Page 63 of Vanquished By A Viscount
The two of them marched down the hall, following the growing commotion they could hear deeper in the house, then across the front hall and along the corridor to the conservatory.
By the time they got there, Lady Sandridge had already gathered an audience that consisted of most of the house party guests. Charlie was there as well, standing near a distraught Pettigrew. Gray tossed his anxieties and concerns aside and went straight to his beloved.
“What the devil is the matter?” he asked as though nothing at all was out of sorts between him and Charlie.
Charlie took one look at Gray, his emotions flashing through his expression at whirlwind speed, then shook his head as though he, too, wished to toss everything awkward between them aside. He inched closer to Gray, close enough to take his hand if he wished to, and said, “Pettigrew tripped right into Lady Sandridge’s marriage trap at last.”
Gray grunted grimly, though he wanted to smile at his unfettered closeness to Charlie.
He did not have a chance to say anything.
“This man has impugned my daughter’s honor!” Lady Sandridge shouted, throwing out her arm to point viciously at Pettigrew. “He drew her into a parlor alone with the expressed intent of laying his hands on her person.”
“Er, I am not entirely certain that is possible,” Lord Iverson said, sending Lady Winifred, who stood close to him, an awkward look.
“What do you mean, my lord?” Lady Sandridge demanded, misunderstanding Lord Iverson’s statement. “Are you saying that my daughter is without honor?”
Lady Eudora squeaked, pausing her false crying to glare indignantly at Lord Iverson. “Just because I have spurned your advances, my lord, does not mean I have no honor.” She sniffed and turned away, adding a bit too loudly, “Your fortune is paltry at any rate.”
Gray rolled his eyes and rubbed a hand across his face. He was glad that Barbara was not part of the scene unfolding in the conservatory. His sister-in-law would have fainted with embarrassment on Lady Eudora’s behalf, and Barbara was not a fainter.
“Upon my honor,” Pettigrew appealed to Lady Sandridge. “I would never compromise any woman. Lady Eudora inquiredabout a medical concern, and when I attempted to assist her, she—” He cleared his throat, face bright red. “The encounter did not proceed the way I anticipated it would.”
Gray had to give the man credit for still attempting to protect Lady Eudora’s reputation, even though it was obvious who was at fault in the situation.
“There is only one acceptable outcome to this travesty,” Lady Sandridge said, tilting her chin up and glaring down her nose at Pettigrew. “This blackguard must marry my daughter to preserve her good name.”
“I beg of you, Lady Sandridge,” Pettigrew said, panic making him go splotchy. “I cannot marry Lady Eudora. You would not wish me on your daughter for all the world.”
“I do not care if you have no title,” Lady Eudora said, forgetting to cry once more. “I will be satisfied with your fortune alone.”
Lady Sandridge seemed to approve of her daughter’s statement, indeed, to be proud of it.
The majority of the others crowded around, observing the scene, with looks of indignation, but not on Lady Eudora’s behalf.
“Truly, my lady, you do not want this,” Pettigrew said, appealing to Lady Eudora.
“I can assure you I do,” Lady Eudora said, grinning as if she’d won a prize. Her expression dropped to wariness a moment later as she asked, “You would not wish to see my reputation ruined, would you, Dr. Pettigrew? You are not that sort of cruel man, are you?”
“Believe you me,” Lady Sandridge said in dire tones. “If you throw my daughter over, it is your reputation that will be forever tarnished. I will see to it that you are labeled the worst sort of villain. Your medical practice would vanish in an instant.”
Gray gaped at the audacity of the two ladies. “How is it that this entire society we live in is dictated by whispers and gossip andreputation?” he asked, leaning closer to Charlie.
“The world would be a much happier place if everyone in it would leave each other alone to live as they pleased,” Charlie whispered in return.
Gray turned to look at him just as Charlie turned his head to gaze at him. Their eyes met, and Gray’s heart leapt in his chest. It was not lack of affection or incompatibility that had split the two of them apart seven years ago, it was the frustrating and voracious god of reputation that seemed to rule over English society with an iron fist.
That god could be damned, as far as Gray was concerned. Though he was aware it still mattered to Charlie, he did not care one whit what anyone thought of him. He was content to be labeled the worst sort of libertine, even though he was not, if it meant he could share the rest of his life with the man he loved.
Charlie’s expression softened, but in the crowded room, there was no way for them to express the sentiments Gray was certain they both felt.
Both of them were prevented from saying anything more when Lady Sandridge took a step toward Pettigrew and demanded, “Will you marry my daughter, sir, or will you see your reputation and your practice destroyed?”
Gray was indignant that the woman could issue such an ultimatum.
Rather than expressing his indignation as well, Pettigrew sighed and sagged. “I suppose we could enter negotiations of some sort,” he said, face drawn with defeat.
Lady Sandridge beamed. “I knew you would come around,” she said. She turned to her daughter. “Come, Eudora. We must write to your father and tell him everything, then we must prepare for the banns to be read.”
