Page 13 of The Earl's Reluctant Bride
“Lady Elizabeth.”
When she did not reply Lord Thornton said louder, “Lady Elizabeth is with me. If you will excuse us.”
When Elizabeth turned around to face the viscount, he quietly walked past Lady Bonner and left the inn. Both Elizabeth and Lord Thornton were familiar with Lady Bonner because she was well-known in their social circles. Elizabeth shifted her gaze to find Lady Bonner was accompanied by her sons. They immediately started whispering among themselves, and her breath caught in her lungs.
Elizabeth felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Lady Bonner was a notorious gossip who would certainly write to her lady friends to share the bawdy details.
Lord Thornton took her hand and led her upstairs. Elizabeth was mortified as Lord Thornton had witnessed her humiliation. They returned to the room at the end of the hall. Elizabeth was ashamed to think the viscount had taken advantage of her trusting nature. She felt tears burn her eyes but she blinked them away furiously. She sat down heavily in the armchair and lifted her gaze to Barlow and Lord Thornton in anticipation of what would transpire next.
Barlow was the first to speak. “I am sorry that you had to discover the viscount’s true nature in this way, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth did not speak. She rigidly held her tears in check and gave them a stony glare. Her palms ached from her fingers biting into them.
“Things have just taken even more of a turn, Thornton.” Her brother tried to retain his composure, but there was a distinct hardening in his eyes.
Thorton furrowed his brows. “Whatever do you mean?”
“We are in a bit of a quandary because of Lizzy’s actions. We have just seen Lady Bonner and her sons on the main floor where Lizzy created a spectacle. Immediately the gossip started.” Barlow shook his head from side to side in frustration. “Shortly thehaut tonwill know all the details of this affair. I am loathe to admit the viscount is correct. This scandal will ruin you, Lizzy, and any prospects of marriage. It will taint our family name. What solution do you propose?”
“Solution?” Elizabeth all but whispered. She shifted her gaze between both men as she pondered what the solution could be. A wave of apprehension went through her.
“I cannot return home. Mama and Papa will be dead set on me marrying the duke more so now than ever. Considering the potential scandal, they will insist I wed the duke sooner than later. I will die if I must. Icannotwed the duke.”
“You will be my wife,” Lord Thornton announced without fanfare.
The shock almost caused the words to wedge in Elizabeth’s throat.His wife? “I beg your pardon?”
He pinned her with an unflinching stare and slowly repeated, “You will be m wife.”
There was something in his tone that pricked at her skin, but she shook her head, dazed. “We could not possibly wed, my lord! You arrived here with Robert and shattered my world. You will forever be associated with my humiliation and ruin my happiness. How can I marry you?”
The earl’s expression shuttered, and she desperately wished she knew his thoughts.
“You would prefer a scandal and ruination of our family’s good name?” Robert demanded.
Elizabeth fell silent. Guilt and sorrow tore through her chest. She gazed at Lord Thornton, and even though he was handsome, and a loyal friend to her brother, she felt nothing but anger toward him. She understood that they could have bribed the viscount with coin and forced him to flee without her knowledge. If the viscount was only interested in her inheritance, he would have taken his purse and disappeared, and Elizabeth would have been none the wiser. Her humiliation would not have been complete, but this would not have satisfied Lord Thornton.
He had been very ruthless in how he shattered her hope. Lord Thorton wanted her to see that the viscount had never loved her, and that he had only seen her as a means to an end. She hated Lord Thornton for it even though deep inside she also realized he had saved her from a folly. Surely a marriage built on deceit would not have lasted. The dual feeling of being angry, yet also grateful to the earl meshed painfully inside Elizabeth.
She was numb. She was conscious of their scrutiny, and it made it difficult for her to contemplate her predicament. Elizabeth was not pleased with what her brother had said, but she knew that he was right. She was irrevocably compromised. Lord Thornton was a wealthy earl with power and connections and although he was not the Duke of Rochester, she was sure that her parents would accept him. They knew Lord Thornton, and the fact that he was best friends with Robert could help to explain her closeness to him.
Lord Thornton said, “As I see it you have two choices. You have already decided not to return home and marry the duke.”
“Yes, I am certain should I return now my father will force me to wed the duke. He will perhaps reject your offer.”
The earl nodded. “To prevent that situation, we would proceed to Gretna Green and wed there. We will then return to Thornton Manor. I can guarantee that once we have eloped, and we have been together at Thornton Manor, there would be no prospect of a wedding to the duke.”
Lord Thornton started at her expectantly, but Elizabeth did not speak.
“I think that is a capital idea,” her brother said, relief settling on his face.
“Good,” the earl said. “We are in agreement then that you will return to Brampton Manor and explain the circumstances to your father before we pay him a visit.”
None of her options were favorable, but marrying the earl would be the lesser of two evils. While she did not wish to wed under the circumstances, she was astute enough to understand this would be the best course of action and decided she would marry Lord Thornton. She had never felt so alone. They say the viscount took advantage of her, but she still felt sincere affection for him. Perhaps she was foolish to still care for him, yet she understood that she could not be with him. It was a sad realization. Elizabeth was suddenly gripped with exhaustion, overwhelmed by the torrent of the past few hours.
Lord Thornton’s voice jolted her. “Lady Elizabeth, I know you fancy yourself in love with the viscount. You chose him as the one you wished to wed, but today you saw his true being. I am not the viscount. I am a man of honor, who will care and provide for you. I am thirty and it is time for me to choose a wife. I have been close to your family for many years, so we are not strangers. I need a wife and you need a husband. I know that you can fulfill the duties of my wife and manage my household.”
She stared at him wordlessly, aware of how harshly her heart pounded.
