Page 15 of The Lyon’s Paw

“You are quite a sight to behold, brother.” Joanna came to him and hugged his tall frame. “Things have been rather dull without you. I thought planning my come out would be fun, but it is beyond boring at this stage.”

They would certainly not remain boring now. Putting on a huge smile, he offered his arm to his mother. “Good evening, Mother. Good evening, Joanna. Shall we go in?”

“Of course, my dear.” His mother gave him an odd look but took his arm and he led her into the dining room, seating her at the far end as was her custom, then moved to his own place at the opposite end. Joanna sat halfway down the table on his left, looking at him curiously.

As the footman served the first dish, mock turtle soup, Geoffrey kept his gaze on his plate, avoiding eye contact with his family members. He still had reservations about how he was going to broach the subject of his marriage.

“Geoffrey, what is the matter? Has something happened?”

He jerked his head up to find his mother staring at him, a slight frown creasing her brow of her otherwise beautiful face. “Why would you think something amiss, Mother?”

“Because there are two spots of high color on your cheeks, my dear.” His mother dipped her spoon into her bowl, nonchalant to a fault. “That always tells me something is worrying you.”

A glance at Joanna showed her nodding also. They knew him too well, apparently.

Best confess the deed then and be done with it. “I do have an announcement to make.” He picked up his wine glass and took a large sip, then set it down and looked directly at his mother. “I married Miss Diana Edgerton this afternoon. We have business to attend to in the morning, then I will help transport you both back to Longford, before I return for her and her belongings the day after.”

His mother’s eyes widened to two single dots of blue in the middle of a sea of white. “Geoffrey!”

Joanna gasped, her hand going to her chest. “Gracious, Geoffrey!”

“Are you having us on, Geoffrey?” His mother’s frown was thunderous. “You know I cannot abide such ill-bred behavior.”

“I’m sorry, Mother, but no, it is no joke. Far from it.” Geoffrey couldn’t quite meet her eyes. Instead, he kept his gaze on his wine glass as he played with the stem, twirling it this way and that until he feared it would snap off. “The lady was having some difficulties, and I agreed to marry her to put everything to rights.”

Mother sat bolt upright, her hand closing convulsively on her napkin. “She isn’t breeding, is she? For God’s sake, tell me she isn’t with child.”

“No!” He almost shouted the word. “God, no. I assure you she is not.” His conversation with Miss Edgerton and her aunt in June had convinced him of her innocence as far as the vicious rumors were concerned. So some good had come from that fiasco in the park.

“The lady’s only concern was meeting the requirements of her uncle’s will in order for her to inherit his vast fortune.”

In any case, he believed with conviction that if the lady had been increasing, Mrs. Dove-Lyon would have informed him immediately. That woman knew everything that went on in London.

“But Geoffrey,” his mother took a long sip of the madeira, then set her glass down, “isn’t Miss Edgerton the lady who embarrassed you so badly last spring?” Mother frowned, but her expression was one of concentration, as if trying to recall something important. “You have been railing against her ever since as the woman who made you the butt of so many unfortunate jests all summer long and now in the autumn as well.” She pursed her lips. “Mrs. Rogers told me the other day you have been renamed Toad Longford.” His mother’s face was livid. “And now you say you have married the woman responsible for that vile moniker? Have you lost your mind? What do you think the ton will say now?”

Joanna’s head—her face pale as the keys of her pianoforte—nodded frantically. “That’s true, Geoffrey, you must admit. You have not had a civil word to say about the lady these past months. You told me yourself if given the choice of marrying Miss Edgerton or a gargoyle, you’d rather have the gargoyle as it would be the softer of the two to share a bed with.” His sister shook her head. “Why would you marry the lady out of hand when you dislike her so much?”

Why indeed. But if he informed his sister of the real reason for his marriage, she would be devastated. Most likely she’d blame herself for his misfortune for the rest of her life. And that he could not have. He had to protect her from Dandridge, from society’s ugly rumors that would surely raise their heads about her and the bloody scoundrel who dared to try to extort her hand in marriage from him. That was simply his duty to her as her brother. How he chose to do so was his choice alone.

So he couldn’t divulge that. Not now, at least. Mother and Joanna were flabbergasted enough at the news of the wedding. To add to that the knowledge of Dandridge’s interest in his sister would alarm them even more. And if the ghastly news of the earldom’s insolvency came to light…

No, he needed to turn the conversation to something less traumatic, although he assumed they would still have all kinds of questions about his nuptials and his new wife.

“Why would I marry her?” He raised his glass as if in salute. “In order to play the hero of course, Joanna. I can’t allow Thomas to garner all the praise for marrying a damsel in distress. You told me yourself you thought his marrying Honoria was romantic and likened it to the chivalry of the knights of the Middle Ages.” Geoffrey grinned at her. “And I believe I’ve actually proven myself more selfless than he, as I married a lady who I don’t know well and, as you say, I have not liked very much in the past.” His gaze shifted to his mother, still staring at him, but now likely wondering if he’d married Miss Edgerton to continue the competitions he’d always had with Thomas. Well, let her think that, by all means. “Now that she’s my wife, I shall endeavor to like Miss Edgerton more.”

His mother and sister exchanged a speaking glance, then both settled back to their soup.

“You say she’s the lady who’s to inherit a great fortune from her uncle?” Joanna’s question made Geoffrey cringe.

They were skating too close to the truth for his liking, still he smiled at his sister and nodded. “She is.”

Joanna’s eyes got round and large. “So you have married to gain a fortune, Geoffrey?”

“No, that’s not the way of it.” God, exactly what he didn’t wish them to think. He’d thought about how to answer this question though without having to lie outright. “The lady’s uncle stipulated that she must be married in order to inherit that vast sum. There were circumstances in her life that made marriage to me the best option for us both. But I insisted on signing settlements that leave the fortune in her hands, not mine.”

“What?” His mother’s head jerked up, her spoon clanging against the blue China bowl. Her eyes suddenly turned hard. “Why would you do such an irresponsible thing, Geoffrey?”

“Because it is her inheritance, my dear.” He could finally meet his mother’s gaze evenly. “She only married me in order to claim it. As a gentleman, I refuse to take advantage of her or of the situation.” He glared at his parent, possibly for the first time in his life. “Knowing me, you cannot believe I would do anything else.”