Chapter 31

31

WILLIAM

W illiam made no attempt to find Clara the following morning. He needed a clear head if he was to follow through with the decisions he had made. In his current state, even seeing her had the power to bring him to his knees.

In the early afternoon, he squared his jaw and invited Lady Cassandra to take a walk with him on the grounds. If he was going to marry her, he first needed to be certain she understood what she would be taking on. She had expressed subtle support for Silas, but William needed more than that if he was to pursue this course.

She accepted his invitation gladly and took his offered arm.

"Shall we go to the gardens?" she asked.

"No," the duke said.

She looked over at him in surprise, and he cleared his throat.

"I thought we might walk along the west lawn," he said. "The view of the surrounding hills is very pleasant. If you do not mind, that is. "

"Not at all," she said with a smile.

It was silly. He knew it was. But the garden was a place he had enjoyed with Clara. He did not wish to take Lady Cassandra there. He didn't need his focus to waver because his mind was showing him images of his past encounters with Clara. It was already wont to do so without encouragement.

Lady Cassandra broached the subject of the previous night's performances on the pianoforte, and soon enough, they had whiled away ten minutes.

But when there was a pause in the conversation, William took his opportunity. "We spoke a number of evenings ago on the subject of my brother Silas."

"Yes, I have been thinking on it since."

William's brows went up. "Have you?" That was better than he could have hoped for.

She offered a sympathetic glance. "It is a difficult situation, is it not?"

"Indeed. I did not realize just how difficult until I came to know the conditions in which Silas has been living."

Lady Cassandra nodded, a furrow on her brow. "I had wondered if that was the case."

"Unfortunately so."

"And is there no prospect of him returning to England?"

William glanced at her quickly, wondering if he should offer the whole truth. But intuition kept him from doing so. "I fear not. As you perhaps know, Lord Drayton is the one who brought the charges against him, and he has a great deal of influence."

"Yes, I am aware."

He hesitated. How much could he trust her? If he was going to marry her, he needed to know. He stopped and faced her. "Lady Cassandra, my brother is innocent of the charges brought against him. "

Her wide, dark eyes searched his.

"He is not a murderer," he said blankly.

She nodded quickly, and relief coursed through him. She believed him.

Her brow knit. "But then…"

He looked at her intently. "Lord Drayton has cast the blame upon Silas to conceal the truth."

"What truth?"

William paused, then charged ahead. "That Drayton himself was responsible for Langdon's death."

Lady Cassandra stared at him, and he watched her carefully.

"You see now why it is all so impossible," he said.

She blinked. "Yes."

They began walking again, and William's heart raced as the hope of freeing Silas began to take shape and feel more attainable. "Now that I have come into the title, I have a better chance to help my brother. But I would need your help. Your family's help."

"Of course."

They walked in silence for a time, their footsteps quicker than before, as though they were both too full of energy to maintain a sedate pace.

Now it was her turn to stop and face him, her eyes intent and alert. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" He could barely keep his anticipation at bay.

"My father has a few contracts with Lord Drayton," she said. "A great deal of money is tied up in them."

William nodded, eager for her to shape the information into something they could use.

"He will never jeopardize those, but perhaps they needn't be. "

William's eyes searched hers, trying to identify the crux of her plan. "How so?"

"If money is what your brother requires to have a comfortable living in France, that is easy enough. Father has banking contacts all over the Continent and could easily send enough to provide him with everything he could possibly need."

William stared at her, speechless. This was her plan? To keep Drayton in power and send Silas money? "But…what of his innocence? And Drayton's crimes?"

She grimaced sympathetically. "You said it yourself, Your Grace. It is an impossible situation. I cannot imagine your brother will have success in clearing his name, to say nothing of the scandal it would cause to bring Drayton to trial in the House of Lords." She shook her head, as though the mere idea was unthinkable. "It will be better this way. Only think! With enough money, Silas will be all the rage in Paris—the toast of every ball—while we avoid scandal and the unpleasant repercussions of a schism with Lord Drayton, particularly on the heels of marriage." She smiled at him with a hint of shyness.

William couldn't speak. All he could offer was a weak attempt at a returned smile.

Hers wavered. "You are disappointed."

"No," he said, trying to reassure her.

But it was a lie. All he had done for months was pretend: pretend to be a duke, pretend not to be in love with Clara, pretend his brother was not hiding at Rushlake, pretend he wished to marry Lady Cassandra.

He was weary of it.

"That is, yes," he said. "I am disappointed. This is my brother's good name, his very life we are discussing. I sympathize with your hesitation to bring scandal upon your family, but the truth is, Lady Cassandra, that scandal has been thrust upon mine, and I cannot sleep until Silas's name is cleared and the world knows he is innocent. At some point, that will likely involve unpleasantness with Lord Drayton."

Her brows pulled together as she searched his face. "I understand. We both must do what is best for our families."

"Yes," he agreed, lost in thought.

It seemed that everyone was primarily concerned with protecting their own—even to the point of murder in Drayton's case.

But not Clara. She had put everything at stake for William and his family.

Lady Cassandra smiled sadly and tilted her head to the side. "This is a sad end to a promising courtship. But perhaps it is for the best."

"Yes," he still said, his mind on Clara. "I believe so."

Only now, William had to find another way to seek Silas's freedom.