Page 60 of Baron in Check
“You seem to think if you use your title you’re nothing but a soldier fighting for your parents, but you’re not disappointing them if you internalized a combination of their values with others that you respect.”
“Oh, but I have always been a failure in my parents’ eyes, ever since I stuck with Fave and Arnold at Eton and Oxford. Later, when I compromised you, my father’s gaze upon me shifted to disappointment and reproach. Sometimes I think my mother went blind so she wouldn’t have to see the pain in my father’s eyes when he looked at me.”
“Greg, no, oh no!” Hermy put her hand on his chest.
He looked away then, unable to bear the intensity of her gaze, afraid of what he might find reflected there. Would she understand? Could she see the turmoil that churned within him, threatening to tear him apart?
“I just ... I needed you to know," he finished quietly, the confession hanging between them like a delicate silk thread, ready to snap at the slightest touch.
Hermy listened,each word from Greg weaving a tighter knot in her heart. She saw the turmoil in his eyes, a mirror to the storm raging within her own soul. As he spoke, a realization dawned upon her, gentle as the first light of dawn yet powerful enough to chase away the shadows of doubt.
She stepped closer, her presence a silent vow of support. “Greg”—her voice echoed his vulnerability—“I’ve long been acquainted with the burdens of expectations and the chains they forge around our hearts. But in you, I see a strength that defies the gilded cages of our station.”
A spark of resolve flickered to life in her chest. “I’ve seen what that title can do, how it’s wielded like a sword by those who know nothing of its true weight. But in you, Greg, I see its potential reborn. You wouldn’t use it as intended, no. You would redefine its very meaning.”
Hermy’s gaze held his, unwavering and full of an emotion too vast to name. “You bring noble to ‘nobility,’ Greg. With you, the title would not be a tool of oppression but a beacon of hope. You envision a society where worth is measured not by birthright but by one’s actions and kindness. And I ... I wish to be part of that world. Not as a figure returning to society but as one standing by your side, helping to build a society where everyone has the chance to excel.”
“It is not what your brother intended and I’m not whom he wished to pass the title to. I’m not supposed to have you, Hermy, and yet I want you with every fiber of my being.”
“Who is to say what’s right and wrong in using the Earldom? And why shouldn’t I follow my heart? Have I anything left besides my love for you now that I’m the only living member of my family?” The air around them seemed to wait, the moment suspended in time. “You are not just my calling, Greg. You are my revelation. With you, I see a future not of constraints but of boundless possibilities. A future where love and meritocracy reign supreme.”
Hermy’s confession, whispered in the garden’s hush on the balcony, was more than words. It was a promise, a declaration of a shared future in which they could transcend the limitations imposed by their birthright together.
“Neither of us has done enough on our own, Hermy. Our stations give us a voice and we ought to use it against those who wish to control it like List.”
“Together, we can change the world.”
“For those who deserve it?” His gaze was piercing and courageous, the man who’d sailed around the world and amassed more wisdom than his age betrayed.
“Yes, but not in the old way, not by telling them who may or may not rise. List wants to stop us from rising together because he knows we’d stand against him.” Hermy put a hand on Greg’s chest. “Society has suppressed me for far too long and I wouldn’t want anyone on the receiving end of this.”
“We’d open paths and push for laws of equality, so that everyone may earn their place?”
“And secure it for those who already have.” She inclined her head and they both knew she meant the Pearlers.
“Oh Hermy, we’d be reining from the margins.”
“Better than not to reign at all.”
In that tender moment, amidst the whispers of the wind and the rustle of leaves, they found not just love but a purpose intertwined, a calling that went beyond titles and societalexpectations. Together, they stood on the threshold of a new dawn, ready to step into a world of their own making.
CHAPTER 28
The Morning Post, London, April 15th, 1819.
The Morning Post is delighted to announce the engagement of Lady Hermione Eleanor Augusta Ellsworth, sister to the Earl of Ashby, to Baron Gregory Stone. This auspicious union brings together two distinguished families and has the noblest amongst us questioning their motives. Details of the forthcoming nuptials will be shared in due course. We extend our warmest congratulations to the couple on this joyous occasion.
Arnold, Greg, Hermy, and a man with an oddly shaped mustache gathered in the Pearler’s study.
“Are all parties ready then?” the solicitor said as he shuffled some papers. He was the only one seated.
“Arnold, a moment?” Hannah peeked in and then entered with a solemn look.
“We were just about to begin the paperwork,” Arnold said, but Hermy noticed the softness in his gaze at Hannah. It was as if he declared his love every time his eyes met his wife’s.
“Mrs. Ehrlich,” the solicitor said, “do you have information pertinent to the impending transfer of guardianship?”
“Yes, Wentworth.” Hannah joined Hermy’s side, which astonished her because she’d expect her to go to Arnold.
