Page 40 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
“Is everything all right, my lord?” Albert asked from behind him.
With a sigh, Theo turned toward him. Albert was silhouetted in the doorway by the faint flickering light from the hall. He couldn’t make out many of his butler’s features, but his hands were clasped nervously in front of his large belly.
“Come tomorrow, I’ll be betrothed.” Theo weighed the bottle of brandy with one hand, noting there was still plenty left, and considered pouring himself the third.
“Congratulations, sir!”
Even though he couldn’t see Albert’s face, he could tell that Albert was far more excited about the prospect of having a mistress of the house than he was. No doubt many of the household staff would feel the same. They liked having a lady around, and his mother didn’t fill the role the same way she used to.
“Yes, well,” he said distastefully. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s still a chance she’ll change her mind.”
Albert pressed his palms together. “I’m sure she won’t. What lady of good breeding wouldn’t be thrilled to have Viscount Blackwell as a husband?”
Theo snorted. “You know my reputation just as well as I do, Albert.”
“Perhaps, my lord. But I also know you don’t deserve it. I look forward to learning more about your intended. For now, shall I have Barlow sent to your room?”
“No, thank you.” Theo had dismissed his valet earlier in the day and told him to take the night off. He wouldn’t disturb the man now even if it would be convenient to have his assistance.
He glanced at the bottle. Unless he wanted to down it all and wallow like a drunkard, he supposed there was nothing for it now but to go to bed and hope things looked better in the morning. He really, really didn’t want to be responsible for ruining the life of another woman he cared about, and he’d already grown to like Lady Katherine.
Unfortunately, she’d made her choice.
He dismissed Albert, dragged himself to his bedchamber, and was relieved to find that a candle was burning on the nightstand and his nightclothes were set out for him. He began unbuttoning his shirt, his fingers fumbling thanks to the drinks he’d downed, but he stopped when he realized there was a lump on his bed.
He tensed and raised his fists, prepared to demand the intruder explain himself, but relaxed when he realized it was Nicholas. His brother lay face down, his cheek turned to the side, his mouth hanging open and his eyes closed.
Rolling his eyes, Theo leaned over and poked Nicholas. His brother jolted awake and scrambled into an upright position.
“You got what you wanted,” Theo said, uncharacteristic bitterness flooding him. “Come morning, Lady Katherine Drake will officially agree to become the new viscountess.”
Nicholas grimaced, and his gaze was wary as he took Theo in. “I truly think this marriage could make you happy again,” he said after a long pause. “I’m sorry for the way it happened, but won’t you give it a chance?”
Theo sat on the edge of the bed and fought to remove his boots as he considered Nicholas’s words. If he was backed into a corner, it made sense to try to make the most of it, but he wasn’t sure if he was capable of that kind of optimism.
He wrestled one boot off and then the other and flopped onto the bed beside Nicholas. “I’m afraid I’ll fail her like I did Elizabeth.”
“Oh, Theo.” Nicholas patted his shoulder. “What happened to her wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t hers either. It was just terrible luck.”
Theo closed his eyes. “If I’d responded differently, then she might not have gone down the path she did.”
“Or it might not have changed anything at all.” Nicholas scooted back down so they were lying side by side. “No one can know these things.”
“I just wish I’d….”
That he’d what, exactly?
That he’d stopped trying to manage the estate he’d suddenly found himself in charge of and fussed over her instead? He’d done his best to coddle and care for her regardless of his other obligations.
Perhaps he wished that his father had never gone over that cliff. He should have lived for years to come, but he couldn’t deny that if he and Elizabeth were going to have difficulty conceiving, it would have eventually become an issue regardless of whether his father lived or died.
Nicholas sighed. “You know what they say. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. You can’t go back. Why not make this a fresh start?”
“Because I don’t know how to do better.” If he didn’t know what he’d done wrong, he couldn’t avoid repeating the same mistake, and he couldn’t stand to see the light slowly fade from Lady Katherine’s clever gray eyes.
“I have faith in you,” Nicholas said.
“You’d be the only one.”
