Page 21 of The Viscount's Diamond Bride
“What was it you wanted to tell me?” she said at last.
Here we go,Graham thought, swallowing down a rush of nerves.
“Mother, I am betrothed,” he said quietly. “I made an offer of matrimony earlier this afternoon.”
Margaretpaused;her teacup raised halfway to her lips.
“Betrothed?” she echoed faintly. “To… To Lady Annabella?”
“No, Mother.” Graham took care to look his mother straight in the eyes. “To Lady Ursula Fairmont.”
There was a long, painful pause. No doubt the silence only lasted a minute or two, but it seemed to tick on for an eternity. Then, with elegant slowness, the teacup slipped gently from Margaret’s limp fingers and plummeted towards the ground.
Smash. Delicate china shards flew everywhere. Mud-coloured splashes of tea streaked up Margaret’s skirts, and a pool of hot liquid puddled on the ground.
“Lady Ursula,” Margaret gasped. “That… That hussy? That prancing peacock of a woman who had an assignation withSir Roderick Black?”
“There was no assignation,” Graham shot back hotly. “She was walking in the garden with her cousin. Her cousin left which I find rather suspicious, personally and Sir Roderick accosted her.”
Margaret gave a cry, throwing up her hands. “She islying, you stupid boy! It is alie. She cannot admit publicly to what she has done, so…”
“Stop it, Mother.” Graham rose to his feet, fists clenched at his sides. He couldn’t understand why he was suddenly angry. Everybody was saying these things about Lady Ursula, so why should it hurt him so badly to hear his mother saying it?
“You cannot be serious, Graham,” Margaret pleaded, clutching at his hand. “After all I have done for you, you cannot throw yourself away on spoiled goods. You could have any woman in London! If you love me at all, if my efforts mean anything at all you, youmustbreak it off with her. Swear it to me, Graham!”
With an effort, he pulled his hand away.
“I cannot, Mother. I am sorry you’re disappointed, but I told you all along that I intended to choose my own bride. I have given my word to Lady Ursula, and I cannot take it back.”
Margaret rose slowly to her feet, eyes glittering.
“You are doing this to punish me,” she whispered slowly. “You are doing it out of spite. Do you know how hard I have worked to find you a proper wife? Do you know how hard I worked toraiseyou? And you go and… and throw it all away! This is a mistake, Graham. This is the largest mistake of your life.”
“If so, then it will be my mistake and mine alone,” Graham responded levelly. “I am sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but it’s arranged. The matrimonial ceremony is in three days.”
Margaret gave a wobbly moan. “Three days?”
“Yes, and I must tell you now that youwillbehave appropriately to my wife. I am your only son, and this will be your only daughter-in-law. For heaven’s sake, please put aside your pride and for once stand behind me. Will you do that for me, Mother? Please?”
There was a long and taut silence. Then Margaret’s face gradually returned to a cool composure once more.
“I shall know how to act,” she murmured, half to herself and half to Graham. “This will not stand. You are my son, and I won’t allow this to happen. You wait and see.”
Before Graham could ask her what she meant by that, his mother turned on her heel and strode away without a backwards glance.
Chapter Seven
“If poetry comes not as naturally as leaves to the tree it had better not come at all.”– John Keats
“I had my attorneys write up this contract,” Graham said bluntly, pushing the document across the desk.
Lord Farendale eyed it with the same disgust that Graham felt and picked it up with the tips of his fingers.
Already, the newspapers had learned about the betrothal. Graham was a little baffled that they could discover such a thing so quickly. Already, it was the talk of London.
“I imagine your mother, the redoubtable Dowager Sinclair, is unhappy with this match?” Lord Farendale said, just as bluntly as Graham.
Graham thought of the pile of angry letters waiting for him in his study, all of them from his mother. They had accused him of undutiful behaviour, of plain cruelty, of bland stupidity.
