Page 18 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
More than anything, he didn’t want to watch another strong, vivacious woman lose her spark and her will to live.
That’s all he could offer to anyone who married him. He’d condemn any wife of his to a life of misery and despair. He didn’t want that. Nor, unfortunately, did he want to condemn a young lady to being cast out of society just because his brother had acted foolishly, as usual.
His arms grew weary, but no matter how many punches he threw, it didn’t calm the thoughts racing through his mind. It seemed like whatever he did, someone would be hurt as a result. His mother. Nicholas. This unknown woman. Sweat soaked his hair and trickled down the back of his neck. The sound of his breathing filled the space.
Eventually, he gave up on finding peace and padded back to his bedchamber to bathe.
Nicholas was unconscious on the bed in a slightly awkward position. Theo considered rearranging him but decided that he deserved to wake with a kink in his neck. His brother's intentions may have been good, but he’d still gone behind Theo’s back and done something he had known he wouldn’t approve of.
Sometimes, execution mattered more than intention, and his execution had gone very wrong.
Reluctant to disturb Nicholas despite his simmering anger, Theo used cold water to clean himself and sniffed his armpit tomake sure he didn’t smell intolerable before dressing in simple trousers and a shirt—so as not to need the assistance of his valet—and wandered downstairs.
The delicious, yeasty aroma of fresh-baked bread permeated the ground floor of the house, and he followed the scent to the dining room. The maid he’d woken must have roused Mrs. Browne, the cook, because breakfast was ready much earlier than usual.
He fixed himself a plate of eggs and sausage, slathered butter and jam on a thick slice of warm bread, and sat at the head of the table to eat. He wolfed down the bread, hungry from exercising, and only slowed once his gnawing hunger had dissipated.
As he lingered over the eggs and sausage, he found his gaze drawn to the empty chair opposite him. Once upon a time, that seat would have been filled by a young woman with dark hair that refused to do as it was told and a smile that had warmed his heart and made him believe he’d never be alone.
He’d been naive.
“My lord?”
He glanced up at the butler, Albert, who stood a few yards away with his palms folded neatly over his rounded abdomen, clutching a sheet of paper to his body.
“Yes, Albert?”
Albert cleared his throat. “Master Nicholas requested that we obtain copies of the scandal sheets as soon as they’re available and provide them to you. This is the first.”
Fucking Nicholas.
Theo wasn’t sure whether to be grateful for his brother’s foresight, even in an inebriated state, or furious at the reminder of how badly Nicholas had blundered.
“Thank you.” He held his hand out, and Albert hesitantly passed him the paper. Theo could hardly take his frustration outon his loyal staff. It wasn’t their fault his brother never thought anything through.
“Is there anything else, my lord?”
“Not right now, Albert.”
Theo spread the sheet on the table and skimmed over the first few chunks of text, searching for his name. For a moment, he thought perhaps Nicholas had been overly cautious in thinking he’d been recognized, but at the bottom, in the corner, was a small piece about the discovery of the unwed Lady Katherine Drake, sister to the Earl of Longley, alone in a compromising position with the also unwed—and terribly infamous—Viscount Blackwell.
Damn.
He read the text again. What the hell had Nicholas done? He claimed that nothing had happened between him and the chit, but this article made it sound as if they’d been practicallyin flagrante.
With an earl’s sister, no less.
And this godforsaken piece-of-trash paper had identified her by name.
And Theo.
Nicholas could tell people it had been him all he wanted, but Theo doubted anyone would believe it. Lady Katherine’s guardian certainly wouldn’t settle for Nicholas when they could turn their daughter into a viscountess.
The bottom dropped out of his stomach, and he thought he might be sick. He’d have to marry her now or the poor girl would be ruined.
CHAPTER 6
Kate shifted impatientlyfrom one foot to the other as she waited for the footman to hand her the basket of scandal sheets he’d been sent out to collect. As soon as he extended it toward her, she snatched the handle, pausing briefly to apologize for her rudeness before rushing with the basket to the drawing room, where her family was gathered to find out how bad the situation was.
