Page 45 of Wedding the Widow

“I am happy to provide you with a new challenge, my lord. You may call me Elizabeth, as I hope we are all to be related soon.” She drank the last sweet drops of the burgundy, feeling suddenly useless. If they did not wed, what would such a familiarity matter?

“And you shall call me Hal. All my friends do.” He shot a look at Jemmy. “Even some of my relations.”

“I have no idea why he objects to the marriage. He refused to say.” Jemmy stared into his final swallow of the blood-red wine. “Then we could at least come up with a counterargument. It’s impossible to argue against ‘None of your business.’”

“Perhaps if you could prove her connections grand enough?” Hal’s eyes brightened. “Please tell me you are a duchess in disguise.” His wistful tone made Elizabeth laugh in spite of herself. Lord knew, there was nothing amusing about her situation.

“I fear not, Hal. I am the widow of the second son of a somewhat prosperous esquire, a lieutenant colonel who died at Waterloo, and the daughter of a viscount. Quite ordinary in fact.” Her laugh sounded like a fox’s yip. “Perhaps that is the objection. Likely, he has grander aims for his son and heir.”

“That I can believe.” Hal frowned.

“Still, he didn’t sound unreasonable when you spoke of your late husband.” Jemmy’s brow puckered as he poured them more wine. “I even thought he believed it rather noble that your husband had died for his country.”

“So did I.” The marquess had seemed rather sympathetic at that point in the interview. She twirled her glass by the stem, staring at the candlelight dancing off the crystal. “He didn’t seem inclined to refuse the marriage until I mentioned my father’s name.”

“What’s that all about?” Hal leaned toward her, his eyes sparkling with interest.

“I have no idea.”

“Do they have some feud between them?”

“Not that I have ever heard.” Elizabeth shrugged. Until she met Jemmy, she’d never heard of the Marquess of Blackham. “My parents certainly have never mentioned such. Has your father ever spoken about Wentworth or the Worths before? Or the Kelcotts? That is my mother’s family.”

With a sigh, Jemmy shook his head. “Never. Well, not to me. Hal?”

His brother threw up his hands. “My conversations with Father always center around my shortcomings, not his. But I can tell you this. If there’s bad blood between the families, you and Elizabeth are going to have to find a way to overcome it on your own. Father would willingly march into hell and gladly roast there rather than give in to anyone.”

Hal’s sober face at this pronouncement made Elizabeth’s heart stutter. She clenched her fist around the glass’s stem. Surely that wasn’t true? Hesitantly, she turned to Jemmy, praying he would refute his brother’s bleak statement.

Avoiding her eyes, he grasped her hand in both of his. “Unfortunately, that is true, my dear. If Father is set against the marriage, he will not change his mind.”

A cold chill ran icy fingers down her spine. What on earth were they to do? Her situation could be hidden only for so long. If they could not marry . . .

“Then Father be damned.” Hal thumped his glass on the table, and the dishes danced. “Marry without his consent. You are both of age. Who will stop you?”

“Father. He holds my purse strings for eight months, so he has just reminded me.” Jemmy growled and his face darkened. “My funds are in trust until I’m thirty.” He shot his brother a piercing look. “The same is true for your portion, I believe?”

“Gads.” Hal’s ruddy face paled. “I’d thought the age was twenty-five. I’d banked on tapping into that lot next year. I’ll send to Connors in the morning to find out the lay of the land.” He rubbed his eyes and groaned. “If it’s to be five more years of facing down Father, I may just enter the church and be done with it.”

Jemmy snorted. “You’ll become a clergyman when pigs fly in the air with their tails forward.”

A grin split Hal’s face. “The ‘tails forward’ part is the sticking point, I’ll grant you.”

Quickly sobering, Jemmy chaffed her hand. “What he has done is tie my hands where Elizabeth is concerned.”

The caress was sweet, but his words brought the reality of their situation sharply into focus. They truly might not be able to marry in time for the child to be born legitimately. Her stomach dropped with sickening force.

“Defy the old curmudgeon and marry anyway.” Hal’s eyes sparkled, as if spoiling for a fight not his own.

“Easier said than done.” Jemmy downed the rest of his wine and wiped his lips on the back of his hand. “How would we live? With Elizabeth’s parents? They’d not want their daughter married to a man who is almost destitute. What would that say about me as a provider for her and her children? She has two small children who must be cared for. Not to mention we would not want to live in their pockets.” Jemmy signaled the footman for more wine.

“I will be no help at all,” Elizabeth said quietly. She’d been mulling over her financial situation as well and discovered it to be bleak as a cold midwinter’s day. “I shall lose my widow’s pension from my late husband when I marry. It is not much, but it has made a deal of difference to my limited independence.” She toyed with her glass but refused the offer of more wine. She needed her wits about her from now on.

“Then I propose we drink some more.” Hal grabbed the bottle from the astonished footman and shooed him away. “Let’s get foxed and drown our sorrows.”

“I fear I must retire, gentlemen.” Elizabeth rose, glad to be moving at last. “We have an early start and a long journey tomorrow.”

The men catapulted to their feet, Jemmy grasping her arm as if it were a lifeline. “Allow me to escort you to your chamber, my love.” He turned to Hal. “Don’t wait for me, brother. Saying good night to this lovely lady will likely take some time.”