Page 42 of The Duke's Indecent Match
It was beyond fine.
His debts would be paid.Fully.All of them.
He could fund all the backpay to his housekeeper, Miss Milford, and her brother, Daniel Milford, who had refused to leave him and his sisters.They’d scrabbled along with him, helping him find creative solutions, teaching him and the girls how to garden, how to mend their clothes, how to get by with almost nothing.
The estate could afford to invest in better seed, to create a better crop, and he would be able to make the necessary repairs to the farms and homes for his tenants so they could, in turn, produce more in coming years.
Julianna would have her debut next year.If he invested the money wisely over the next year, her dowry would be more than modest; it would be substantial.Not only would she not have to marry for money, but she would be secure for the rest of her life.So would the other two.
In one fell swoop, Mr.Little had gone beyond solving all of Nathanial’s problems.
And he still resented the man for it.
For taking away that one choice.
Even more so because now he had to feel bloody grateful as well.
Nathanial blew out a long breath, trying to ease the roiling emotions that batted about his insides.He’d never felt so high and yet so low at the same time.Here he was getting everything he wanted, yet he wanted to rage at the situation.
Because it had not been his choice.
Because he was being forced into it.
“Everything looks in order,” he said, once he’d finished reading through the contract.There was nothing in it that he objected to.Miss Little would keep a portion of her dowry for her to do with as she pleased, and he had no objections to that.Part of him was relieved.He wanted to think himself a gentleman, but the desire to punish her for trapping him into marriage… he would be lying if he said he did not feel it.Withholding the funds that she brought to the marriage might have a small sense of poetic justice, but just thinking about the possibility made him feel small.Unchivalrous.Not like the man he wanted to be.
He was glad the temptation had been removed entirely.
“Good.”Mr.Little sounded relieved.As if he had worried that Nathanial might not do the honorable thing in light of his dishonorable actions.
Clenching his jaw, Nathanial felt the muscle tic before he managed to relax it.
“We’ll have the wedding here as soon as possible.I’ll send someone to London to get a special license today.”
Even though he was not looking directly at Mr.Little, Nathanial sensed the other man stilling.Before, he’d been rather triumphant, though trying to hide it.Now, he was not pretending to dim his emotions.He was not happy with the idea of having the wedding here.Very well, Nathanial was not happy with being trapped into marriage.
Now they were both unhappy.
Which seemed far fairer than Mr.Little reveling in getting what he’d wanted while Nathanial simmered with resentment.
“Here?”
“Yes.I see no reason to delay.Indeed, with the possible scandal attached to the wedding, it is best to get it out of the way quickly,” Nathanial replied briskly.“When the guests from the house party return to London, the deed will have already been done, and divulging that they were select guests at a duke’s very private wedding will be far more titillating for them than how the wedding came about.I would like as little gossip about my family as possible, as I have a sister to debut next year, as well as two more to follow.”
Lifting his gaze to meet Mr.Little’s, he could see that the older man had sobered.His brow was slightly furrowed, but he did not protest.Though he had been out of Society for quite a while before returning from India, he did know how things worked.
“Besides which, for your family’s purposes, additional scandal attached to your name will hardly advance your own cause.”Any other day and Nathanial would not have been so gauche as to point that out.But this was today.
Mr.Little’s mouth twitched, then he nodded.
“I see your point.”He sighed.“I am sure Kalina will understand the necessity.”Meeting Nathanial’s gaze, he hesitated.“I know I am being rudely direct, Your Grace, but I do want you to know that she had nothing to do with my actions.She is as innocent as yourself in the situation I engineered.”
As much as Nathanial wanted that to be true, he did not think he could trust the word of a man who’d been willing to trap him into marriage.She had certainly played her part to perfection.Screaming loudly when she awoke, drawing people to her room, then falling immediately silent once they were there.While he understood Mr.Little’s desire to wipe any blame from her, that did not mean she was blameless.
In fact, if they had concocted the plan together, Nathanial would expect Mr.Little to fall upon the sword of responsibility.His admission of guilt, when he’d already shown himself to be dishonorable and when he was trying to save his daughter from reprobation, was hardly evidence in her favor.
Though… the idea that she might not have had something to do with trapping him did make him feel a tiny spark of hope.
One which he ruthlessly pushed away.
