‘We need someone trustworthy, then,’ Percy said slowly. ‘A true gentleman, capable of keeping a secret.’
‘Exactly,’ the duke said.
Silence fell. The two of them stared at each other, minds racing as they searched for a candidate.
For a moment, Louisa thought she had won the argument. There was surely no one in London mad enough to go along with this scheme.
Then, something changed. Percy smiled wickedly and a look of alarm instantly spread across the duke’s face.
‘You were the one to suggest it,’ Percy pointed out with glee.
‘But I did not think…’ his friend sputtered. ‘I mean, it is not as if I can run off to the country to play games.’
‘Why not? The session of Parliament has ended. And I know for a fact you had no plans other than to go to Brighton.’
No.
The previous idea had been insane. But if she understood the meaning behind this latest exchange, they had devised a torture as horrible as anything she’d read in the most lurid novel. Lock her in a dungeon. Bring on the rack and the wheel. But not this. She could feel her face burning red, as she muttered, ‘No. No. Certainly not. I could never…’
Percy ignored her and spoke to the duke. ‘It is not as though you would have to be yourself. Grandfather has never met my friend, the Duke of Bonham. You are a complete stranger to him. Take off that signet and you could be anyone.’
The duke stared down at his hand, as if considering.
‘Play the part. Kowtow to the old man for a day or two. Once we get him to sign a cheque, you need never see him again.’
‘You are overlooking yet another thing,’ Louisa said, ignoring the duke and speaking directly to Percy. ‘An engagement is not a marriage. Grandfather has no obligation to give me anything until I am wed.’
He grinned back at her, unfazed. ‘No need to wait on a signed license to release the money. Let it be a wedding gift to the happy couple. He can date the cheque for the day after the ceremony if he wishes. It is not as if he will be there to pay up on the day. He is an old man. Too frail to travel. It is doubtful that he will survive the year.’
‘You have said that for the last decade,’ she reminded him.
‘And one day, I shall be right,’ Percy said, finally turning serious. ‘I hate to say it about the head of my own family, but he is an evil man. I think he takes pleasure in punishing you over nothing.’
‘He has no right to withhold your inheritance from you,’ the duke said in the firm tone of a man who was used to deciding the fate of others and having those decisions obeyed. ‘You are of age. You need the money. Something must be done.’
He sounded so sure that, for a moment, she almost believed him.
Then his tone changed and he sounded like the boy her brother had described in the letters he’d written while at school, a prankster always up for adventure. ‘Frankly, it might be amusing to leave my title behind for a week or two. I always thought it must be a lark to memorise a role and take to the stage. Play the hero. Save the fair lady…’
Before entering the room, she’d planned to spin a romantic fantasy out of a few kind words. He was offering one fully formed but not of her making. Throwing her into the middle of a story as a heroine, with no idea how it might end. It was tempting, to be sure. But it could not possibly succeed.
Percy nudged her in the ribs. ‘He will be Romeo to your Juliet.’
She stared at him, horrified. ‘But Juliet died! They both died, Percy.’
He winced. ‘Not the best analogy, I agree. But you get the gist.’
The exchange was lost on the duke, who was obviously still imagining an exciting double life. ‘I will do it. It shall be a cracking good time and a story that we can someday tell our grandchildren.’
Louisa let out a squeak of shock.
‘Notourgrandchildren,’ he corrected hurriedly. ‘The grandchildren we each will have. Someday. When we marry. Other people.’
‘Don’t be a goose, Lou,’ Percy said with a laugh. ‘It is not as if you actually have to marry anyone.’
‘Of course not,’ she said. For a moment, she was too angry to be worried. ‘I do not have to do anything at all. You both have it all planned out. Don’t mind me. I’ll just stand back and wait for disaster to strike.’
Then, she rose and swept from the room.
