Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

C hristine gasped. Adeline was shocked into silence. Lord St. Vincent stammered something that he could not quite get out. Percival stood with a large grin scarring his face.

Theodore gritted his teeth, trying to work out what his former friend was playing at.

Lord St. Vincent finally stepped forward to face Percival. "You are a rogue and a vagabond, and I shall?—"

Theodore raised his hand to silence the Baron, and the Baron stepped back immediately, looking relieved that someone else was dealing with the situation. Theodore stared at his friend, trying to work out what the glint in his eye meant.

"I… perhaps I should leave," Lord St. Vincent suggested.

"No, you are not going anywhere," Theodore said, not looking away from Percival.

Christine was still shocked, looking back and forth from Percival to Adeline.

"Percival, I would like a word with you in private." Theodore took Percival's arm, gripping it tightly.

"Theodore, I—" Adeline started.

"I will sort this out," he replied to her, not taking his eyes from Percival. "Everyone should continue to enjoy this fine day, and I shall return promptly."

"Theodore, how can—" Christine started.

"Everyone should enjoy the day, and no one is to go anywhere until I say so; is that understood?" Theodore growled.

He took the silence as compliance.

"Old chap," Percival gasped as Theodore dragged him from the group, "I forgot how strong you are. Is this really necessary?"

Theodore did not reply. His mind was spinning with thoughts. On the one hand, it was exactly what he had been looking for—someone to wed Adeline—but on the other hand, that man was Percival Shelvey, the Viscount Chiverton, as big a rogue and rake as Theodore had once been. Theodore had grown out of it recently, but Percival had only gotten worse.

Theodore led Percival through the door being held open by the butler, down the long hallway, and into the drawing-room where he tossed him toward the middle of the room. Percival stumbled a little but didn't lose his balance. He smiled with a frown and brushed his shirt down.

"A cognac would be just fine," Percival said, trying to save face and ignore that he had just been manhandled and dragged into the manor in front of three other people.

"Shut your mouth!" Theodore warned.

If he had learned anything from Christine, it was that anger was not always the best way forward. He paced the room, trying to calm down and hoping the entire time that Percival would say something to rile him up enough to swing a fist and let all of his anger out.

Enough, Theodore! Find out his game, and then send him packing!

"What the hell are you thinking?" Theodore demanded. "What possessed you to come here today and ask for my sister's hand in marriage? Have you gone insane?"

Percival stood in the center of the room with a stoic expression, not saying a word.

"Percival!" Theodore shouted. He was a volcano waiting to explode. "What the blast are you playing at?"

Percival raised his eyebrows.

"Answer me!" Theodore demanded, taking a step forward.

Percival held up his hands. "Sorry, old chap. Am I to shut my mouth, or should I open it? I really want to do as you say, but you make it incredibly difficult."

Theodore knew Percival all too well. He was a fighter when he needed to be, but he also knew when he was at a disadvantage. Percival could not match Theodore for strength, so he was resorting to pettiness.

"I will give you one chance to explain yourself," Theodore said, trying hard to keep the growl from his voice. "And to be clear, I will allow you to open your mouth to speak, but if you say something I don't like, or you try to be funny, I will close your mouth for you. I am trying my best not to get angry with the situation, but as you can probably hear, I am not doing a very good job at it, so it is in your best interest to speak to me and speak clearly. So, Percival, why have you come here today to ask for my sister's hand in marriage?"

"Because of you," Percival said.

"Because of me?" Theodore repeated. "Explain yourself."

Percival paced the room a little as he gained some confidence and a little more control over the situation. "I have seen how you are since you have become married, and your words at the club the other night really hit home. It is time for me to find a good woman and to settle down with her."

"I don't believe you," Theodore said. "You haven't changed. I know the man you are. At the club, you were still lying to women to try and get them into bed. No, you are not here because you want to settle down."

"How can you say that?" Percival held his arms wide. "You did not want to settle down, and then you did, and it suits you. I wish to have what you have, Theodore. You are married, and you are happier than I have seen you. And what are your options? Do you really want that dullard as a brother-in-law? Do you think that he will protect your sister? That he will provide for her. That he could love her like I can?"

The last statement made the Duke's skin crawl. "Percival, you live in bachelor's lodgings. Lord St. Vincent has money. What makes you think you could provide for Adeline better than he could?"

"The dowry, of course," Percival replied. "I assume the dowry will be a generous one, and with us being close friends, you will surely throw in a little more. With my father finally threatening to cut me off, the timing i fortuitous. I don't believe he will, but better to not take any chances. Then, you will want to provide a house for us. I do not have a fortune only because I have not had the opportunity. The world kicks me and kicks me and does not give me a chance. This will be my chance to do something great."

"Ah, now I see," Theodore said. "You wish to marry for money and power."

"Love is a rare thing," Percival noted. "What other reasons are there for marriage other than money and power? Lord St. Vincent might have money and power, but they are his father's money and power. How long will it be until he loses it all? He is not ruthless enough, but I am. I shall take your dowry and multiply it by ten, and when it comes to doing business, I will be cutthroat. I will deal with you, of course, but I will help to drive out your competitors, too. And our children will be as handsome and beautiful as we are. The boys will be strong and just, and the girls will be dainty and polite because they will have us as fathers. Then, when we need a break, we can still drink together, and you and I can have any women we want while still having it all at home. Does that not sound like a perfect life."

Theodore had never wanted children. He did not want to inflict the same pain on anyone else as had been inflicted on him. Yet, when Percival mentioned it, there was something he had only considered loosely. He had known in his heart when he married Christine that he would not give her children, and she would have to deal with it.

Now, it was not what he would deny her that played his heart like a fiddle; it was what he would deny them. They were only a thought in his mind at that moment, but he found himself selfish to deny children a mother like Christine. He would love them like no other children had been loved, and her radiant love would counter any shortcomings or fears he had for them.

Who am I to deny that to the world?

For the first time in his life, he was considering what it would mean to have children.

"Theo! Hey, Theo! Have I lost you?" Percival clicked his fingers over and over.

"I—" Theodore looked Percival in the eyes and held his gaze for a moment before speaking again. "Percival, we had fun in the past, but that is over now. You are not right for Adeline. I am sure you will find a woman to settle down with, but it will not be her."

"Pah!" Percival spat. "You wish her to wed the Baron?"

"It is none of your business, but I don't know who I wish her to wed. I would like her to choose because of love, but as you say, love is rare."

Percival chuckled quietly, his head hanging, his eyes scanning the floor as he began to circle the Duke.

"You really have changed, haven't you?" Percival said snidely. "I thought maybe this was all an act, but you really mean all of this, don't you? You used to drink London dry and bed any woman you wanted, and now, look at you. You have been tamed by a woman, and you want your sister to wait on a man for love. What a fool you are, Theo."

"Then I am a fool," he replied. "And what a good note to end this meeting. You think me a fool, and who wants to be around a fool? So, time for you to leave, Percival."

"No, not yet," Percival said. "I am far from done. I thought we could do this the easy way, but you have forced my hand. I know all about your situation."

"My situation?" Theodore asked.

Percival continued to circle around the Duke. "Or should I say, Adeline's situation?"

It suddenly felt very hot in the room. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Theo!" Percival had a sing-song quality in his voice, and he moved around with a skip in his step. "Do you really think something like this would not get out?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, Percival."

"I didn't want to mention it out there, seeing as we are old friends, but the real reason I am here today is to step up and save your family. She will show soon, and no man will want her, Theo. She will become a spinster, and then, what chance will she have at love? She will learn to love me in time, Theodore. I will make sure of it."

Theodore gritted his teeth as he tried to think everything through. Percival knew their awful secret, and his mind spun with who else might know. The heat in the room became an inferno and beat down on Theodore's back.

"I will save her honor, Theo. For a price, of course. How about we double the dowry? That is enough to buy my silence. We can wed before the week is out, and no one will know she is with child out of wedlock."

"You are despicable," Theodore chimed. "If you think I will let you anywhere near my sister, then?—"

"If you don't," Percival interrupted, "I will let every suitor know she is with child, and I will drive them all away until she is showing, and she will become the disgrace of London. Weigh this up, Theo. Do you love your sister more than you hate me at this moment?"

"You can't have known," Theodore growled. "How did you find out?" The seed of a thought planted itself in Theodore's mind.

"You told me," Percival said. "The night you were drunk and singing. You told me many things, perhaps to unburned yourself. You are the one who betrayed Adeline, and I am here to save you from further disgrace."

"No." Theodore shook his head. "I don't care what state I was in. The truth is that I love my sister so much more than you can ever fathom." Theodore suddenly grabbed Percival by the collar and ran him into the wall with a thud. "I do hate you, Percival. I really hate you, but that hate does not compare to my life for Adeline. I would never have told you the truth. Never in a thousand years." Theodore pulled Percival forward and slammed him back into the wall. "No, there is only one way you could know about this. You are the one who did this to her!"