Page 44 of Masquerading with the Duke
On the verge of sleep, Jared’s abiding concern was for the manner in which Martina had stopped pressing to play a part in bringing Redrow down. She thirsted for revenge, and understandably so. There was nothing more degrading for a young woman than being pressured into either giving up her virtue or risking destitution. Jared snarled into his pillows, thinking Redrow beneath contempt, even though he was aware that many supposed gentlemen looked upon compromising their servants as their God-given right. He suspected Arthur had a similar outlook, so he shouldn’t be surprised that he and Redrow made such compatible bedfellows.
Jared accepted, now that he was alone and no longer distracted by Martina’s enticing presence, that he should not have revealed as much as he had to her about his own situation. She seemed more incensed by it than by her own problems; a further testament to her generosity of spirit. He didn’t trust her to mind her own business, although he couldn’t see that there was a great deal she could actually do to help him either. Perhaps his concerns about her impetuosity were groundless.
And yet those concerns abided.
Despite his late night and the rambling thoughts that had prevented him from sleeping well, Jared still rose at his usual time and was well into breaking his fast before a bleary-eyed Arthur joined him.
‘Morning.’
Arthur went straight to the sideboard and loaded his plate from the fare on offer before slumping across from Jared.
‘I waited up for you,’ he said, sounding mildly put out.
Jared didn’t call him on the lie and sipped at his coffee without comment.
‘Good evening, was it?’ Arthur asked.
‘Very congenial company.’
Arthur made inroads into his food before putting his fork aside and speaking again. ‘Look, what I said to you yesterday. I was crass.’
Jared waved at his footman, dismissing him from the room.
‘You were,’ Jared agreed once the man had left and closed the door behind him. He was aware that was as close to an apology as Arthur was likely to get, despite the fact that an evening’s reflection had clearly made him realise what an idiot he’d been to try and force Jared’s hand. Presumably being aware that Jared was already on intimate terms with the duke’s family had also given him cause to reflect.
‘I’m desperate, Jared, that’s the fact of the matter.’
‘If you had come to me and made that admission, instead of blustering and threatening to blacken the family’s name with false accusations, I might have been inclined to listen to your problems.’ He lifted one shoulder. ‘Who knows, I might even have agreed to help you.’
‘Yes, I can quite see that.’ He cleared his throat. ‘It ain’t that simple for a man to swallow his pride and admit to his baby brother that he’s been a damned fool.’
‘I don’t suppose it is.’
‘You’re not making this easy for me, damn it! I’m attempting to apologise.’
‘I am not fifteen anymore, Arthur, and am no longer anxious to impress you. You know how important my honour is to me, my word as a gentleman, and how hard I’ve worked to try and expunge the rumours regarding the pater’s loyalties from the minds of our peers by working effortlessly on behalf of the government.’ He spoke quietly, struggling to contain his rage. ‘You come here and threaten to undo all those efforts by spreading unfounded gossip that will reflect as badly on you as it will on me, which is frankly nothing short of rank stupidity. When I refused to bow to blackmail you make a half-hearted attempt at an apology and seem disconcerted because I won’t leap to accept it.’ Jared pushed his plate aside. He had lost his appetite. ‘You really don’t understand my character at all.’
Arthur thumped the table for emphasis, causing the plates to jump and cutlery to rattle. ‘And you don’t seem to understand that I’m on the verge of losing the home that’s been in the family for generations.’
Jared sighed. ‘Gambling debts?’
Arthur couldn’t look at Jared and made do with nodding.
‘Where did you dream up the idea of extracting money from me in return for not destroying my reputation? Or more to the point, who suggested it?’
‘What? No! You’ve got it all wrong.’ Arthur’s jowls wobbled with the force of his protest. ‘I just thought…well I knew you wouldn’t rush to help me. My fault, that. I’ve not treated you as well as I should have.’
‘At least we agree about something,’ Jared said in a tone of muted irony.
‘You weren’t aware of the state that the pater left things in,’ Arthur said defensively. ‘I wanted to keep it from you.’
‘Don’t make matters worse by lying. I made it my business to look at the accounts.’ Jared’s tone hardened. ‘Is mother aware of the way things are?’
‘She is aware that there are debts, but not the extent of them.’
‘She still has money that will come to you when she dies. Probably not enough, but sufficient to stave off your creditors. I suggest you go to her, Arthur, because you will get nothing from me.’
Arthur’s flushed cheeks abruptly paled. ‘I can’t lose face in front of the mater!’
