“The journalist’s name,” Lord Elkins clarified. “Tell me who he is and I’ll meet with him straight away so I can get ahead of this catastrophe. I’m sure he and I can agree on a sum that can—”
“Papa.” Charlotte clasped Blayne’s hand tighter. “Mr. MacNeil has already done what he could in order to make sure the event this man witnessed will not be related in sordid detail. Now, imagine how much worse it will be if my father attempts to bribe him. Do you honestly believe for one moment he will not print that?”
“Mr. MacNeil has nothing to offer, you daft girl!”
Blayne hadn’t meant to speak up until Charlotte was done convincing her father, but he certainly wasn’t about to sit there while the man insulted them both. Without bothering to hide his brogue this time, he said, “Yer daughter is the most brilliant woman I know, Lord Elkins. She is courageous, smart, practical, kind, and forgiving, so I’ll not let ye call her daft. And as for yer other point about me having nothing to offer, it is true that I dinnae have much, but I’ve enough to make sure she’ll not suffer any hardship. I shall love her with all that I am, sir. Ye have my word on that.”
Lord Elkins snorted. “And where do you see yourselves living? In a room above that tavern of yours in one of this city’s filthiest and most crime-infested neighborhoods?”
“Of course not. Our intention is to find lodgings for rent in a more agreeable part of town while we work on increasing our savings. In time we’ll hopefully manage to purchase a property of our own if we combine our funds.” He knew he was making suggestions he’d not had a chance to discuss with Charlotte yet, so he gave her a quick glance to gauge her reaction and was instantly put at ease by the brilliant smile she gave him.
“I think that’s an excellent plan,” she whispered.
He rather agreed. They both wanted to live somewhere in the countryside, but neither could afford it on their own. Together, however, he was sure they would be able to do so in a few years considering she was as hardworking as he. Yet another benefit of getting married to this remarkable woman, the other one being the days he would spend in her company and the nights they’d enjoy in bed.
“And if I protest?” Lord Elkins asked in a low tone.
Blayne’s muscles tightened with sudden swiftness, not because he cared one whit for Lord Elkins’s blessing, but because of the hurt he saw in Charlotte’s eyes. It infuriated him that anyone should make her feel less deserving than she was, that this man would dare to cause her additional pain when he had to know the situation was already difficult enough as it was.
Before he could say as much however, she spoke up. “You have the right to withhold your blessing. I certainly cannot prevent you from doing so. But what would be the point, except to show displeasure? I would still have to marry Mr. MacNeil in order to lessen the scandal that’s bound to arise when theMayfair Chroniclejournalist prints his story. So, if this is the course you wish to take, then understand this: I shall never forgive you for being so hateful and you will never see me again after today, which means you’ll have no relationship with the grandchildren I may give you.”
Stunned by the length to which she meant to go if her father didn’t support their union, Blayne held his tongue and waited to see how the viscount would respond. It was all he could do without undermining her threat.
Instead of addressing his daughter, however, Lord Elkins gave Blayne a stare intended to strip the meat from a man’s bones. “This is your doing, you good for nothing cur. I’d like to run you through with my sword until—”
“Right,” Charlotte said, her voice clipped. She stood, forcing Blayne and her father out of their seats. “You clearly have no intention of trying to welcome Mr. MacNeil into the family or of wishing us happy.”
“You were always my most practical daughter, Charlotte. How the hell could you let this happen?”
She managed a wan smile and said, “It was rather simple really. I fell in love.”
Turning away, she started toward the door. The pull of her hand on Blayne’s forced him to follow her out, which he did with a swift, “Good day, sir,” directed at Lord Elkins.
“I need to gather some things,” Charlotte said when they returned to the foyer. Her voice shook.
“Are ye sure this is how ye wish to proceed, lass?”
She gave a tight nod. “If Papa can’t accept you or give his support, then I don’t see how he and I can ever hope to have a cordial relationship again.”
“Ye’re hurting, Charlotte, and that’s normal, but cutting ties with yer family is—”
“Not with my family, Blayne, just with him.”
“Nevertheless. Once ye step over that threshold it’s hard to come back.”
“I know, which is why it’s so bloody hard, but I cannot love you as much as I do and also accept his lack of approval. Blayne, he tried to sell me to Mr. Cooper and now he’s withholding his blessing out of spite. What sort of man does that to his daughter?”
“I suppose ye do have a point.”
“Yes, I rather believe I do.”
Ignoring the butler who’d arrived while they’d been speaking, Blayne wrapped one arm around Charlotte’s waist, pulled her flush up against him, and gave her a thorough kiss. “Do ye ken how terrifying ye can be when ye’re angry?”
She kissed him back. “Not enough to frighten you away, I hope.”
“Never,” he murmured, and kissed her again before adding respectable distance once more. “I’m going to have Guthrie send one of his carriages over along with a couple of footmen to help.”
“That really isn’t—”
