Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

“ Y ou’d better get upstairs,” Matthew murmured. “Father wants to see you.”

Lavinia looked at her brother. He wore an expression of concern. It worried her. She had been doing many things lately of which her father would not approve, and she knew it. Now Matthew was telling her that their father wanted to see her. She didn’t know why, but she could think of several possible guesses, and none of them put her at ease.

If he had found out about her meetings with the duke, he might punish her by taking her home immediately, removing any chance she had to find herself a gentleman. Now that she had been through the duke’s training and felt more capable than she ever had of conquering the social scene around her, the idea of being removed from this party felt particularly dreadful.

“What did Father say?” she asked her brother.

“He wants to discuss the subject of your marriage,” Matthew said, giving her a sympathetic look.

Lavinia’s heart sank. “I was supposed to have until the party ended to sort that out for myself,” she said. “I still have a few days left.”

“I suppose he must be thinking that if you haven’t done it yet, it isn’t going to happen.” Matthew sighed. “Lavinia, you know you have my support, always. But don’t you think it would be for the best to simply allow him to manage things for you? You wouldn’t have to worry anymore. Let him arrange you a marriage.”

“He still hasn’t said anything about who he wants to marry me to.” Lavinia pointed out. “I would feel better if I knew who it was. But what if it’s someone dreadful?”

She thought of dancing with Lord Hennington, and how she hadn’t felt anything at all for him—but even so, she could imagine people a great deal worse to be married to than Lord Hennington. At least he would always be kind to her. She would never have to be fearful of him. She would never have to worry that he would put her in a position that wasn’t what was best for her. She couldn’t say the same of whoever her father might have chosen.

“Father wants you to be happy,” Matthew said.

“Father wants me to be married,” Lavinia countered. “Whether or not I’m happy is a secondary concern to him. He certainly doesn’t mind if I’m happy, but I wouldn’t think he would mind very much if I wasn’t either.”

“I think you should hear him out,” Matthew said. “Go on up there and see what he wants, Lavinia. Maybe he’s going to tell you who he wants you to marry, and maybe it won’t be as bad as whatever you’re imagining. To tell you the truth, I don’t see how it could be as bad as you’re imagining.

I feel, sometimes, as if you think Father is going to marry you to a monster. He won’t. He’ll marry you to the best person he can find for you. He doesn’t want a scandal. You can trust that, even if you can’t trust anything else—and besides, once he reveals the name of the person you’re to marry, you know I’ll intercede on your behalf if you ever feel unsafe.”

“I know you will, Matthew,” Lavinia said. “You’re not the one I can’t trust.”

“You can trust Father to be predictable, surely, if nothing else.”

“Come up with me,” Lavinia said. “I’d feel better if you did.”

Matthew nodded. “All right,” he said. “Maybe that’s for the best.”

The two of them left the ball and made their way up the stairs. “He’s in his chambers,” Matthew said. “I told him I would escort you to him there.”

“What if I had refused to come?”

“I hoped you wouldn’t,” Matthew said quietly. “I understand how apprehensive you are about all this, Lavinia, but you must know that I want what’s best for you, at least.”

“I know you do,” Lavinia said. “Sometimes I think I’m only going through with all this for your sake, Matthew.”

Matthew frowned as if he didn’t like that idea much, but he didn’t argue. He knocked on their father’s door.

“Come in,” the marquess called.

Matthew opened the door and ushered Lavinia inside. She was only a few steps in when she registered that there was already someone in the room with her father.

A moment later, she realized who it was—Lord Hennington.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she was acutely aware that it was the very first time she had felt any sort of physical response triggered by his presence. She felt this way around the duke all the time, but Lord Hennington couldn’t make her nervous in this way. Even now, it was her father, not Lord Hennington, who was the real source of her anxiety.

The fact that Lord Hennington was here made her worry that her father knew something more than she wanted him to—that he was aware of her actions during this party beyond what she had intended him to see.

“Lavinia,” her father said. “I understand you’ve been spending time with Lord Hennington over the past few days.”

“We—we’ve got to know one another,” Lavinia said, trying to figure out what was happening. It made her feel nervous to admit to anything when she didn’t know what her father was building toward. But if he had been speaking with Lord Hennington, he must certainly already know everything that had transpired between the two of them. There was no point in trying to keep secrets.

“Well, I must confess, I’m impressed with you,” her father said.

That threw Lavinia for a loop. “You are?”

“I didn’t think you were going to be able to accomplish it,” he said. “I thought, at most, you would come to me begging for more time, perhaps telling me that you had your eye on someone but that you needed more time to win his attention. But Lord Hennington has let me know that you’ve done a marvelous job of catching his fancy.”

“I apologize to you both,” Lord Hennington said, his cheeks turning a bit pink. “This is all happening remarkably quickly, and I know it can’t have been what either of you expected. But when Lady Edwina let me know that Lady Lavinia was to marry at the conclusion of the party?—”

“Edwina told you that?” Lavinia asked.

“Lavinia.” Her father frowned. “Please don’t interrupt.”

“I quite understand,” Lord Hennington said quickly. “I would have questions too, Lady Lavinia, if I was in your shoes. Yes, your sister came to me about twenty minutes ago and warned me that I would need to move quickly if I didn’t want to lose my chance with you—and when she put it that way, I knew I had to act. I would be heartbroken if I lost an opportunity.”

“What are you saying?” Lavinia asked him.

“I came up here to ask your father for permission to marry you,” Lord Hennington explained. “And he’s granted it. Lady Lavinia, I know that we’ve only known one another for a short while, but when I’m around you, I feel as if I’m with someone I’ve known for a long time. It’s a quick thing, but I’m ready to choose you as my wife for the rest of my life, if you’ll have me.”

Lavinia glanced at her father, unable to believe that he would truly leave the decision in her hands.

Lord Hennington noticed. “I should leave the two of you alone to discuss matters,” he said. “But I want you to know, Lady Lavinia, that my feelings for you are real. I hope you’re willing to consider my proposal. I hope that you can return the way I feel, and that you’ll do me the honor of being my wife.”

He smiled at her tentatively.

Lavinia tried to smile back, but she felt sick inside. He was a good man. He was looking at her with an open, trusting smile, and she could see that he meant the things he was saying. He really did care for her. He wanted to marry her, not for status or to curry favor with her father, but simply because he admired her and liked spending time with her.

And she couldn’t bring herself to return his affections.

She wished she could. It would be so much easier for both of them, and he deserved it. But all she could think about was the duke and how different things felt when she was with him. Lord Hennington would never be the same.

“I’ll speak to you both later,” he said, and gave her a little bow. She watched him leave the room, at a loss for what to say, glad that he was leaving so that she wouldn’t have to solve that problem right now, at least.

The door closed, and she stood facing her father. Matthew watched them from his place beside the wall.

“Well,” her father said, “I did have a plan to marry you to a friend of mine, Lavinia, but it seems that in spite of my doubts, you have managed to make your own arrangements within the time I gave you after all.”

“Then you’ll accept the viscount for her?” Matthew asked.

“I see no reason why not,” her father said. “He’s a perfectly respectable gentleman. He seems to genuinely like her, and I take it she likes him as well. That was what was promised—isn’t that right, Lavinia? I told you that you would have a chance to find someone of your own choosing, and I’ve done that, wouldn’t you say so?”

“I don’t know,” Lavinia said.

“You don’t know ?”

“I hardly know him, Father,” she said softly. “It was never my intention to marry Lord Hennington. We spent some time together, but I didn’t know he was going to ask for a marriage, and certainly not this soon.”

“Lavinia, for heaven’s sake—” Matthew sighed in exasperation. “He’s a good man! He’s handsome, he obviously cares for you, and we’ve all seen you spend time in his company. This is a perfect match. This is exactly what you ought to be looking for, and you should be grateful that it’s fallen into your lap! You know how much I worry about you.”

“I know,” Lavinia said. She understood perfectly well. Her father would be nothing but relieved that someone had arrived to take her off his hands, but with Matthew, it was different. He had always made it clear that he genuinely cared for her happiness. He must have been so glad to see someone he could trust asking to marry her. And here she was, making things difficult—just as she always did.

A part of her felt as if she should simply accept the proposal, be grateful for what she was being given, and move on with her life. After all, she hadn’t expected this much. She had thought she would end up in a marriage to someone her father selected for her, someone in whom she had no interest at all.

She didn’t love Lord Hennington, but she didn’t despise him either. To spend the rest of her days with him would be unexciting, but not uncomfortable. It was something she could tolerate.

That was better than she’d assumed she would get.

But she had spent too much time in the company of the duke. She had begun to hope for something more . When she thought of marriage now—when she thought of love—she thought of the excitement that the duke had conjured up in her when he had kissed her.

There had to be a way to find those feelings for other men.

And it seemed to Lavinia that the duke must be the only person who could tell her how to do it.

If she was going to find that thrill with Lord Hennington, she would need one last lesson with him. She needed him to tell her how it was done.