Page 63 of The Undesirable Duke
Samuel had certainly been brought to point non plus, as he was unwilling to go but unable to stay. But he had no other option. It simply had to be done.
The moment he saw her at his door, everything suddenly changed. What reason could there be that Lord Timothy and Lady Lillian were at his home and so very determined to speak with him? As the trio entered the drawing room, Samuel nodded at the butler, who swiftly shut the drawing room doors, allowing for privacy.
“Apologies for the late hour, Yarmouth.”
“We did not mean to inconvenience Your Grace,” Lady Lillian spoke softly. “But it is a matter of grave importance.”
“It is alright, Lady Lillian. Although I must admit, it is lovely to see you, despite the circumstances.”
Lady Lillian smiled at him, and her cheeks colored ever so slightly.
Lord Timothy cleared his throat, and Samuel stepped back, not wishing to overstep.
“What is so important that you rushed here at this time of the night?”
“We now know the identity of the man of who is intent on ruining both our reputations, Your Grace.”
“You do?” Samuel gasped. “Who is it?”
“It is Lord Bertram.”
Samuel could not quite believe his ears, even though he’d had the same suspicion ever since he and Lord Timothy had spoken of the man before dinner.
“Are you certain?”
“Indeed. Show him, Lillian.”
Samuel gazed at Lady Lillian and tilted his head, intrigued. She approached him and retrieved two papers from her coat pocket.
“Here is the letter that he wrote to me, threatening to ruin me if I were to be seen with Your Grace.” Samuel nodded, as he had seen the letter before. “And here is a note which I found in a bouquet in our hallway. It was tucked into flowers that Lord Bertram had sent to our home.,”
Samuel hesitated for a moment as he gazed into Lady Lillian’s bright eyes, and his world stopped turning at that moment. She was still the most beautiful woman to Samuel, and it was rather difficult to tear his gaze away from her.
Lord Timothy cleared his throat once more, and Samuel lowered his gaze, focusing on the note in his hand. He ignored the words written by Lord Bertram and instead focused on the curves and shapes of the letters. He studied them carefully, and his brow furrowed deeply. It was, indeed, the same penmanship - which confirmed that Lord Bertram was the culprit.
“You are correct, Lady Lillian. The same person did, indeed, write these two notes. Lord Bertram.”
Lord Timothy’s shoulders tensed.
“Why would Lord Bertram carry such anger towards you, Yarmouth?”
Samuel’s expression grew pensive, and he felt ashamed of himself.
“It is my own doing.”
“What does Your Grace mean?” Lady Lillian asked with concern.
Samuel turned to Lady Lillian and sighed.
“At Oxford, Lord Bertram was Lord William Beaumont. That was long before he had received the title of Marquess of Bertram after his father’s, and eldest brother’s, passing. He was not very well-known, and neither Lord Timothy nor I had any close association with him. We passed one another perhaps once or twice during our time in Oxford, and I never paid him much attention, if any.”
“That is true. Why would he wish to ruin your reputation? You did nothing to him.”
Samuel shifted his weight sheepishly and cleared his throat nervously.
“That is not entirely true.”
“What do you mean?” Lord Timothy inquired.
