Page 95 of Unraveled By the Duke
Greenwood shrank away, folding his arms and hiding his face under the pretense of stroking his chin with one hand. Lavinia tsked and straightened her skirts with vigorous tugs, her mouth a straight line.
“I see it now,” Alexander drawled, advancing. “A by-blow, I would say. Born on the wrong side of the sheets??”
“I do not see how my parentage is important,” Greenwood muttered, retreating further like a beaten dog with its tail low.
“What was the objective?” Alexander asked, turning to Lavinia, who stiffened slightly before shifting and smiling once more. “To force me into accepting your money and your hand in marriage, or to increase my indebtedness to Grimaire. For what purpose?”
“I am not a Grimaire. I don’t know how I am supposed to know what is in the man’s mind,” Lavinia declared loftily.
“Liar! When you introduced me to Phillip, his father was present. In this room!” Aurelia blurted, fury breaking through her tears.
Lavinia slapped her hand down on the arm of the chaise, her facade cracking. “Child, if you speak again, I promise that yourname will be effluent by tomorrow. I will ensure that there is no gossip that does not include the Frid family for the next twelve months!”
Aurelia shrank back into Celia’s arms.
Celia wanted to strike Lavinia.
Can a woman call out another? Challenge her to a duel? I fancy I could wield a rapier well enough to run her through.
“Do not try it, Lavinia. I have an excellent man for that kind of skullduggery,” Alexander warned.
Lavinia laughed. “Oh, you mean the excellent American? The two-time traitor. Betrayed England for George Washington, then Washington for England. Do you think he will have suddenly decided to live honorably, given his choice of profession? You are naive, Alexander.”
Alexander and Celia exchanged looks.
“At least we know why the rumors have persisted despite my best efforts,” he said.
“What do you want, Lavinia?” Celia spoke at last, cutting through Lavinia’s smug chuckles.
“Nothing you can give, Celia. Only what I have wanted for a long time. Revenge.”
“For what?” Celia was astonished.
“For depriving me of my lover and my suitor in the same three-month span! My God, woman, are you so obtuse? You made public what you saw when you were dressed in that ridiculous get-up and then snared my intended. What woman would not want revenge?”
Lavinia was breathing heavily, her self-control fracturing.
Alexander suddenly began to laugh. The sound boomed out of him. He threw his head back and roared. Celia found herself smiling in response.
This was not forced laughter, not an attempt to belittle or use sarcasm. Alexander was genuinely laughing from the depths of his being. It was a glorious and genuine sound.
Lavinia was on her feet in an instant, rounding on him, practically spitting in her rage. Greenwood—or Grimaire—had quietly slipped out of the room, whatever nerve he had been clinging to lost at the sound of the giant among them laughing.
“You drove me to her!” Alexander exclaimed. “It was you who wished to isolate her and spilled wine on her and me. You forced us together in the same room. She was hiding from your dog, and I was looking for a dry coat. And then to have your patrongive me that ultimatum—end my marriage, or he will call in my debts? Did you really think I would dishonor myself in such a way?”
Lavinia was sputtering and stuttering, but Alexander continued remorselessly.
“You then compounded your mistake by trying to buy me. For a brief moment, you might have had me. I was ready to condemn the love I felt as weakness. Ready to accept the loveless marriage to you as the easy path, one that would not test me. A wife I would despise and hold in contempt. But, ultimately, I will not be bought.”
He crossed the room to Celia and offered his arm. She took it. He offered his other arm to Aurelia.
“We will take our leave of you now. My wife and our family will not be bothered by you again.”
He led them out of the room.
As they crossed the threshold and walked through the hall towards the door, Lavinia appeared behind them and stamped her foot.
“I will not be denied by you, Cheverton. Who do you think you are? I will see your name burn, and I will visit you in debtor’s prison!”
