Page 47 of The Truth about the Viscount
With a nod, Daniel set his shoulders and then walked towards Lord Milthorpe who was standing in the doorway of what appeared to be a somewhat dilapidated house.
“Milthorpe? Where is he?”
“Inside.” Lord Milthorpe jerked his head in the direction of the door. “I thought that he must have come from this place, for the door was wide open. Lord Newforth was not particularly difficult to catch, given the injury to his head and thus, I led him back to this place without concern. He is now resting in the small room inside.”
“Resting?” Catching the twist of Lord Milthorpe’s lips, Daniel lifted one eyebrow. “I can hardly think that he is doing such a thing willingly.”
“Oh, he is not.” Lord Milthorpe chuckled darkly. “The door to the room within had a key. I now have it in my possession.” So saying, he pulled a key out of his pocket and dangled it between thumb and finger. “Do you wish to speak with him?”
Daniel glanced again at Patience but choosing not to ask her again if she truly wished to do this, nodded.
“I think we should all go in.”
Lord Milthorpe nodded.
“Very well. Then come with me.”
With trepidation in every step, Daniel followed Lord Milthorpe, wondering just how angry Lord Newforth would be, and what he might do because of it. Would they open the door to a furious whirlwind of a man? Would he try to break through them all and escape? Daniel gritted his teeth. He had no intention of letting Lord Newforth go anywhere.
“If you are quite ready?”
With a nod in answer to Lord Milthorpe’s question, Daniel kept his arm tight around Patience as Lord Milthorpe went on to open the door. Pushing it back, he stepped inside, leaving Daniel and Patience to follow, and Daniel did not hesitate.
Lord Newforth, however, did not come rushing at them as Daniel had expected. Instead, he was sitting on the only chair in the dank, dirty room, his jaw jutting forward and fire burning inhis eyes. His gaze, however, did not linger on Daniel, but instead turned to Patience.
“Youdid this to me!” So saying, he pulled a bloodied handkerchief away from the side of his head and then gestured to it with the other. “You!”
Daniel opened his mouth to retort, only for Lady Patience to answer. With a shrug, she tilted her head and looked at Lord Newforth, a calmness in her which astonished Daniel utterly.
“I hardly think that you can blame me for it, Lord Newforth. After all, you did attempt to kidnap me, and intended to hold me here, in this room, until the entirety of thetonthought that I had eloped with another gentleman or some such thing.” She shrugged. “I did warn you that you would fail. I confess that I am surprised that you did not listen to me, for I spoke the truth.”
Lord Newforth’s lip curled.
“Do not think that you have succeeded, Hastings.” His eyes turned to Daniel, dark pools of fury that threatened to drown Daniel. “I will never give up. You will suffer the consequences of refusing me your sister’s hand.”
Daniel shook his head, aware that all of Lord Newforth’s threats, his desire to have Daniel suffer, came from a sense of mortification, fury, and bloody-mindedness. He had taken Daniel’s refusal as a personal insult – and now required Daniel’s punishment in whatever form Lord Newforth wished.
“You are a fool, Newforth.” He spoke quite calmly but with great emphasis. “Do you truly think that wasting your time in pursuing me in this manner, given how many times you have failed, is worth your while?”
Lord Newforth shook one finger in Daniel’s direction.
“Ah, but Ishallsucceed! No matter what it is that you think to do to me, I shall never give up! Not until the insult has been repaid.”
“Refusing you his sister was no insult,” Lord Milthorpe began, only for Daniel to hold up one hand, silencing his friend. Releasing Patience gently, he took a few steps closer, a settled determination in his chest.
“You are not a gentleman of any worth,” he said, quite calmly. “I did not insult you by refusing you my sister’s hand, for you bring such insults upon yourself by your own behavior! Is it not right for me to care for her, more than I would think ofyou,and what upset you might take from my refusal?” When Lord Newforth said nothing, Daniel shook his head. “You have barely any fortune left of your own, Lord Newforth. You have a wrath in you that, even now, warns me away from you. There is nothing about your character that would encourage me to eventhinkof you as a suitable match for her - and if you wish to take that as personal insult, then I cannot help that.”
“But you will suffer the consequences of it.”
“I will not.” Daniel looked over his shoulder to where Patience stood, waiting. “You have failed, and you will fail again. I have found a happiness here that I am sure you cannot, and will not, ever be able to understand. No matter what it is that you try, then ultimately, you will fail.”
Lord Newforth scoffed at this, pressing the handkerchief back to the side of his head.
“Your reputation, one way or another, will be ruined, and with that, your happiness. You will have to remove from society and never set foot in it again!”
A quiet laugh from behind Daniel made Lord Newforth’s scowl return in an instant, darker than Daniel had seen it before.
“Oh, Lord Newforth, you must have a very poor understanding of what happiness is.” Continuing to speak, Patience made her way towards Daniel, taking his hand in hers, though her gaze was fixed on Lord Newforth. “Happiness does not come from having a pristine reputation. Nor does it comefrom being a part of society! What you did not know is that Lord Hastings has desired to remove himself from society ever since you attempted to force his hand and thus, it will not be any trouble to him – or to me, for that matter.” Turning her head, she looked up at Daniel, her eyes shining with a brightness that Daniel knew came from within her heart, for he felt it too. “That is why we say you shall fail, Lord Newforth. Even if you do all that you can to bring our reputation into the dirt, our happiness in what we have found in one another will remain. It will be steadfast, no matter what else assails us.” Looking back at Lord Newforth, she lifted her shoulders lightly and then let them fall. “Even if you had secured me in this place for many days as you wished, even if the whispers about me had swirled through London, Lord Hastings would not have abandoned me.”
