Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

F or some reason, Johnathan's attention was on Agnes. In any other situation it might not have been so odd. Her presence was a beacon in the room. Even though he spoke to others and did not look her way, he was always aware of what she was doing. Of the way she held on to her friend as if she knew that Caroline could not handle the intense situation they were in. Of how quickly she'd jumped to her feet when Lord Reeds stalked over to him as if she'd been more than willing to jump into battle in his defense. Focusing on her throughout his impromptu reveal was one thing but when the mysterious stranger appeared at the door, he didn't expect his attention to remain solely on her rather than him.

Her surprise was what drew him further in. The way she reacted, eyes widening like she'd seen a ghost before sliding to Caroline in apparent worry. Slowly, Johnathan shifted his attention to Caroline and realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

This was the man Caroline was in love with.

In all his scheming, Johnathan had forgotten to ask Agnes about it tonight. He looked back at the man at the door and realized with a start that this was not a well-bred man. No gentleman of society would dare attend a ball wearing such ratty and simple clothing. Nor was his hair properly styled, the brown tresses curling well past his ear in unruly waves. He looked a little out of his element, staring wide-eyed at everyone in the room before he swallowed visibly and straightened his shoulders.

Johnathan looked back at Caroline. She looked just about ready to pass out.

The man spoke at last. "Please pardon the intrusion, my lords and ladies."

Yes, certainly not a gentleman of society. If his attire hadn't made that obvious, the way he spoke certainly did.

In the corner of his eye, Johnathan noticed Agnes reaching to take Caroline's hand once more.

"Who are you?" Lord Reeds demanded, disgust apparent in his voice. He looked over his shoulder at Johnathan. "Is this the sort of company you keep, Your Grace? Your fall from grace surely knows no bounds."

"There is no need to resort to insults, Lord Reeds," Lord Sutton admonished sharply. "Clearly this young man has come here to say something."

Attention returned to the man in question, who was still hovering in the doorway. As if he just noticed that himself, he cleared his throat and stepped into the room, giving Lord Reeds a wide berth as he went by him. His eyes flicked to Caroline and something flashed within them.

"What are you doing here?" To Johnathan's surprise, it was Caroline who spoke, her voice breathy with fear.

"I could not wait any longer," the man said. "I could not let this evening pass knowing what was bound to happen."

"George, you cannot—" Caroline broke off, eyes darting fearfully to Lord Reeds.

But George wasn't listening. He marched over to her in quick and long strides, taking Caroline's free hand. "Caroline, I am tired of hiding my true feelings for you. My love for you should be shouted from the rooftops, not hiding away from the eyes of others. I no longer want us to hide in the shadows."

"What are you saying?" she murmured softly, eyes wide.

"Caroline, marry me."

"Are you out of your mind?"

Johnathan tensed, preparing himself to jump in between Lord Reeds and this George person at Lord Reeds' bark. But the earl didn't move from where he was. He seemed too taken by his rage to do anything but clench his fists and glare at the two of them.

Lady Reeds appeared more horrified than angry. "Caroline, tell me you have not been involving yourself with this lowborn."

"Is this the reason you suddenly have the strength to defy me?" Lord Reeds demanded to know. "Because you have allowed yourself to be seduced by a commoner?"

"You do not know him!" Caroline snapped. For a brief moment, her eyes flashed with venom unlike anything Johnathan had ever thought possible for her.

"Oh dear," Lady Reeds sighed, shaking her head sadly. "I thought you were better than this, Caroline. I thought you were smarter."

Caroline thinned her lips. For a moment, it looked as if she was about to break down in tears. As if she thought the same thing, Agnes stepped forward, no doubt ready and willing to go toe to toe with Lady Reeds but Caroline stopped her.

She looked directly at her aunt as she said, "You do not know anything about me. In all my years as your ward, you have never once cared to sit and have a conversation with me. You do not know the things I enjoy, you do not care to listen to my wants and needs. You see me as an opportunity to increase your social standing and because of that, you are willing to pawn me off to anyone with enough prestige and riches to suit your high standards."

Lady Reeds raised her nose to the air, crossing her arms. "And what is wrong with that?"

"Nothing would have been wrong with it if you were talking to someone that holds the same superficial ideals as you do. But I do not. I do not care to marry someone for riches or security. I do not care about prestige. I care about love."

"Love?" Lord Reeds laughed humorlessly. "What do you know about love?"

"More than you will ever know!" Caroline stated vehemently. Tears were streaming down her cheeks but her voice did not waver once. "More than you will ever understand. And because of that…because of that I…"

She swallowed and let go of Agnes' hand to reach for George's other one. The man looked just about on the verge of tears himself.

"Because of that, I've decided that I do not care about the consequences of what I am about to say next," Caroline said softly. "I love you too, George. And I would be more than happy to become your wife."

"As if I would allow such a thing!" Lord Reeds bellowed.

He moved quickly, too quickly for Johnathan or Christopher to get to him. Before they knew it, he was upon Caroline and George, yanking George away from Caroline and grabbing him by the collar. He raised a fist and would have sent it straight into George's face, despite Caroline's scream for him to stop, had Johnathan not made it to them in time. Johnathan caught his raised arm to stop the incoming blow.

To his credit, George did not flinch. He faced Lord Reeds' fury with his own.

"Do you expect me to be afraid of you?" George spat. "I could never fear a murderer like you."

Shock slackened Lord Reeds' grip, giving George the chance to push him away.

"Murderer?" Lady Sutton gasped.

"That is a very serious accusation," Lord Sutton pointed out in a rather stern tone of voice.

George looked grimly at him and nodded. "Yes, my lord. And it is not one I would ever make lightly. I had my suspicions for some time but because I was under Lord Reeds' employ, I did not let myself look any further into it. That was before I fell in love with Caroline. Before she told me about the circumstances surrounding her parents death."

This time, it was Agnes who audibly gasped. "Surely you are not suggesting…"

"That Lord Reeds is responsible for the death of Caroline's parents? That is exactly what I am saying."

"Lies!" Lord Reeds exclaimed. "Nothing but slanderous lies!"

"If you have any evidence to support your claim, sir," Christopher spoke up, sounding rather serious, "I think now is the time for you to state them."

"Nothing he says should be taken seriously—" Lady Reeds began hastily but George spoke over her.

"The first thing of note was what happened before the accident," he said. "I had been finishing up my work in the stables rather late, far after many of the other servants had retired. I was on my way to my quarters when I noticed someone leaving the house. A rather unsavory character that I have never seen around before. He was being shown out by Lord Reeds himself but they did not seem to be parting on good terms. It seemed Lord Reeds was upset that the man had the gall to show himself at his home while the man was upset with the fact that he had not yet been paid. I did not stay to hear the rest of the conversation, afraid that I would be found, but I did wonder what business Lord Reeds could have with a man of such shady character."

"That proves nothing," Lord Reeds protested angrily. Had Johnathan not been standing between them, he didn't doubt that the earl would attempt lunging at George again to shut him up.

"Admittedly, that does not give us any reason to believe that what you are accusing the earl of may be true," Lord Sutton stated.

George looked at him and nodded. "I thought the same thing. Even when Caroline arrived a few weeks later, and I heard of the rumors of her parents' death, I did not think that there was any correlation at first. But then I grew close with Caroline. It was not my intention to. Not at first. I was well aware that a man like me should never make his presence known before a lady like her. But I found myself falling for her before we even exchanged words and when she showed interest in me, I could not get myself to stop. But as we grew closer and she began to confide in me about her parents' death, the memory of that night came back to me. So I looked around, did a bit of digging, and found the man from that night. I approached him at a pub and got him drunk enough that he did not think twice about boasting about the money he made from causing the death of two nobles. I did not have to ask him who they were. I doubt he even knew. From then on, I knew that the earl had to be the person behind the accident."

"Lies!" the earl protested. "Nothing but fabricated lies."

"I would never lie about something like this!" George barked back. "I could not say a word until I was certain about this, fearing what it may do to Caroline."

What it was doing to Caroline was no small thing, Johnathan noticed. She was devoid of color, standing so still he wasn't sure she was breathing. The tears in her eyes ran unhindered, replacing whatever dripped down her chin.

"Uncle, how could you?" she murmured.

"How could you believe anything this man says?" Lord Reeds demanded to know. "He is clearly trying to turn us against each other."

"I do not think she needs any help with that," Paul muttered from his spot by the wall, still holding on to Irene as if he was afraid she would sway again.

Lord Reeds looked helplessly around, his expression moving from angry to defeated. Everyone believed George's words. It was clear in the silence that followed, the heavy weight that hung in the air. Johnathan just waited for him to crack under the pressure.

"What I did does not matter!" he screeched at last. "They were old anyway! They would have died of consumption or typhoid within the years. I only saved them, and you, Caroline, from the inevitable pain."

"You killed my parents!" Caroline cried. "Why?"

"She could have none of her own!" Lord Reeds pointed an accusing finger at Lady Reeds. "You were our only option. And it happened years ago! Surely you cannot be upset about people you have only known half your life."

"You are horrible!" Agnes gasped.

"Oh, more horrible than your duke?" Lord Reeds asked in a taunting voice. "Has he told you about the things he'd done to cover up his truth?"

"I promise you, Lord Reeds, that I do not care about whatever you plan on saying next."

Agnes had quite a knack for making the earl grow red with anger. "Then perhaps everyone else would be interested to know. Or perhaps I should march right out into that ballroom and tell everyone that the late duke killed himself because he could not handle all the debt he was in!"

Lord Reeds laughed victoriously, clearly expecting everyone to rally behind him in alarm and disgust at the late duke's actions. But if they were surprised, they did not show it. At least, Johnathan was not any more aware of it than he was his own simmering rage.

Lord Reeds faltered at the silence that met his words. "Did you not hear me? I said that the late duke?—"

"We heard you, Lord Reeds," Paul spoke up, his voice cold. "Do you expect us to applaud you for telling us such a thing?"

Johnathan was having a hard time hearing what was being said. Blood roared in his ears, his heart racing with rage. He glared at Lord Reeds, contemplating the consequences of grabbing him by the collar and planting his fist in his cheek.

Irene brushed by him. The sight of her surprised Johnathan enough for him to forget his rage for a moment. Eyes watched her walk by, her stride slow, her hands clenched at her side. She simply approached Lord Reeds without a word.

The resounding sound of her hand across his face sent gasps through the room. Lord Reeds' head snapped to the side, eyes wide with shock. Lady Reeds came running up behind him.

"How dare you!" she screeched.

"How dare you ," Irene hissed. "You and your husband are nothing but blights on society. I would tell you to leave my home had I not been afraid of the fact that you would abscond from the law after what you've done."

Lord Reeds slowly turned his head to look at Irene. His cheek was rapidly growing redder by the second. "You little?—!"

This time, Johnathan didn't let himself think twice about what he did. He simply acted. His arm cocked backwards and he was upon Lord Reeds before he could get the rest of his inevitably insulting sentence out. It felt incredibly satisfying to feel his knuckles connect against Lord Reeds' flabby jaw. Lady Reeds screamed, flying to her husband's side as he crumpled to the floor.

"Well, it's about time," Johnathan heard Agnes murmur behind him. He didn't turn, but did smile a little.

"I think we speak for everyone, my lord," Johnathan said, not taking his eyes off Lord Reeds and his bruising jaw, "when I say that your crimes and misdeeds will not go unpunished tonight. You should be glad we decided to do this privately or else you would have found yourself carted out of here in front of the ton ."

Lord Reeds seemed incapable of speaking. Perhaps the weight of what was about to happen had sunken in. Perhaps it was simply in too much pain. He could only stare up at Johnathan in stunned silence. Meanwhile, Lady Reeds was sobbing as if she'd just been sentenced to the gallows.

"Caroline."

Johnathan turned to see George taking Caroline's hands once more.

"This is now how I wanted you to find out," he said, sounding genuinely apologetic.

Caroline was already shaking her head. She sniffled prettily. "It is not your fault. None of this. Had it not been for you, I never would have known, in fact." She threw her arms around him, stunning Johnathan. "I love you, George. And I'm so sorry I've been so afraid to show it. I love you and I cannot wait to be married to you."

George picked her up, twirling her around as he laughed happily. It was a rather sweet ending to the horrible ordeal just now.

Johnathan's eyes fell on Agnes once more. He watched as she smiled happily at the couple, then slipped away from them, her eyes lifting to him. Without a word, she made her way to his side.

Her lips parted to speak but the next voice Johnathan heard was not hers.

"It seems we have a lot to discuss, Your Grace," said Lord Sutton.

Lady Sutton slipped up to his side, sliding her arm around his waist. "But we could wait until after the ball. I did not do all that planning for nothing."

"I shall be a part of that meeting," Paul stated, approaching them. He crossed his arms, looking far more mature than Johnathan had ever witnessed.

"Why would you want to do that?" Agnes asked, sounding surprised.

"You are my sister," Paul said as if that was reason enough.

Agnes smiled. Johnathan couldn't help but grin. "I shall have it no other way," Johnathan said.

"You all should go ahead," Christopher said. He went to stand next to Lord and Lady Reeds, who had gotten up and made their way over to the closest couch. Lady Reeds was trying to help her husband but Lord Reeds kept hissing at her so that she couldn't touch him. Christopher gave them a disdainful look.

"You've all been through quite a lot," Christopher went on. "Someone should stay here and ensure that these two do not leave before the constable gets here."

"If you all do not mind," Caroline spoke up. She'd wiped her face free of tears and was smiling for the first time that night. "I won't be returning to the ballroom. For obvious reasons." She gazed lovingly at George, who gazed lovingly back at her.

"I shall have a maid sent to chaperone then," Johnathan told her. "A walk through the gardens should be lovely during this time of night."

Caroline's smile widened gratefully. "Thank you, Your Grace."

Finally, he turned to Agnes, taking her hand and tucking it into the crook of his arm. "I think it is about time you allow me that dance you promised me."

"I would promise you a dozen dances if I thought we could get away with it," Agnes murmured, a smile on her lips.

"It is my home, Agnes," Johnathan said to her. They were alone right now for all that it mattered to him. He only had eyes for her. "I can do whatever I want."

Agnes' eyes sparkled. "Let us put that to the test then, shall we?"

That was all he needed to hear. Johnathan didn't spare Lord and Lady Reeds any more of his attention as he went by them. He no longer cared. Now that the truth was out and their sins revealed, Johnathan only wanted to focus on one thing.

Seeing how many dances he could have with Agnes before the ton caught on to the fact that he was hopelessly in love with her. His guess was one, but he was more than willing to test the limits.