Chapter Twenty-Four

Alexander practically pounced on the maid – her name was Lucy, he’d learnt – when she appeared at the entrance of the hallway.

“Well?” he asked eagerly.

The maid frowned, and wordlessly handed over the same envelope he’d given her earlier, with the name scrawled on the front. Abigail Atwater. He turned it over, inspecting the seal. Unbroken.

“She didn’t read it?” he said, despairingly. “Did you tell her that it explained everything?”

Lucy shook her head. “No, your lordship. I told her what you said, but she still wouldn’t open it. She said I’m not to carry any more messages from you, too. I’m sorry. I… I don’t think she wants to see you. She said if I carried more messages, she’d tell Lady Caldecott, and I can’t risk that.”

He deflated. “No, no, of course not. She… she’s angry with me, but it’s not what she thinks. I don’t know how to convince her otherwise.”

Lucy shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable.

“Can I go, your lordship? I said you were waiting here for her reply, and she said to give you back the letter and come straight back. I’d better go.”

“Of course, of course. Thank you for your help.”

The maid trotted off, shooting curious backward glances at him as she went.

Alexander felt as though all the energy had been drained out of him. He crumpled the letter in his hand. He was tempted to let it fall, but then somebody might find it and read it, and that would be too humiliating. He dragged his feet all the way to his room, kicked open the door, and threw himself, fully clothed, onto his bed.

It had been two full days since the picnic at the lake, during which the rain had fell pretty steadily. The party was coming to a close.

Diana had made an excuse and left, much to his relief. Lord Donovan, however, was still here. Abigail had claimed a headache the day after the picnic and stayed in her room. She had been out today but seemed to be avoiding him. She was always with her aunt.

She doesn’t want to see you.

You’ve ruined everything.

He lay on his bed, staring up at the canopy above his head until it blurred. When the door creaked open, he assumed it was a servant coming in to tidy up.

“You look like a mess.”

Definitely not a servant. Alexander flinched, hauling himself upright.

William stood there, lips pursed, looking around the room.

“ This is a mess,” he added, gesturing at the room. “Do you ever tidy up in here?”

“Sometimes,” Alexander lied defensively. “What are you doing in here, Will?”

He shrugged, leaning against the door. “I thought we could talk. Mother seemed to think you were down about something but wouldn’t say what. And then Miss Atwater’s maid told my valet that you kept sending letters to Miss Atwater, that she returned unopened. Care to tell me what’s going on? And does it have anything to do with why Lady Lockwell left in such a hurry?”

A lump rose to Alexander’s throat. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes.

“Diana cornered me in the gardens, the day of the picnic. She… she tried to kiss me. Miss Atwater saw us. I think I’m love with Miss Atwater, and I was on my way to tell her so. Well, she saw Diana and me, and drew the wrong conclusion. She won’t speak to me. The letters were to try and explain, but she won’t read them.”

William stood there for a moment, then moved over to sit beside him on the bed.

“That’s unfortunate,” he said at last. “I think Lord Donovan intends to propose to Miss Atwater. Did you know that?”

“I guessed. And… and perhaps it’s for the best.”

Clearly, William had not been expecting that. His eyebrows flew up into his hairline.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say that.”

“Oh, it makes perfect sense. Graham will make a better husband than me, I suppose. He’d never have been caught in a compromising position.”

He sniffled miserably and waited for William to respond.

It took a worryingly long time.

At long last, William spoke.

“I… I think I might be able to fill in some of the pieces here.”

“Pieces? What do you mean?”

He drew in a breath. “Don’t you think it odd that Lady Lockwell cornered you in that manner just in time for Miss Atwater to see?”

Alexander blinked. “I assumed I was just lucky.”

William let out a deep breath. “That day you and I spoke in the billiard room, I spotted Lord Donovan lingering outside. I suspected him of eavesdropping.”

“Hmph. He was.”

“Well, I’ve kept an eye on him. It’s ungentlemanly behaviour, after all. The morning of the picnic, he snuck into one of the closed-up sitting rooms with Lady Lockwell.”

Alexander stiffened. “The two of them aren’t…”

“No, it’s not what you think. I overheard bits of the conversation. I remember a few specific words: ‘you follow him’, directed to Lady Lockwell, ‘she’ll see you both’, and ‘it’ll work out nicely for us both’. Now, perhaps I’m making a leap here, but I think Lady Lockwell and Lord Donovan have been working together. He wants to marry Miss Atwater, mostly to spite you, and she wants to marry you, because she’s bored of being a widow and is not nearly as rich as she lets on. To get what they wanted, they both needed to drive Miss Atwater and you apart. I think your meeting with Lady Lockwell on that day was planned, and she intended for you to be seen.”

Alexander blinked, trying to make sense of it all.

“But that’s vile. It’s wicked.”

“It’s Society,” William corrected, shrugging. “Lady Lockwell left, I assume, because she knew she had no hope of you.”

“I told her to leave, or else I’d tell you about what she’d done.”

“That makes sense. However, I must mention that Lord Donovan is still here. Miss Atwater left her room only a few minutes ago and has accompanied him into the garden.”

A cold sensation like fear went crawling down Alex’s spine. He swallowed hard.

“He’s going to propose to her,” he said flatly.

“Yes,” William agreed. “It’s considered likely. Lady Caldecott is expecting it. She mentioned having to convince Miss Atwater that you were not the marrying sort .”

Alexander was on his feet before he knew what was going on.

“I can’t let it happen,” he said, swallowing hard.

William crossed one leg over the other, smiling wryly up at him.

“Then you had better hurry.”

The ground was still soft and wet from the rain. Alexander ran, boots slipping on the mud.

It was too wet for many people to be out walking, and the gardeners weren’t out for the same reason, so he spotted Graham and Abigail at a distance.

They had stumbled upon a little paved clearing with a stone bench and stone parapet above it to keep off the rain. Abigail was sitting on the bench, back very straight, hands folded in front of her. She did not smile.

Graham was standing in front of her, smiling complacently down. Alexander was still a little way away when the man went smoothly down to one knee.

Abandoning pride, Alexander shouted.

“Wait! Wait ! Don’t marry him, Abigail!”

In a second, both Abigail and Graham were on their feet, one looking almost hopeful, the other enraged.

“What is the meaning of this?” Graham snarled. “How dare you say such a thing?”

“Alexander?” Abigail ventured, eyes fixed on him. “What’s going on?”

Unfortunately, Alexander was out of breath, and was obliged to take a moment to regain it.

“It was all a plot,” he gasped, which in hindsight did not make much sense, but it was better than nothing.

“He’s drunk,” Graham stated, face reddening.

“I am not,” Alexander insisted, regaining his breath at long last. “Abigail, Diana embraced me , I swear it. It was a plan hatched between Lord Donovan and her, for her to embrace me and for you to see it. That way, you’d be driven into Lord Donovan’s arms and I’d be free for Diana to take.”

“That is a vile lie, and I will have satisfaction for it,” Graham spat. “Let’s see how smug you are with a bullet in your brain.”

“Lord Donovan!” Abigail snapped. “That’s a terrible thing to say! Alexander, what proof do you have?”

“My brother overheard them. I imagine that Diana might be willing to say a word or two about Lord Donovan’s part in this, seeing as she ended leaving in a bit of a hurry, while he stayed.”

“I only did it for Miss Atwater’s good,” Graham said, taking her arm. “We won’t hear another word of this.”

She yanked her arm away. “So it’s true, then?”

He bit his lip. “He’s a rake. And, what is more, he doesn’t have any money!”

Alexander sucked in a breath. He noticed that Graham deliberately left off the part about the money he would inherit if he married.

Abigail lifted her chin. “So what? Neither do I.”

Graham gaped for a moment, glancing between Alexander and her. When he was met only by stony expressions, he bit off a curse, turned on his heel, and stormed away.

Silence fell, and Abigail and Alexander were left alone.

“I’m sorry about all that,” he said in a rush. “I… I panicked. You wouldn’t read my letters, I didn’t know what to do. Truly, there’s nothing between Lady Lockwell and me. If anything, I’ve only realised that I haven’t loved her for a long, long time.”

She cleared her throat. “Well, you don’t owe me anything. You can marry her if you want.”

He blinked, finding himself, for once, at a loss for words. Where were all those clever speeches he planned?

“Graham was telling the truth,” he said at last. “I am penniless. My father’s will is a strange one, and I have no money. Would you marry me with no money?”

She glanced sharply up at him. “You… you’re asking me to marry you?”

He smiled faintly. “Of course I am. I love you, Abigail Atwater.”

There was a pause, the two of them staring at each other, broken only by the gentle pat of falling rain on the roof of the little clearing. Alexander wondered when it had started raining again.

“My aunt said that you weren’t the marrying type,” she said at last. “That you were a rake, and that she liked you, but you weren’t for me.”

“I… I still have nightmares about my father,” Alexander said in a rush. “I drink too much because it makes me feel free, makes me stop worrying. I flirt because I enjoy the attention. I feel as though I’m in control. I loved Diana once. I would have married her, and the hurt of being betrayed stayed with me for quite a while. Perhaps I chose to wrap my heart up in wool to keep it safe, but a person can’t live like that. I do love you, Abigail. I’m not a perfect man, but I am improving every day. Well, most days, at least. I love you. I want to marry you, and if you agree, I swear I will spend every striving to be a man worthy of you.”

“Then my answer is yes,” she said, voice trembling. “I love you too, Alex.”

He barely had time to grin before she’d thrown her arms around his neck and was kissing him. They overbalanced, nearly toppling over, and exploded into hysterical giggles.

“Now that you’ve said yes to marrying me without money,” Alexander said, forehead pressed against hers, “I think I should tell you something else about the terms of my father’s will.”

“What is going on here?”

They both flinched at a familiar, sharp voice, and turned to see Lady Caldecott striding towards them, black as thunder, oblivious to the rain.

“Oh dear,” Alexander muttered. “Do you think I should run, or would she shoot me down like a stag?”

Abigail gave a splutter of laughter. “If you wish to marry me, you can start by asking my aunt for her blessing. She might actually believe you then.”

He grinned down at Abigail, wrapping an arm tight around her shoulders and pulling her close.

“Lady Caldecott,” he called, beckoning her forward into the shelter of the little clearing. “I have something I want to ask you.”