I dared imagine.
“You do understand what you are signing?” I asked curtly. He’d barely glanced at the pages.
“You’ve always loved a wordy contract, haven’t you, cousin?” Gabriel forcefully dotted ani, then closed his ink jar and flitted a bored look at me. “My signature means that should you die without an heir, and I inherit this cursed dukedom, I vow to care for your mother, to never sell off ourlands”—he collected the papers haphazardly—“to never have any fun, to die a painful death, and to leave no evidence of my existence behind whatsoever until, God-willing, one of my more competent sons comes of age.”
I let out a breath of relief and took the papers from him. No loose threads. The work was nearly finished.
“How is your health, by the way?” Gabriel asked, peering up at me. “You are looking thin. Are you exercising?”
“The doctor says I am in fine form.”
He blew out an exaggerated breath. “Thank heavens for that. We both know I am not fit for management. Or Parliament for that matter. Lectures at Oxford were enough of a chore.”
I’d pity him if I hadn’t paid for his education myself. “Grandmother’s ring?”
“Ah.” He livened up, patted his jacket down to his trousers, then rose from his seat. “Is it true, though? The rumors? That you rode horseback and came upon the scene just in time, your coattails blowing in the wind like some winged creature of devastation, to save both your intended and her beloved?”
My jaw set as the memories quickly resurfaced. Of Miss Newbury demanding I save that useless heap of a man from bleeding out, of her declaring her feelings forhimand rejecting me—me!—with our wedding but days away. Oh, yes, thetonhad sung like canaries when her family canceled the wedding. I was decidedly tired of hearing about it.
“Gabriel, I am in a foul mood, and I wish to go home. Do not trifle with me.”
He stood and crossed to the side table, before rummaging through the contents of a drawer. Surely, he would not keepsuch an important family heirloom—one worth a smallfortune—in a random drawer in his study.
But of course he would.My cousin’s very nature was so at ease, so relaxed, he could fall asleep while slouched against a corner wall. Which was exactly why this contract was necessary. Some things needed to be worried over.
He called over his shoulder, “You are always in a foul mood of one sort or another. That does not make the rumors any less true. I should say, I am rather proud of you. You could have let the man die, and instead, you showed him mercy. Perhaps there is hope for you after all.”
“I should have let him die,” I muttered, even though I did not mean it. I hadn’t known at that precise moment how deeply my intended felt for the man. Like a fool, I’d given her control. I’d let her emotions affect mine, and I’d gone soft. And now, look at me.
My entire reason for marrying Miss Newbury in the first place was to recoup the final plot of land that my bachelor uncle had sold during his short control of the dukedom. He’d made a mess of things—sullied the family name and nearly made us the laughingstock of theton—but after his death, my father had brought it all to rights.
When Father died, I’d promised to finish his work, and I had. I’d bargained with Mr. Newbury—the land for my title. In the end, I still got what I wanted.
One way or another, I always did.
Now there was only one thing left to do: secure the family line with an heir. Had things gone according to plan, I’d likely have one already half developed. But, thanks toloveand thoseridiculous enough to believe in such silly notions, I was placed squarely back at the start.
In short, I needed a wife.
And I meant to impress one with the ring my grandfather had given my grandmother as an engagement present. Perhaps this time, with a priceless family heirloom on her finger, the woman I chose would last long enough to make it to the altar.
Gabriel shuffled through untidy papers and broken trinkets for another moment, and I sighed heavily, exhausted from another day’s managing. I wanted my soft leather chair and a stiff drink. Cleo at my feet, falling asleep by the crackling hearth.
“Ah. Here it is!” He held out a scrap of paper.
I drew a calming breath through my nose. “That is not Grandmother’s ring, Gabriel.”
“Yes, but see here. I shall have it returned in a fortnight.” He shrugged as though the absence of one of our grandmother’s most prized possessions—the ring that she’d worn every day of her adult life—was nothing to fret over.
“Returned?” I swiped my face with a hand. I had asked Gabriel to doone thingwhile visiting the family estate in London.Onething that he’d assured me he could do. I never minded if my cousins wanted to stay at the house while I was away—we all had memories there to revisit, to continue living through—and I had only asked for one small, though important, favor from Gabriel. Bring back Grandmother’s ring. Save me a trip to London. I should have known better. I should have, as usual, simply gone myself.
“What have you done?” My tone was patronizing, buthonestly, how could he be so daft? So irresponsible? He wastwo-and-twenty years of age! Tension tightened my shoulders, and heat rose up my neck. I had enough of my grandfather’s temper to frighten anyone who irked me. But I had learned from my father how to control it. Deep, controlled breaths. I took several through my nose. “That ring is worthmore than this cottage!”
