Page 30 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
He winced. “Touché.”
Theo wasn’t about to admit that he’d misidentified Lady Katherine. While he was certain that his brother would understand the confusion, considering that he never met the lady in question, he’d also find it far too amusing for Theo’s liking.
“Do you intend to stay here for long?” Nicholas asked.
“No, I’ll go soon. You might want to consider leaving too. I think it would be wise not to overimbibe again anytime soon.”
They sat together for a while longer, and then Theo saw himself out and took his carriage home. When he arrived, he asked his butler, Albert, to find out what would be showing at the opera tomorrow and then sent word to Lady Katherine that,should she be amenable, he would escort her and Lady Drake to the opera in the evening rather than calling on her during the day.
That done, he dragged himself into his office, sat at his desk, and reviewed the letter from Elizabeth’s parents once again. Elizabeth’s father was the vicar of South Wye, the town nearest to Blackwell Hall in Oxfordshire.
The vicar, Mr. Norman, was concerned about damage to the church roof. Had Theo still been married to Elizabeth, it would have been assumed that his patronage would cover the damage. They implored him to have the decency to fund the repairs in honor of his late wife whose death they held him accountable for.
Theo would, of course, pay for the repairs, if for no other reason than to get the vicar and his wife to leave him alone for a while. They often came asking for things, and he didn’t begrudge them that because they’d lost their daughter thanks to him. Unfortunately, they never missed an opportunity to remind him of that fact.
He drafted a letter to his man of business, summoned Albert to get it in the post, and then crawled into his bed, still mostly clothed, and shut his eyes.
What a day.
He’d been threatened with a duel. He now faced the possibility of marrying again, which was the last thing he wanted to do. He honestly didn’t know what tomorrow might bring.
What would Elizabeth think if she could see him now?
She’d been such a loving soul. So warm and passionate. He’d considered himself lucky to have her… until he’d smothered her spark.
Theo had seen Elizabeth around South Wye when they were children, but he’d never paid much attention to her. She’d been the wild-haired daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Norman who lived in the vicarage and nothing more.
The magic happened when he returned home for the summer from Oxford and met her at a local dance. She’d smiled and her mouth had curled in a way that was somehow adorable and mischievous at the same time. He’d fallen for her on the spot.
They’d danced and talked, and he’d called on her the next day. He’d been smitten. Something about her had eased a tension he always carried within himself. Mr. and Mrs. Norman had been thrilled by the attention he’d paid to their daughter, whose other local marriage prospects weren’t particularly impressive.
His parents, on the other hand, were rather displeased. The daughter of a local vicar wasn’t exactly the grand match they wanted for their son. Especially when he wanted to marry her at once, schooling be damned. They’d agreed to a compromise: They would allow the marriage to go ahead provided he completed his university education first.
They’d made the mistake of assuming that Elizabeth was just a passing fancy and his interest in her would wane. To their surprise, he’d returned home following his graduation and promptly made her his wife.
He summoned an image to his mind of how she’d looked on their wedding day. His mother had been determined to make it clear that she was not embarrassed by her son’s choice to marry a commoner. She’d ensured that his father paid for an extravagant dress and had hosted the grandest wedding that Blackwell Hall had ever seen.
Elizabeth had met his eyes as they stood opposite each other, and her gaze had gleamed with amusement. The dress was far too gaudy to suit her, but neither of them had cared because they were in love and getting married. That was all they wanted.
Over the following years, she’d become his best friend. They were there for each other through everything, and despite his mother’s disapproval of the match, the families gradually beganto accept each other. They figured out how to behave around each other. They never really assimilated though. Not truly.
Fortunately, Theo’s father had come to dote on Elizabeth. He’d made sure she always had what she needed and that no one who visited Blackwell Hall ever made her feel unworthy of her position. They’d enjoyed playing chess together and had often passed afternoons in the sun with a chessboard and a tray of tea.
But then, the storm happened.
The worst weather any of them could recall swept through the countryside. Winds raged and sent doors flying through the air, tore walls from buildings, and made it impossible for anyone to venture outside without risk of falling.
Rain pelted down, forming channels through the dips and valleys of the land around them and creating streams where they never used to be. Lightning flashed in the sky, and thunder shook the ground.
Then, they’d gotten word that his father’s favorite horse had broken loose. Their stable master had advised them to wait for the horse to return on its own once the storm was over, but the viscount had loved that horse, and he ignored the stable master’s advice and went searching for her.
When they had found out where he’d gone, Elizabeth had begged Theo to go after his father. Reluctantly, Theo donned his jacket and his most waterproof trousers and ventured out into the downpour. After searching for over an hour, he’d found the mare standing at the top of a cliff.
As soon as he’d seen her, he’d known something was wrong. He’d approached slowly, holding his hands out to soothe the agitated beast. Her eyes had been wild, and she reared back as if she might strike out at him with her hooves.
As he’d drawn near, he realized why she was so upset. There, at the bottom of the cliff, was the crumpled body of his father. Itwas obvious that he was dead. No one could have survived such a fall.
It had taken Theo another hour to coax the mare away from the edge of the cliff. He’d considered leaving her, but his father had given his life to save her, and he couldn’t let that be in vain.
