Page 23 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
Theo steeled himself. He hoped the earl was as amiable as he recalled. He’d rather not get a bloodied nose if the man punched him for tainting his sister.
“Viscount Blackwell is here to speak with you, my lord,” the butler said.
“Is he?” Longley’s voice was deceptively mild. “Please show him in.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The butler allowed Theo to enter, the faintest smirk appearing on his lips as if he would enjoy whatever punishment the earl saw fit to bestow upon this vile besmircher of maidenly virtue.
Theo raised his eyes to the earl’s and immediately stopped walking, almost tripping over himself. Longley had always been an affable fellow—in appearance as well as manner—but right now, he looked murderous.
Theo clasped his hands in front of his groin, slightly concerned that the earl might threaten his ability to reproduce. “Thank you for agreeing to see me, my lord.”
Longley jabbed a finger at the chair on the other side of the desk. “Sit.”
Theo sat.
The smug butler retreated.
Longley stared at him for a long moment. “State your business.”
Dread curled in his gut. He didn’t want to do this. After he’d lost his wife, he’d sworn that he’d never marry again. He wasn’t sure that he could survive a second marriage going so dreadfully wrong, and he didn’t want to condemn a young lady to a life of misery with him either. He’d already proved himself incapable of keeping a wife happy.
Theo cleared his throat and forced himself to speak. “To begin with, I’d like to assure you that I did absolutely nothing untoward with your sister.” Once Nicholas had sobered up, Theo made him swear to that on the family bible. “That said, I understand that that isn’t how the situation came across, and now Lady Katherine’s reputation is at risk.”
Longley bent, withdrew a bottle of liquor from within his desk, and poured a portion into a small glass. He didn’t offer any to Theo. “Go on.”
Lord, the man was determined not to make this easy.
“I am prepared to marry Lady Katherine.” The words were bitter on his tongue, and as Longley swilled his drink, Theo wished he had one of his own.It hadn’t been easy to arrive at this decision, but offering himself as a sacrificial lamb would protect both his brother and mother, the two people he loved most in the world.
Longley drained the glass and set it down. “Considering the position you’re in—and the fact that it’s all of your own creation—you probably ought not to make the possibility of marrying my beloved sister sound comparable to walking to the noose. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to settle this via pistols at dawn.”
Theo’s stomach lurched, and he blinked at Longley, unable to form a response. He hadn’t thought the earl had it inhim to threaten a duel. He’d always been so friendly and nonconfrontational. Apparently, when it came to his sister, Longley was far from easygoing.
“That won’t be necessary,” he bit out. “My apologies, Lord Longley. I have nothing against Lady Katherine.”
How could he? He’d never even met her.
“Your expression says otherwise,” Longley said coldly.
Theo dragged his hand through his hair. He was getting this all wrong. “I truly don’t. It’s just that I never intended to remarry, so this is taking some adjustment.”
Longley glanced at his bottle as if debating whether to pour himself another, but he must have decided against it, because he flattened his palms on the desk and leaned back in his chair. “Why would you be conversing with a young unmarried lady at the Wembley’s ball if not to find a wife?”
“She tripped and required assistance.” Another piece of information he’d gleaned from Nicholas. “I was there to catch up with an old friend, but when I came across her, it seemed the polite thing to offer to accompany her to the balcony for air.”
In reality, it wasn’t a decision Theo would ever have made, but Nicholas had always been more reckless than he was.
“Mm-hmm.” Longley looked dubious. “You are fortunate that Kate has already told me the same thing and assured me that nothing happened between you other than a case of unlucky timing.”
Thank God. Some women would have seen the opportunity to secure a match with a lord and lied to trap him into it. At least he now knew that Lady Katherine possessed a basic level of human decency.
“So, how do we proceed?” Theo asked.
Longley stared at him, his hazel eyes thoughtful but unrelenting. “I will never ask my sister to marry anyone shedoesn’t want to. You’re welcome to make your offer to her, and whatever her decision is, I’ll stand by it.”
Theo cocked his head, caught off guard once again. He would assume that most guardians of young ladies entangled in a scandal would be only too happy to make decisions on their ward’s behalf—especially if it were possible to extricate them from a situation with their reputation still mostly intact.
