Papa rolled his eyes and gave his soft-boiled egg a violent tap with his spoon. “I’ll have to speak with Lord Mayfield. An apology is in order.” He muttered a curse when the eggshell stuck to the egg, making it hard to remove. “His son has humiliated you, Louise. He has humiliated our entire family with this stupid announcement.”
“It will pass,” Louise told her father. “These things always do.”
“Not for a cripple, they don’t,” Papa roared. “My God, Louise. Do you have any idea how hard it has been for us to ensure a reasonable match for you? I know Mr. Fairbanks is far from perfect, but at least he’ll be a viscount one day and your position within Society would have been secured. Now we might as well give up trying. After this catastrophe no one will have you.”
“Mr. Berkly will,” Louise blurted. Driven by the hurt her father’s words caused and the need to contradict him, she’d spoken in haste. She realized her mistake as soon as the words were out. “I mean—”
“The surgeon?” Mama asked.
“You cannot associate with a murderer’s son.” Papa slammed his egg against his plate and practically ripped it in half. The liquid yolk stained the porcelain. He speared Louise with a dangerous glower. “I’ll not have it. Do you hear? I’ll not let you shame me or your mother in such a way.”
“If you would only support me in this, I’m sure we’d get through it.”
“No,” he said, his voice like an axe, severing all hope.
Louise tightened her jaw. “Do you not want me to be happy?”
“Your happiness,” he said, his voice low and measured, “is worthless if it comes at the cost of this family’s reputation.”
“Papa, I—”
“This conversation is over.” He stood, abandoning the remains of his egg. Pausing, he stared at Louise. “Word has it the Dowager Countess of Croft is looking for a companion. Now that you’re free from obligation, I shall recommend you for the position.”
Louise sucked in a breath and watched with mounting horror as her father strode from the room. She did not know the Dowager Countess of Croft very well, but she knew one thing about her that mattered. She was Lady Deidre’s grandmother, so if Louise became her companion, she could forget about escaping the one person who’d always made her life miserable.
“Please tell me you’ll help me avoid such a fate,” Louise told Mama.
“I’m not sure I can,” Mama said. She knit her brow. “Or that it would be in your best interest.”
“Mama.” Louise considered telling her mother about Paris right then and there, but decided against it. Hurting her father out of spite wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t change his mind. On the contrary, it could make matters worse since he’d no longer have a reason not to go after Marcus. Once the truth was out, Louise would lose the only card in her favor.
“Your father is doing his best by you, Louise.”
“How can you say that when he is actively trying to stop me from building a future with the man I love?”
“Mr. Berkly may be a fine surgeon. Unlike your father, I approve of your seeking his help, and I’m glad he was able to put an end to that awful couching procedure. But when it comes to marrying the Earl of Grasmere’s daughter, he is completely unsuitable. Surely you must see that?”
“He is a peer’s son, Mama.”
“No. Hewasa peer’s son. Until the Hedgewick title was dissolved.” Mama placed her hand over Louise’s and met her gaze. “Now he’s less than a nobody.”
Louise snatched her hand away. “You’re wrong. Both of you. Mr. Berkly is better than any other man I have ever met, and I will find a way for us to be together.”
“Before you do,” Mama said, her voice as calm as always, “you may want to consider the full extent of the repercussions. Right now your high temper and strong emotions are causing you to be irrational. But if you allow yourself a moment to think about the consequences your choosing Mr. Berkly will have, I do believe you’ll reconsider.”
“No. I won’t.” Resolved, Louise stood and began heading for the door. “If the Earl of Fielding’s reputation could be restored after he chose to marry the daughter of a reputed traitor, this family will survive me marrying a man in spite of who his father may have been.”
“Fielding is a man,” Mama said. “His situation therefore cannot be compared. Never mind the fact that his wife’s father was posthumously acquitted of all wrongdoing.”
Louise left the room without looking back. There were numerous other examples of peers overcoming scandal in the name of love, provided they had the fortitude to fight for what they wanted. The Duke of Redding, for one, not to mention the Duke of Huntley, Redding’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Lowell, and Marcus’s sister, Regina.
If all of these people could thwart the rules of Society and choose love no matter the obstacles in their path, then so could she and Marcus. Together, they’d find a way. They had to.
With a couple of hours to spare before his first appointment at the hospital, Marcus decided to pay a call on Lord Grasmere. With Nigel’s announcement in the paper, the earl would surely be worrying over his daughter’s future. Marcus thought it the perfect time to remind him he was an option and to convince him he could be good for his daughter, in spite of the blemish to his name.
So he donned his hat and his gloves and was just about to head out when three hard raps caused him to glance at the door. Frowning, he opened it, and instantly took a step back when he saw the irate man who stood there. Apparently, Grasmere had come to call on him first.
“Do come in,” Marcus said.
