Chapter 3

"You did what?" Frederick exclaimed, half in shock, but definitely a little bit in horror as well. "So, you won the manor in a bet, and then you went on to make a deal with the lady of the house so you do not need to receive your winnings right away?"

Frederick Jones always had a smile, no matter what was going on around him. William often thought that he was the complete opposite to himself, yet somehow their friendship worked. It had stood the test of time, since they had met in their childhood years and never had a falling out. His visits were always welcome.

But today, as hie friend stared at him in utter shock, it was hard for William not to laugh. He could not recall a time that he had ever seen Frederick look like this.

"That is right," William agreed. "That is exactly what I said."

"I am struggling to understand your motives, William. This makes little sense to me."

"Well, it is not like I need the property," he replied with a one shouldered shrug. "I was not the one who gambled it in a bet. I do not need it right away."

Frederick gave him a knowing look. "That is not the reason, I do not buy that. So, come on. Even if you are unable to tell anyone else your reasoning, you can tell me."

William relented, mostly because he did actually want to talk about what was happening in his life. He needed his best friend to understand him a little.

"I saw the same sickness in Lord Eagleton's face as we were gambling as I saw in my father's eyes. There is an addiction there for sure, which is not Violet's fault. She is hopeless, a little like Catherine and I were during our childhood."

"But Miss Lambourne is not a child anymore…"

"Yes, Frederick, I know that. But that does not mean she was prepared to lose her home at the last minute like this. It is the least that I can do."

"You are going to great lengths to look after this woman. Is there something more there?"

William shook his head, but that was not exactly the truth. The was certainly something in the way that Violet looked at him which had his heart racing faster. The closer that he got to her, the more intrigued by her he became.

He would not tell Frederick everything, especially the part where he was excited to spend more time with her. His friend would get the wrong idea and assume that he harbored some kind of feelings for her. That was not what was going on here, William would not open up his heart to love because he knew it would not get him anywhere. Just because it suited his sister, being in love was not for everyone. This was just a bit of fun for him. Some entertainment, that was all. No one needed to read too much into it.

"I cannot believe you!"

Paul's voice reverberated loudly around the breakfast table. It was lucky really that they were the only ones in the room, and that Ivy was upstairs so she did not have to witness this. Violet knew that Paul would be unhappy, but she was not prepared for this.

"Why did you do this, Violet? What are you trying to do to me? Why on earth would you think it a good idea to mee with the Duke of Hoskins without me?"

"I already told you, Paul. Because I thought the man might have some heart in him. I thought I might be able to help this situation before it gets out of hand. What was I supposed to do? Just let us be thrown out on the streets with nowhere to go?"

Paul tutted. He did not look impressed at all. "It is not up to you."

"Oh, and what exactly were you doing last night, Paul? How have you been helping things? Because I do not think that I have seen you do a positive thing. I have managed to strike a deal which allows us some much-needed time to get everything sorted."

Paul's cheeks shone red with anger. "You do not need to know where I have been, Violet. I do not need to tell you a single thing. What I do is up to me. I am trying to handle things in my own way. Why can you not see that?"

Violet scoffed. "Gambling is what got you into this mess, Paul. I do not think it will get you out of it. If you are so concerned with making things right, then why did you not go to see the duke yourself? Perhaps you could have been the one to strike a deal with him. I even suggested that you should, but you shut me down and outright refused. Someone has to face the actual problem, Paul. We cannot all sit around and do nothing."

Paul banged his fists down hard on the breakfast table. "Do not speak to me that way, Violet. In case you have forgotten, I am the man of the house now. I am the one who makes all of the decisions. I do not need you interfering."

Violet scoffed, about to snap back a retort just as cutting, when she was interrupted by Ivy standing timidly in the door. She just about managed to catch a glimpse of her out the corner of her eye. Clearly, the maid did not want to direct any of the emotions flooding the room her way.

"Yes, Ivy? Is there something I can help you with?" Violet asked, trying her hardest to keep her tone even. None of this was Ivy's fault. There was a chance that she would end up homeless and jobless after all of this as well, which was not fair.

"There is a visitor at the door, waiting to speak with you."

Panicked, Violet glanced at her brother. This was a highly irregular time for a visitor anyway, but that was made even worse by the fact that Paul was in such a terrible mood. The last thing the Lambourne's needed was for Paul to be rude to a guest, sullying their name further. Paul looked irritated, but that fell away once Ivy continued talking.

"It is the Duke of Hoskins. I believe he wants to speak with you both."

Paul paled. "Tell him we will meet with him in the drawing room."

Violet was shocked as she watched Paul rise to his feet. It was obvious that he was trembling with nerves. She had been worried about what had happened in the gambling hall between the duke and her brother, wondering if this was why he did not want to visit William.

She had not sensed that while she was talking with the duke herself, but seeing Paul like this had her panicked all over again.

It was not easy to control things with William when she was alone with him. With her heartbeat rising and her breath getting stuck in her throat. She almost had to leave his study without any deal in place. But she was a lot more certain that it would be harder with Paul in the room.

Especially with her head all over the place, and a shudder of something new and undeniably exciting tearing down her spine.

Still, she had no choice but to follow her brother into the bare bones of the drawing room, where they would talk with the duke. It was always sad being in this room, remembering what it once was, but knowing that William was about to enter only made the coldness of the room that much starker.

He had an opulent estate. William's office was filled with books and artwork. His home looked like it was lived in. Eagleton Manor had not really looked that way for a long time.

"What was the deal?"Paul suddenly asked Violet sharply. "You never told me."

Panic shot through Violet like lightning. Paul had jumped down her throat so fast that she had not been able to tell her brother everything, and now it was too late to do so. She could already hear footsteps coming towards the drawing room.

William was here. There was no time to say anything.

"Good morning, Lord Eagleton and Miss Lambourne," William declared as he swept into the room. He immediately looked out of place, far too fancy for this room, but he did not bat an eye. It was almost as if he did not see how terrible the room surrounding him was. "Thank you for meeting with me at such short notice. I know it is an unusual hour, but it seems like we have a lot to organize, do you not think?"

Violet smiled thinly. She should have told Paul what the agreement was.

Now, when he found out because William told him, there was no way that Paul would take it well. Chances were, he was going to lose his mind.

"Anyway, what room has been prepared for me?"

William darted his eyes between Violet and Paul, but Violet could only look to her brother, to see what his reaction was going to be.

Paul's face remained blank.

"Ah, I see. Miss Lambourne did not have time to explain what is happening in between your histrionics." Paul clearly stiffened at this, but William continued, taking his silence as an opening to carry on talking. "I will stay here for a month, during which time you will all make arrangements for where you are going to go next. I do not wish for you to be left out on the streets, but obviously after I won the house in the game of cards, you cannot stay here."

It still hurt Violet to hear those words. To know that she was going to lose her home in Eagleton Manor. Much as it was not much of a home, it was the same roof over her head that she had always been lucky enough to have.

But there was no way to change what had happened now. At least she had managed to arrange something to keep her and Paul away from destitution.

But Paul did not look too grateful. He paled and nodded, seemingly accepting this as the best solution for everyone. He was white as a sheet, and Violet was worried that he might vomit, but she was glad that he was not yelling.

The lack of reaction was honestly surprising, but much better than things could have been.

She knew that this was the time to step forward, and to try and make this a little easier for everyone while they got used to it.

"Your Grace, I will show you to your room. Please, come with me."

It was going to be humiliating, taking a duke to the only spare room which had a bed left within in, but Violet had no choice. There was nowhere else that he could stay. Well, aside from his own home of course, but he seemed utterly determined to be here so there was nothing that she could do.

"This shall be your room," she said with a small smile as she made a sweeping gesture with her hands. "I do hope that there is everything you need inside. But please, let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. Anything at all."

Violet would take on that responsibility. She was not going to make Ivy's life more challenging than it already was. It was hard enough for her to keep on top of the whole estate as it was, without Violet giving her more to do. Anything to make this easier for everyone else, she would do.

But instead of turning his nose up at the room, William smiled as if he were very content. Happy almost. "Oh I am sure that I will have everything I need, Miss Lambourne. It is unlikely that I will have to be here for a long time anyway, since you will have a wealthy husband soon enough."

Violet bristled. He did not need to mock her mission quite like this. She could feel his teasing and it was not nice to have someone distrusting her.

"It has only been a couple of days. I am sure I will be quite fine."

"Oh, I see." William smirked. "I thought that you would find a suitable gentleman the moment you took a look into the marriage market. I am surprised it is taking so long."

"Surely, you do not already expect me to have a suitor. You are being silly…"

She let her words fall apart when she realized that no matter what she said, William was going to continue to tease her. But that did not stop her from staring him down as best she could. She wanted him to know that while he held all the power, she would not subside so easily. She would not simply let him walk all over her.

Violet knew that she was going to have to be especially strong because Paul was faltering. The regret for where gambling had left him this time seemed to be silencing him for once. The fact that he had finally lost absolutely everything meant he did not know what to say anymore.

Violet had never known her brother not to have a lot to say, so this was a real novelty.

Not that she was doing too great at holding her own. There was something about the intensity of William's stare which made her actually lose her balance for a moment.

No one had ever looked at her that way before.

It was hard for her to keep standing tall, but she did it. Defiance was the only way that she was going to be able to handle this whole mess.

William stepped closer to her. Again. It was hard for Violet to breathe when he did that, which she was sure he knew. The last time his lips almost grazed against hers, she nearly lost her mind. Never had a gentleman invaded her personal space like that. And never had she found herself wanting to have a man invade her more…

The air around her became thick and heavy, so warm that she could hardly stand it. A part of her wanted to run away from this man before he made her do something crazy, but another part of her wanted to wrap around William, to explore this feeling further, to know what it would mean. Even if it got them both in endless trouble.

"The month has just started," William told her in a gravelly, husky voice which sent an intense shudder tearing down her spine. Her knees felt weaker than ever, it was almost impossible not to tumble to the ground, making a real fool out of herself, especially with the light brush of his lips to her ear.

"The clock is ticking. You better get that husband ready sooner rather than later…"