Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Y our Grace,

It’s been only a short week since I saw you, yet it feels like an age. I wonder if you miss me as I miss you. Will you invite me to tea again, or will you perhaps dance with me at the Franworths’ ball next week?

I look forward to seeing you again. My family seeks to marry me off quickly. Do you think you might propose soon?

Do think of me fondly while you read this.

Yours faithfully,

Louisa.

Percival couldn’t suppress the snort that escaped his lips as he read her letter again, trying to reconcile the sweet words with the bold woman who had ventured into his estate. When he first read the letter, he wondered if perhaps his late brother, Michael, had been courting someone. But after meeting the lady, it was clear that wasn’t the case.

His brother, as vain as one could be, would never court someone with a scar like hers. That was the first thing that caught Percival’s eye. He wondered what could have led to her having such a gruesome mark on her pretty face.

His hand subconsciously touched his scar. She hadn’t even shrunk back in fear the way his maids had when he had come back.

“It was a means to escape an engagement I did not want. It is not important.”

He usually would not take interest in someone who would fake courting someone else to escape an engagement, but her going as far as writing him a letter to ensure no one uncovered her charade intrigued him.

He hadn’t laughed truly since he had returned to England a month ago, and he doubted he would again, but she had made him break character with her words.

“I do not know you well enough to have an opinion,” she had said, but he had garnered enough from one meeting.

She was unlike any woman he had ever met, and her bravery to step into his haunted home could not go unnoticed. He knew about the rumours surrounding him and his family’s estate from the information Eli, the Baron Gillingham, relayed to him in a bid to bring him out of his seclusion.

“Your Grace,” the butler called as he entered the room. “I have escorted your guest to her carriage.”

“Was anyone else with her?” Percival asked.

“Yes. Her sister.”

“All right.”

He didn’t need a scandal in the event anyone else saw her leaving his family home.

“Might I ask who she is?” the butler asked.

“I do not know, Tobias,” Percival admitted, handing him the letter. “She came looking for this. I spotted her through the window, roaming around. Have we gotten any more applications? I need more servants.”

“They all seem scared for some reason, Your Grace,” Tobias answered, not looking at him. “This is a rather interesting letter. Who was it intended for? The late Duke?”

“You saw her, Tobias,” Percival pointed out. “Michael would never.”

“Surely, it can’t be you.” His butler laughed.

If Tobias hadn’t been with his family for as long as he had, and if Percival didn’t trust him with his life, he would have sacked him right then.

“Apparently, it was a ruse,” he said. “She wanted to end her engagement.”

Tobias placed the letter on the desk and nodded. “It is not a bad idea, Your Grace,” he remarked. “It is high time you took a wife.”

Percival shot him a glare and turned to throw the pile of unopened invitations into the fire. They had come in droves since news of his return had spread, and he knew everyone wanted to be the first to host him in their homes. They were all looking for a story for the gossipmongers, and he wasn’t in any mood to be their topic of discussion even though they gossiped despite him not indulging them.

“I might ask you to retire early if you keep making such senile decisions, Tobias.”

“I assure you, I am of sound mind,” Tobias sniffed. “It is high time you did. One, to secure your family’s fortune, and two, to make your re-entry into Society as smooth as can be, considering how rude you have been.”

He pointed to the pile of letters that were now ash on the ground.

“Even if I were to agree with you, what makes you think she would be the best candidate?” Percival asked, folding his arms across his chest. “A lady who enters a bachelor’s home uninvited and unchaperoned doesn’t seem like she has very good breeding.”

“It shows bravery, considering the reputation you’ve managed to earn yourself and us, by extension,” Tobias retorted. “Plus, she didn’t run off screaming or swoon after seeing your face. She is the only woman in England’s nobility who wouldn’t.”

Percival resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but he was sure that if the butler kept waxing lyrical about the young lady’s qualities, then he surely would.

“You do not know that.”

“Oh, but I do,” Tobias asserted. “Serving a noble family for as long as I have has enlightened me on the characteristics of the ton.”

“A match with her would draw too much attention to us,” Percival tried. “She and I are scarred. What do you think they would say about that?”

“She has their sympathy. No one would fault her for her choice,” Tobias reasoned. “If she wrote that letter to escape a match, it must be for good reason. Her options are limited to old widowers or desperate gamblers who need her dowry to pay off their debts—none of which would give her a chance at happiness.”

Percival snorted. “How many matches end up happy, Tobias? Now, you’re just being ridiculous. Do you think she’ll have much of that with me?”

“If you’ll let yourself.”

“I need to think, Tobias.”

“While you do, consider the estate. She might just have a large enough dowry to help restore it.”

Percival sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You do not intend to make this decision easy for me, do you?”

“Not at all,” Tobias answered with a broad smile. “You have always done the right thing, Your Grace. Do not stop now.”

Tobias was right about Percival needing a wife with a large dowry to at least start the repairs to the estate… among other things. Percival had been appalled that his brother had let the estate fall into such disrepair. But then again, Michael had not been particularly adept at managing finances. Thankfully, he wasn’t a gambler, so they hadn’t accumulated debts beyond what was reasonable.

Percival frowned again, remembering the letter that had labelled his brother’s death an unfortunate riding accident. He found the notion inconceivable as Michael had been a skilled rider and would never drink if he was going to be on his horse.

Yet even though he suspected foul play, he wondered who could harbour such malicious intentions for his brother who had been society’s darling for as long as he could remember.

Since childhood, Michael had been the more sociable of the two of them, garnering a following that he had maintained even in Oxford. He had a quick wit and was handsome by all standards, which added to his appeal.

Pain lanced through Percival’s heart as he remembered his brother and the childhood they had shared. Thick as thieves they had been. He still had to carry out a private investigation, and what better way to do that than to be in the thick of Society, where his brother would no doubt have been. He wouldn’t be able to get information outside of it. Even Eli, despite his rank, would be unable to help get the information he needed.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered, realizing that marriage was the only option available to him.

“Language, Your Grace,” Tobias scolded. “That kind of language is fit for the barracks, but it won’t be welcomed among polite society.”

“I’m not there yet, Tobias.”

“But you will be soon. You need to start early.”

“Leave me, Tobias.”

“I will, but I need you to consider this seriously,” Tobias pressed. “If it wasn’t important, you know I wouldn’t insist on it. Lunch will be served in an hour.”

“I do not need it.”

“See to it that I do not need to come up here, Your Grace.”

With that, the butler was gone, leaving Percival with many thoughts racing through his head. He hadn’t told anyone of his suspicions yet and had tried to keep his interrogations of the staff light so as not to arouse suspicion.

He would have asked Tobias to continue investigating the servants discreetly, as they would be more likely to let down their guard around the kind old man, but he thought better. It was not as though he didn’t trust Tobias—he just didn’t want the man’s life to be in danger if his hunch proved correct.

They were not in such dire straits financially, and neither was he involved in any scandal that could have pushed his brother to make the decision they claimed he had, so he couldn’t understand it.

But what would anyone stand to gain from killing his brother?

He thought back to the only marriage candidate he had now and sighed. He couldn’t deny that what Tobias pointed out about the lady had made perfect sense.

She was well dressed and spoke like a gently bred lady, which proved that she might indeed have a large enough dowry. He also considered her aversion to marriage and knew she would give him the privacy he needed to work without demanding his attention.

His openly courting her would cause a stir that would no doubt rock the halls of England’s nobility and earn them more attention and invitations than he needed. There were many benefits to a match with her, but there were inconveniences as well.

He wasn’t blind to her charms. His body, long starved of a woman’s touch, had responded to her in a way that he hadn’t liked. The familiar spark of desire had ignited in his blood as he had touched her and been close enough to smell her rose perfume. Her simple day gown had been cut in a manner that enhanced her curves and teased his eyes with a glimpse of her cleavage.

The scar on her face did nothing to take away from her beauty. In fact, it gave her an air of mystery that he found interesting. She held herself with more confidence than he would expect from someone who had no doubt been the object of many a pitying glance.

It was obvious that she had found him attractive too. He wasn’t blind to the signs of an interested woman, but he had been caught off guard. If she weren’t a noblewoman, he might have engaged in a bit of flirtation and gotten the itch out of his system, but she was a noblewoman, and he would not have dared lest she bind herself to him.

He didn’t need such an attachment, and if he desired the touch of a woman, he could purchase it in one of the brothels in the city.

“I do not call you a beast. I would never,” she had said, looking so angry that anyone would call him that.

He groaned, trying to rid his mind of thoughts of her, but her voice kept ringing in his ears. She carried herself so delicately that he felt a strong urge to protect her, but her spine and words showed a woman with a steely resolve who would not appreciate such a notion.

He wondered what she could have done to deserve such a scar… He could have asked Eli but he wouldn’t even dare or the man would question him endlessly.

He wondered if her lovely brown eyes and sweet, full lips would part in surprise if she saw him again. Worse still, whether she would be happy or reject him if he proposed to her.

He found himself wondering what her reactions would be, as so far, he had failed to predict her. He had thought she would run home when he had called to her from the window, but she had surprised him when she had come inside, annoying him even further when she looked amazed by him rather than frightened by his scar. There were many layers to this woman he wanted to unravel, and it annoyed him that he was tempted beyond casual inquiry.

She thought he was hers?

Well, she was just about to find out how true that statement was.

Picking up the invitation to the Franworths’ ball, he placed it on his desk and decided to accept it. He wanted to see more of this intriguing woman and perhaps ruffle her feathers the way she had his, and the ball seemed the perfect place to do it.

First, he would intrude on her privacy as she had his and show her that he intended to take her letter very seriously. She had ventured into the Beast’s lair, and he would show her that she had gotten more than what she had bargained for.

She might have claimed him as hers in her letter, but she was about to become his in more ways than she could imagine.