Chapter Seven

Joseph scowled as his mother sailed into the room, a broad smile on her face. "Mother, please. I do not know why you are smiling when we are already tardy! Do hurry, the carriage is waiting by the door." He made to usher her out, only for his mother to stop him by simply lifting her hand, palm out, towards him.

"You are to be formally introduced to your betrothed this evening," she informed him, taking all of Joseph's irritation away in one swift moment and instead, replacing it with utter shock. "Whether or not you wish to make the actual announcement this evening, I shall leave it up to you, though I have already begun to make preparations for a ball. I do hope that with the engagement and the ball, the ton will begin to reconsider your character even if it still does leave a great deal to be desired."

Joseph swayed lightly, no longer feeling as confident nor as determined as he had been only a few minutes beforehand.

"Joseph?" His mother used his Christian name, her eyebrows lifting as Joseph blinked back at her, no words coming to his lips. "You are aware that I went to speak with the Earl of Jedburgh, are you not?"

A slow hiss of breath escaped Joseph as he tried to regain himself a little, only to see his mother's slow smile begin to spread across her face. Evidently, she was a little pleased that he seemed so off-balance, so surprised by her determinations. Perhaps this silence was not the reaction she had expected and, thus, she was a little relieved because of it.

"What did you do, Mother?" Joseph finally managed to say as his mother shrugged lightly. "I do not understand."

"Why do you not?" she asked, a slight hint of laughter in her voice. "You know what I was to do, do you not?"

"You went to speak with the Earl of Jedburgh but I did not think…. That is to say, I did not think for even a moment that you would be successful."

"And why not?"

Joseph's mouth opened and then closed again, the answer coming to him though he was unwilling to say it. The reason he had believed she might be unsuccessful – though there had been a great concern that she might be able to wrangle her way into some sort of agreement – had been solely because of his own reputation and because of his behavior. Now, it seemed, that was no great concern to the Lord Jedburgh, who had agreed that one of his daughters would marry Joseph.

"I cannot be betrothed if I have not accepted it," Joseph tried to say, putting a strength into his voice that he did not truly feel. "And I tell you now, I do not accept it."

"Yes, but you shall." Just as Joseph had put a force into his voice, so now did his mother do the same. "That is precisely why we are here in London, is it not? And you have disgraced yourself a good deal already, I believe. Quite why you would wish to add to that disgrace, I do not know."

Joseph flung up his hands, trying to ignore the way that her words bit at him. "Mother, I have been forced to come to London by your own dreadful behavior and thereafter, now, you insist that I do yet more to quieten you!"

The Duchess took a step closer to him, one finger pressing lightly against his heart though her eyes were like shards of glass, breaking into his skin. "I do not care whether or not you think ill of me in this, I only care about you taking on the responsibility that you ought. You are going to accept this engagement and you will make the announcement this evening, else I shall. Do I make myself quite clear?" She glared at him for another long moment before turning on her heel and marching out of the room, leaving Joseph to stare after her, still overcome with shock at what was now being laid out for him.

After a moment, he closed his eyes tightly and groaned, rubbing one hand over them as he fought to come to a clear understanding of his future. He had two choices. Either he could do as his mother asked, could accept the engagement and make the announcement, or he could refuse to do so and turn his back on it all. The first would bring him to a place of dissatisfaction and dislike, for he certainly did not want to be married and had no desire to take care of a wife, but the other would bring him the same agonies as he had endured over the last few months with his mother, if not a good deal worse! If his mother would return to her ways of making his life nothing but misery and trouble, then he would have to simply tolerate it for as long as he could or take his leave of the estate for as long as he could – which would be difficult given his business affairs and tenants… Though he had not given much thought to the latter of late, Joseph acknowledged.

"I do not think I can bear it," he muttered, pushing his fingers through his hair, only to let out a groan as he realized he would have made a mess of his carefully brushed hair. Making his way across the room to where a large mirror hung on the wall, he took in his reflection before making a few adjustments, making certain that he appeared to be just as well as any other, save for the paleness of his features and the fear lurking in his eyes.

Joseph scowled hard but the image remained. He was not the tall, confident gentleman he had always known. Instead, his pallor was dull, his eyes holding shadows and lines pulling across his forehead. His shoulders were a little rounded, as if he were hunching in order to protect himself in some way from the burden now placed upon them. Closing his eyes, Joseph tried to keep the fight going, tried to let his heart rage over what his mother had done but found, instead, that there was a dull weakness there. It was as if he did not want to fight anymore, as though he was giving up and accepting his fate. It was not a pleasant feeling and it was certainly not what Joseph wanted to do but the more he considered it, the more he realized that it would have to be so.

He would have to accept. He would have to marry… but he did not have to be the sort of husband that the lady might be expecting.

A hint of a smile touched the edge of Joseph's lips, though it held no mirth within it. I shall make it quite clear to this young lady that I have no interest in matrimony, that I do not intend to be any sort of husband to her. The smile continued to grow, his shoulders pulling back just a little. I will be just as I have always been. A wife does not mean that such things must cease, does it? With a nod to himself, Joseph turned on his heel and strode away. And, if I am lucky, she will be the one to end the engagement rather than I and all will be well.

***

"I am to meet her this evening." Joseph said to his friend after entering the ballroom.

Lord Quillon's eyebrows lifted. "And you have no notion as to who she might be?"

Joseph shook his head. "No, none. All I know is that her father is the Earl of Jedburgh – and yes, I know that you are vaguely acquainted but no, I do not know which daughter it is to be."

"I presume, the eldest?"

A cold hand grasped Joseph's heart and he shook his head. "I do not know. Did you say that none of them are wed?"

His friend nodded. "From what I recall, none of them have made a match as yet this Season, though the youngest is only just out."

Joseph's eyebrows lifted. "The youngest out? The elder two unmarried?"

"Yes." Lord Quillon spoke slowly, dragging the word out as he thought. "Yes, that is so, I am sure of it." His expression cleared. "The younger only just made her debut. I know because I was there."

Chuckling, Joseph threw his friend a questioning look.

"Yes, yes, I will admit to being there solely to take note of the young debutantes who had come to join society for the first Season," Lord Quillon laughed but not before he had gone a little red. "It is important to know who is present, that is all, especially if one is interested in taking a bride!"

"Oh, yes." Joseph's smile faded. "I had forgotten that you were intending to do such a thing as that this Season."

This time, it was his friend's turn to chuckle. "Ah, but you have quite forgotten that it will be you first of all who shall wed, my friend! Yes, I shall wed also but not before you!"

This made Joseph's whole body tremble though he did try to hide it from his friend. He did not want to marry, did not want to take a bride and yet, it was a decision he was making to follow through with what his mother had arranged. "I am quite sure I shall not be the sort of husband that you shall be, however," he said, quite plainly. "You will be honourable, kind, considerate and caring. I intend to make my betrothed fully aware that I will be none of those things." He laughed as he said this but Lord Quillon did not so much as smile. Instead, a frown began to spread across his forehead, a line forming between his brows as he looked back at Joseph, a heaviness coming upon his features which, in turn, seemed to sink into Joseph's soul.

"I confess, I am surprised to hear that you intend to be so dark and deceitful a fellow," Lord Quillon replied, as a knot tied itself in Joseph's stomach, realizing that he had lowered himself in his friend's opinion. "The way you speak is not the way my friend spoke when I first left for my Great Adventure. Yes, you were a rascal but I did not think you heartless."

"I…" Joseph opened his mouth and then closed his again before letting out a long sigh, shaking his head. "You know that I do not want to marry. I hope that, by informing my bride of this, she will be the one to step away from me and thus, end the engagement."

"And that way, you will be free of it and then, might I ask, if you believe that your mother will simply give up?"

With a shrug, Joseph nodded. "I would hope so."

"Then I think you are a fool, both in how you are approaching this and in your belief as regards your mother's great strength of mind and her clear determination," came the reply. "I understand that you do not wish to wed, my friend, but you are accepting this betrothal regardless. I do not think that you are then able to continue to blame your mother for it, since you yourself have accepted it. And, thereafter, might I suggest that there are benefits to being a married gentleman, benefits that you might not otherwise have considered?"

Joseph snorted, rolling his eyes. "I hardly think that any benefit of matrimony will outweigh the enjoyment and the pleasure I have at the present moment."

This time, Lord Quillon let out a bark of hard laughter, making Joseph feel rather small, aware that his own remarks had been a little derisory.

"Ah yes, I forgot about your present enjoyment of society and how well they think of you," Lord Quillon replied, his jaw tightening just a little, his eyes flashing. "How there are more in society who wish to avoid you than to draw close to you. Are those the enjoyments of which you speak?"

It was the first time in their friendship that Joseph felt them close to an argument and even to a parting of ways and, having no desire for that, he took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "Quillon, I –"

"There you are." Before he could continue to speak, his mother interrupted them both, casting an apologetic glance towards Lord Quillon. "Come now, your betrothed is waiting."

Joseph blinked quickly, seeing his friend turn away, clearly finished with their conversation. "My betrothed?"

"Your betrothed?" Someone from behind him exclaimed aloud, only for Joseph to turn and shoot them an angry glance, making the young lady eavesdropping let out a squeak of embarrassment. It did not stop her from immediately then whispering to the lady beside her and Joseph quickly made his way through the crowd, fairly certain that the ton would now know of his engagement before he even had a chance to meet his betrothed. His heart hammered wildly, his stomach twisting this way and that as he continued towards the side of the ballroom, where it was a little quieter. His mother cast him a glance over her shoulder, a smile on her face but questions in her eyes – perhaps afraid that he would say or do something that would end the engagement before it had even begun – but Joseph gave her only the smallest nod.

"Here we are." His mother stopped, smiled and then moved to one side, letting Joseph step closer to the small circle of people. "Lord Jedburgh, might I present my son, the Duke of Yarmouth? Yarmouth, this is the Earl of Jedburgh."

Joseph took in the gentleman opposite him, seeing him a little diminutive in stature, his eyes heavy and showing no sort of deference as he held Joseph's gaze. "What a pleasure to meet you, Lord Jedburgh," Joseph said, bowing, as the fellow only inclined his head rather than bow.

"I have heard of your reputation, Your Grace, but I have been assured that you will be considered when it comes to my daughter," the Earl said, his words bold and holding a great deal of weight which fell upon Joseph without warning. "I would not like her to have the ton' s mockery surrounding her because of you."

"I quite understand." Joseph did not say anything more, refusing to permit himself to agree to anything he had no intention of doing, allowing his gaze to shift to the first young lady beside the gentleman. "Might I ask if –"

"I am the one you are betrothed to, Your Grace."

Joseph turned his head, only for his breath to catch, his heart coming to a stop for just a moment as he took in a familiar face. Blue eyes held his, brown curls dancing lightly about her shoulders as she lifted her chin. Her face was pale, no color in it whatsoever but there was a steadiness to her that spoke of determination.

Joseph did not know what to say.

"You are astonished, I see," Lord Jedburgh murmured, though Joseph could not tear his gaze away from the young lady. "I do hope that you find my daughter's beauty acceptable, Your Grace. Your mother appears to be quite convinced that she will make you an excellent match."

This made the young lady's lip curl for a moment, though she quickly pulled that from her expression and instead, looked away. Joseph's heart plummeted to the ground, then ricocheted back up, making him feel a little nauseous. It could not be! Out of all the young ladies of London, he had never once imagined that this creature, this forceful, outspoken, fiery young lady would be the one he was meant to marry!

"We… we have met before," he managed to say, his voice rasping. "I did not know that… that is to say, I was unaware of her title."

"Louisa!" One of the other young ladies elbowed her and immediately, Louisa's face went bright red, only for the Duchess to speak quickly and firmly, casting Joseph a look as she did so.

"What my son means is that there was an incident in which he injured your sister, that is all," she said, directing her gaze now towards the other young lady. "He apologized – eventually – and thus, that is why he does not know her title. Though now, of course, I am glad to be able to present to you Lady Louisa, daughter of the Earl of Jedburgh."

Joseph knew what was expected of him, understood that he was meant to reach out his hand to the young lady and bow over it but instead, found himself so breathless with shock that he could only stand there, staring at her. Lady Louisa, however, dipped into a proper curtsy, then held his gaze, one eyebrow lifting as she waited for him to respond.

"I do not think that we can wed," he said, a little hoarsely. "I do not think that –"

"I believe that we are already engaged, Your Grace, whether you might wish it or not," came the response, as Lady Louisa interrupted him. "Now, are you to take me a turn about the room so we might acknowledge it to all of the ton for, given the amount of looks we are garnering, I believe that the news is already out."

Joseph swallowed hard, his mind telling him to run, to escape from it all and to turn his back entirely on the engagement and on Lady Louisa. Instead, however, he found himself offering her his arm and, without another word to her, began to lead his betrothed through the crowd of guests.

His life, as he knew it, was now over.