“You are rumored to have a good head on your shoulders, my lady. And, in Grasmere’s eagerness to get you married off, he made sure your dowry would be the largest sum one can snatch up without much effort.”
“I see you still have a way with words,” Marcus told Mr. Fairbanks dryly.
Mr. Fairbanks merely shrugged. “I detest it when people speak in riddles for the sake of being polite. Of course, even I must resort to such things when I’m out in Society, but considering what you hope to accomplish, I do believe frankness will serve us all best.”
“Agreed,” Louise said. She appreciated his candor even though she did not like what his comments implied. “If I understand you correctly, Mr. Fairbanks, your parents are pressuring you to marry me so you can replenish your coffers and gain some much needed help with regard to this tendency of yours to overspend.”
“Exactly.”
“And in exchange, my parents will be satisfied knowing their daughter is married to a respectable peer. A future viscount, no less.”
“That pretty much sums it up,” Mr. Fairbanks said.
“In other words,” Marcus said, “we’re not just up against Grasmere, but Viscount Mayfield too.”
He muttered a curse which Louise heartily agreed with. Crossing her father was one thing. Louise could force his hand and after that it would be in his best interest not to let any unfavorable rumors circulate. When it came to Mayfield, however, he owed her no allegiance whatsoever if she broke off her engagement to his son.
“Which is why,” Mr. Fairbanks said, “I propose an announcement in the paper.”
“What?” Louise and Marcus spoke in unison. They glanced at each other before returning their attention to Mr. Fairbanks.
“This will not only catch our parents by surprise, preventing them from stopping our plan before it’s put into motion, but allow us the chance to word things in a manner least likely to cause a scandal.” Mr. Fairbanks’s gaze grew pensive. “As a man, my reputation will survive this more easily than yours, Lady Louise, which is why I suggest it is I who ought to break the engagement.”
Louise sucked in a breath. “I cannot possibly ask that of you when I am the one who has ruined it all. If I’d only said something to you sooner then—”
“Please.” Mr. Fairbanks held up his hand. “Don’t trouble yourself over that any further.”
“You’re being awfully good about this all of a sudden,” Marcus muttered with a hint of suspicion. “How come?”
“As you’ve pointed out, a scandal would be unwelcome. And then of course, there is that blasted friendship of ours. So if you’re truly in love with Lady Louise, then this is the right thing to do. Given the fact that it makes little difference to me personally whether I marry her or Lady Deidre.”
“Nigel.” Marcus spoke his friend’s name in warning.
“Well, that is the blatant truth of it, Marcus.” Mr. Fairbanks took a long sip of his drink, set his glass aside and settled into a forward leaning position with his hands clasped between his knees. “Lady Deidre has shown an interest in me for some time, so I see no complication on that score. As soon as she has agreed to marry me, I’ll simply announce a change of heart.”
“That would humiliate me,” Louise remarked.
“For a while, perhaps. But being pitied is surely better than being despised, which is what would happen if you were to throw me over instead.”
He did have a point. Plus, if it became known she had been the one to break things off, there was no telling how Mayfield and her father might respond. “All right. If you’re willing to do this for us, we’d be grateful.”
“As long as you’re good for the one hundred pounds,” Mr. Fairbanks reminded them with a smirk while raising his glass in salute.
Marcus gripped Louise’s hand harder. “You have my word.”
Mr. Fairbanks inclined his head. “In that case, I’ll call on Lady Deidre straight away.”
“You should have come to me for help,” Guthrie told Marcus that same evening when he joined him and Regina for dinner. “This is destined to end in disaster.”
“And I suppose you would have made sure it didn’t?”
“Of course.” Guthrie cut his pork with agitated movements. “Mayfield has been of little interest to me over the years, but if you’d told me he might be a problem, I’d have made sure to gather more information on him.”
“Not even I could foresee the conundrum Mr. Fairbanks brought to light,” Marcus said. “And besides, blackmail is not the answer to every problem.”
“It works well in most cases,” Guthrie grumbled.
“What my darling husband is trying to say,” Regina said with a pointed look at Guthrie, “is that we’re ready to help you find the happiness you deserve. Honestly, Marcus, I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am to see you in love.”
