Chapter 1

"Does this even stand legally?" James, the Marquess of Montgomery, asked as they pored over a contract spread out on Alexander's oakwood desk in the study.

Alexander had wondered the same when his father's man of affairs had presented it to him the night before, asked the stoic-looking man as much, and was surprised by the answer.

"It does," he replied curtly.

The contract in question was one between his late father, the former Duke of Blackhill, and the Viscount Honeyfield. The contract allowed him to marry any one of the Viscount's daughters with no clear benefits or reasons stated. Another reason he thought the document a joke.

"That's rather…"

"Ridiculous. I know," he finished for his friend.

He had pretty much had the same response last night, but he had had a couple of hours to think on it since and realized it actually did save him a lot of trouble he had envisaged having in achieving his current goals.

"But I've given it a lot of thought between last night and this meeting, and I see that it does save me a lot of time and the tedious process of courting to find a suitable wife," he continued. "The Viscount Honeyfield is a man of honorable standing, and if my father, bastard that he was, God rest his soul, had thought him worthy of such a contract, then I will definitely honor it."

"I still don't understand why you'd honor the contract though, when there's no consequence if you choose not to," James argued. "Besides, you know nothing about his daughters. For all we know, they could be of questionable character or shunned by society. You can have any girl you choose, so why would you marry someone you do not know?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Alexander sighed, folding his arms. "You seem to forget about my reputation with the fairer sex."

"You're being dramatic, my friend," James scolded. "You're the ton's most eligible bachelor of all time."

"Remember the Turninton Ball? The Earl of Washam's daughter fainted after I greeted her." Alexander reminded his friend. "I've literally been dubbed the Ruthless Duke. If that doesn't further buttress my point, I don't know what else will."

It had been truly an embarrassing moment for him, but he had learned to live with their odd fear of him, especially since he discovered the moniker he had been given. It was annoying all the more because he'd been completely innocent of their accusations. He hadn't kicked his stepfamily out when his father had died; they'd left him alone.

He was a shrewd businessman as anyone else would be when they had a lot of money. All other claims of his ruthlessness had been made by people who had a whole lot more to lose if he decided to out them for playing major roles in his family's attempts to trap him in scandal.

"That was one time, and you have to admit her corset was too tight that night." James glared. "Perhaps if you tried smiling, it would have helped. Lady Emerson's daughter is head over heels in love with you, and you know it."

"I do, but she's in love with every unmarried duke in London." Alexander rolled his eyes.

"You're only speculating."

"Did you forget when she basically threw herself into the Duke of Bidden's lap?"

"Some would say she fell."

"And they would be wrong," he retorted. "I saw it clear as day. She's after any man that can make her a duchess, and that is not a trait I want in a wife."

He sighed, shaking his head at his friend's attempt to stroke his ego. Not that he needed it.

"I don't really care so much for wooing any females at this point," Alexander told him. "I know you're rather knowledgeable about everything and everyone in London currently, so I don't buy that you know nothing about the Viscount Honeyfield's daughters."

James shot him a wolfish grin that let him know he was spot on.

"Well?"

"All right. You're in luck because I do know all about the Viscount's daughters." He smiled. "The older one, Miss Margaret, is a mystery as she typically keeps to herself and her books. She's twenty-three and has never been courted despite being the belle of her first Season. There are rumors of heartbreak but nothing substantial. She's well-mannered but is a pronounced wallflower."

Alexander grunted, contemplating her quiet nature and shaking his head.

Even if he didn't necessarily need a wife for personal reasons, he surely wanted the woman who bore his family's name to be someone whom Society's darlings envied. He did have a reputation to maintain, after all.

"What about the other one?" he asked, despite himself. "Is she much like her sister?"

"On the contrary, she's the exact opposite of her sister's quiet nature." James smiled. "Miss Helen has been a Society darling since her debut and has a growing number of admirers. It's a wonder she isn't married yet. Her beauty, charm, and wit have earned her an invite to almost every event of the year, despite the fact that they're not of such a high rank."

Alexander nodded. "She will do then," he said, earning a raised eyebrow from his friend. "How old is she?"

"She's twenty."

"She will do, indeed." He nodded, folding up the parchment. "Drink?"

"You know I never refuse," James stated, raising his glass. "I would think you'd go for the older sister. She would pretty much stay out of your way and wouldn't be so picky at her age."

"While those traits are important, I need someone who will help me secure a deal that will take my investments to the next level," Alexander answered, topping off their glasses from his favorite brew of whiskey that he saved for celebrations.

"How exactly could the girl help you with that?" James asked incredulously.

Typically, Alexander would never share his deals until he was already reaping the harvest, but he had found time and again that James was to be trusted.

"Remember the deal with the Earl of Frampton?"

"The railway deal?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Every other investor that has gone to propose their ideas to him has been met with a staunch refusal. Do you know why?"

His friend shook his head.

"Because they all have one thing in common."

"And what is that?"

"They were all single, young, hot-blooded males looking to make a quick pound."

His friend gave him a confused look. "Isn't that what you are now?"

"Yes, but not for long." Alexander smiled. "I took the liberty of studying the man and his past dealings, and they were always with men he deemed family-oriented."

"Wait… you're marrying to secure a business deal?" His friend gasped. "That's downright…"

"Save me a new moniker, my friend," Alexander groaned. "You now see why I need Miss Helen. I need a wife who can charm the Countess of Frampton."

"You do realize how impossible a task that would be?"

Indeed, Alexander knew.

Even though the woman had a charming, flowery personality, she had a knack for sniffing out falsehoods and would quickly raise thorns. She was so quick to feel displeasure that many families had given up trying to gain favor with her.

"I expect Miss Helen will have to use her oh-so-famous charm to win Lady Frampton over."

"You make a dangerous gamble, Blackhill."

"When have I not?"

"But surely there's more to this than just the business deal," James probed, because he never knew when to leave things well enough alone. "I would not think you to be the type to have such a small-minded goal behind the marriage. If you really wanted to, you could charm the Earl and Countess without marrying Honeyfield's girl."

Alexander gripped his glass a little tighter, hiding his displeasure at being so well-known by another. Yes, they'd been friends since they'd been in leading strings, but he prided himself on his ability to hide his thoughts from people.

"You can trust me, you know?" James continued, his words striking guilt in Alexander's heart.

Alexander did trust his friend, considering how much they'd been through together, but he found that bitter finger of fear rearing its ugly head at odd times.

James, as always, was understanding of his friend's quirks and had rarely expressed displeasure at the distrust he was shown.

"I received a letter from my stepmother," Alexander announced, rifling through the pile of letters on his desk, stopping when he found it.

He handed it over to his friend, who scanned it quickly with a frown.

"Do you think they'll try to—" James asked.

"I am certain they would," Alexander responded with a nod. "That's why I need to marry. And quickly."

"Will Honeyfield's girl be wise enough to manage your family?"

"I certainly do hope so," Alexander replied. "If she isn't, she'll have to learn quickly."

"But it's not fair to put such pressure on the girl."

"It isn't, but she'll learn to live with it as I have."

James glared at him, shaking his head. "I didn't think you the type to put someone through something so horrible."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Alexander spat.

Guilt was not a feeling he was accustomed to, and he hated how his friend's words gutted him. He knew dragging a girl he didn't know into his family's mess was unfair and the most heartless thing to do, but the benefits he had to gain from the business deal and giving his family a new target far outweighed the guilt he felt.

"You're a ruthless bastard, Blackhill." James laughed darkly at last.

"That's all I've ever been."

"Mate…"

"I will see you tomorrow," Alexander announced, rising from his seat, rudely interrupting his only friend's attempt to comfort him.

He didn't need it. Not now and not ever.

He wasn't the sad little boy he had been when his father had died and his stepmother had packed up her things and left with his step-siblings.

No. He was a man grown now, forged from the fires that would have broken lesser men, a formidable force to be reckoned with.

Even if he claimed repeatedly that he didn't care for the ton, he was ecstatic about their fear and admiration of him, and he derived even greater pleasure from evading his family's attempts to trap him in scandal, since he refused to waste any more of his hard-earned money paying off his half-brother's gambling debt.

Not that his half-sister was any better with her constantly racking up debt in the modiste's shop and jewelers, but he tolerated her excesses, as she wasn't tarnishing their family name.

"I will see you tomorrow then," his friend bit out, rising from his seat. "Hopefully you'll be in less of a pissy mood."

Alexander watched his friend leave through the window of his study, which overlooked the front of his home, smiling at the obscene gesture his friend made before stepping into his carriage.

His thoughts drifted to his soon-to-be wife, Miss Helen, daughter of the Viscount Honeyfield. He wondered if she was as beautiful as the mythological bearer of the name. James had described her as a beauty and a social butterfly, but he wondered at how she remained unmarried at twenty.

Perhaps she was like the other debutantes and marriage-minded mamas trying to trap a duke, so they could raise their family's social standing.

"Your Grace," his man of affairs, Foley, greeted, stepping into his study.

"Yes, Foley?" Alexander asked, returning to his seat.

"A letter arrived for you."

Foley presented the small envelope to Alexander and stepped out.

Alexander's eyes widened when he looked at the seal on the envelope. The Earl of Frampton had written back to him. Anxiety welled within him as he searched for a letter opener.

When he finally found it, he slipped into his seat, hoping for a positive response to his request to have dinner with the man. He frowned as he read the letter. The Earl had declined his invitation to dinner, which was an expected outcome but one that stung, nonetheless.

He crumpled the paper and threw it in the fire, deciding he had to go see the Viscount Honeyfield and secure the marriage license as quickly as he could. The reports on the man had come in quickly and had shown his nearly impoverished state. He would have to be a fool to turn down a marriage proposal from a man of Alexander's standing.

Alexander did his nightly ablutions and slipped into bed with plans for the next day already sealed in his mind. There was no way he was missing out on a deal with such valuable returns.