Page 91 of The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter
“She is good for you, dear boy. Your grandmother and I quickly saw it.”
His grandmother smiled at him as she nodded. “Indeed.”
But all Dayne men were stubborn and his father was no exception. “No, no.” He shook his head, looking genuinely overset. “What do any of us know of this girl? Am I to accept your cook into the family? You are asking too much of me, Alex.”
“She is not my cook. She only agreed to help out this weekend as a favor to me.”
“For a fee, I’m sure,” his father retorted.
“Yes, but only because I insisted on it. She has not bothered to collect it yet.”
“Why should she when she knows you are about to give her all you have?”
Alex was at the end of his rope and moments away from throttling his father. “She has asked nothing from me. But I am now asking you to stop your objections and just be happy for me.”
“I love you dearly, my son. But this is a mistake and I will do all in my power to prevent it.” Having said that, he stormed off.
“Oh, hell,” Gabriel muttered.
Alex meant to go after him, but his mother held him back. “Leave him, Alex. He will work it through on his own.”
“Work it through? Or ride straight down to the vicarage and attempt to buy her off? I will not have it.”
His mother still had a hand on his shoulder. “No, for all his bluster, he would never be so crass as to do such a thing.”
Alex wasn’t so sure.
What was his father going to do?
CHAPTER 15
VIOLA HAD JUSTwashed up and donned her prettiest gown to wear for tonight’s supper at Ardley Hall when Mrs. Bligh hurried into her bedchamber. “Miss Viola,” she said, her eyes wide and concern etched on her face. “Lord Trent is here to see you and he does not look at all pleased.”
She sighed. “Thank you, Mrs. Bligh. I shall attend to him.”
All she wanted to do was run away, but she would not allow the earl to intimidate her. She hurried downstairs, glad she was as presentable as she could possibly be, and glided into the parlor to greet him. “Lord Trent, what a pleasant surprise. Do sit down.”
He refused and continued to pace across the carpet which had once been elegant, but was now fraying at the edges. The parlor itself was far smaller than the grand one at Ardley Hall. Still, it was certainly acceptable to receive callers. “May I offer you tea? Refreshments?”
“No.” He paused to stand in front of her. “You cannot marry my son.”
“Cannot? Or is it merely you hoping to prevent it?”
“He is a catch, a good and decent man. A war hero. He can have any woman in England he wants.”
Viola arched an eyebrow. “And yet, he chose me. Believe me, my lord, I struggled even harder than you to figure out why he would ever look twice at me.”
He paused in front of her, his manner quite belligerent. “Whatever you did to seduce him, it will not work. I shall put a stop to it.”
She frowned at him. “Shame on you for thinking only of yourself and not giving any thought to how badly you are hurting your son. First of all, I did not seduce him. Nor has he seduced me. He is too honorable and holds me in too much regard ever to treat me that way. If you have come here to insult me, then you may leave right now.”
“I will not leave. You cannot marry my son.”
“The only one who will ever stop me is Lord Ardley himself. If he does not love me and wishes to put an end to our betrothal, he has only to say the word and I will oblige.”
Doubt clouded his father’s eyes. “At what price?”
“What do you mean?” They were still standing in the parlor facing off like two rams about to butt heads.
