Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

E ven as they returned to Lady Samantha's home, all that Graham could think about was how exquisite his hand felt on her waist.

He had to force himself to think about something else, anything else, and frankly, it was not working as well as he had hoped. From the moment she had told him exactly what she thought of him at the party, she had been on his mind and there was nothing that he could do about it.

"Your Grace?" Lady Samantha asked, and his attention snapped back to her.

"Yes?"

"Do you agree that it is a good idea?"

Graham knew that the better option was to tell her that he had not heard a word that she had said, but he did not wish to be impolite, and he decided that she would mention it again if it were that important.

"Yes, of course," he agreed. "It is as you wish."

She smiled warmly at him, and he wondered exactly what he had agreed to, but he knew that he could not ask at that point. He was too far gone.

"I am truly not looking forward to this," she sighed, her face falling. "I ought to apologize in advance for my father."

"Am I to expect flattery or the opposite?"

"I do not know. That all depends on whether or not you agree with each and every thing he suggests."

"The opposite, then. In any case, it is none of your concern. I have handled far worse than him, believe me."

"I somehow doubt that."

Graham laughed emptily. If only she knew.

Regardless, he had already seen a copy of the marriage contract that the Earl had drawn up, and he knew perfectly well that there would be amendments whether Lady Samantha's father liked it or not.

"This is useless," he sneered, slamming the page down on the gentleman's desk.

"What is the matter with it?" the Earl asked. "I had a solicitor look it over. All of it is perfectly legal, and there is nothing to cause any sort of discomfort on your behalf."

"The dowry. Where is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your daughter's dowry. You are supposed to leave her a sum of money to care for herself. It is her right. Did you truly think that I would miss that? I am not the fool that you think I am, and I certainly am not the boy you expect me to be."

"I do not know what you are talking about. I put the dowry clearly in the contract, so sign it, and we can be on our way with all of this. It has already taken long enough."

"Point out that part to me. I do not know where it is."

His eyes burned into the older man's. Graham dared him to lie once more, and he was more than willing to go further than words. It was almost like a final laugh at his daughter's expense, leaving her with nothing as far as he was concerned.

"Very well," he chuckled. "You have caught me. It was harmless, Your Grace, I assure you."

"How could it possibly be harmless to deprive your daughter of her dowry? How could you think that is the right thing to do?"

"It is not as though she needs it, and you would hardly notice it to begin with. You should have more than ample funds to care for her, should you not?"

Graham did, of course, have more than enough wealth for Lady Samantha; he had more than enough to satisfy any woman, including ones that enjoying spending.

"That is beside the point, and you know it. I do not care what your reasons are for withholding it, but you are not going to do that to her."

"Had I known you were such a cheapskate, I might have refused to let you marry my daughter in the first place. I should have known that you wanted my money and nothing more."

"Let me make this perfectly clear," Graham said coldly, towering over the man. "I do not need your funds, nor care about the lack thereof. I have more than enough for any man. One that does not drink and gamble it away, that is. I cannot imagine that there is anything that you could possibly offer me that I would need or even want."

"Then why are you so insistent that you need it? A gentleman of your status should consider it pennies, and if you do, then there is no need for it."

"It is not for me. It is for your daughter. Is it truly not at all possible for you to think of your daughters at all?"

"I think of my daughters," he spat. "Why else would I have married them off to dukes? Had I not cared, I would have found them gentlemen as soon as they were of age and had the matter settled years ago."

"Let me be clear, you had nothing to do with our match. We have come to this decision independent of you and any expectations you have of your daughter. Lady Samantha and I are going to marry, and it will have nothing to do with you at all unless you change the contract, and I will be more than happy to tell the ton why you are not in attendance. I doubt that they will take lightly that you have deprived your daughter of something that is her right."

"She does not have the right to demand more from me. I have done more for her than any good father typically would. Had she been more grateful, she might not have been so awful and found a husband sooner."

"So, you believe that it is her fault that you cannot afford her dowry?"

"I can afford her dowry. That is not and has never been a question."

"Then you are not going to deny her it. It is to be the one thing that you have ever given her in her life, the one thing that you did not take away, and you even begrudge her that. Truly, you are a despicable man."

The Earl coughed a few times into his handkerchief before tucking it away again. He looked at Graham as if he were scared of him or at least what he knew. Graham tried not to smile at that.

"Listen here, Your Grace —"

"The dowry. It is not negotiable. If you do not provide it, then I will tell the ton precisely why your daughter remains unmarried. She is happy to be ruined, you know that as well as I do, and I am happy to see the end of you. The thought of it thrills me."

"Your Grace, I —"

"I do not wish to hear anything more. I wish to see the money. Until you provide it, we have no further need to speak to one another."

He snatched the contract from the Earl's hands, tearing it and then scrunching it and throwing it on the floor.

"My solicitor shall draft the contract, and I expect to see it signed within the week. I trust that you will comply."

The Earl said nothing, instead glaring at him as Graham turned away.

"I did not hear your response. You will comply, yes?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

It was only a mumble, but it was a victory, nonetheless. Lady Samantha would never know what he did, and she would never have to because the dowry would be paid whether her father wished to or not. He would not allow the Earl to deprive her of the final thing he would ever need to give to her, not after he had never given her anything at all.

Graham wanted to protect her, just as he had done in the park that day, and even if he did not know why that was, he was determined to do it no matter the cost. She would be his wife, his duchess, and perhaps in time the mother of his children; she could not be treated like this by anyone, especially not some drunkard that she was forced to live with as he was her father. She was nothing like him, nothing of the sort, and he had always misjudged her for that.

"So, Graham," she smiled as they promenaded the following morning.

"Graham?" he echoed.

"Yes, you agreed that it was time for the two of us to drop that formality, remember? In light of the circumstances, it is best that we call each other by our given names, else it shall be strange when we are married."

"Ah, yes, I did agree with you, didn't I?"

"I knew that you had not heard me. You certainly seemed out of sorts yesterday."

"My mind was elsewhere."

"Were you thinking about your discussion with my father?"

"It was less of a discussion and more of a lecture on my part," he confessed.

"I know," she smirked. "That is what I was hoping to discuss with you, but you were so distracted by the use of your name that I could not finish."

"My sincerest apologies Lady — Samantha. Please do tell me what you wished to say."

"I wanted to tell you that I heard what you said to my father," she said carefully. "And I am incredibly grateful to you for it."

"Did he tell you about it? Because if he did, I doubt that it was the complete truth, and I'm certain that he made me out to be far more cruel than I truly was."

"I heard you myself," she giggled. "I stood in the hallway with my ear pressed against the door like a child. It is not my proudest moment, but it meant that I could hear everything clearly."

"Ah, so you enjoy eavesdropping? I would never have guessed."

"Well, there is a lot that you are yet to know about me."

"And I cannot wait to, but you must admit that it is rather unladylike to listen to the conversations of others."

"Yes, and I am not exactly the typical sort of lady, am I?"

Graham had to laugh as he shook his head. She was certainly something else, but it was by no means a bad thing to be. He hoped that she knew that, and part of him knew by the way that she carried herself, that she certainly did.

"Besides," she continued, "it would not surprise me in the least if all of Mayfair had heard the two of you. I expect that sort of ungentlemanly behavior from my father, but I assumed you would remain more pleasant than him."

"Were we truly that loud?"

"Yes! It was as though I was listening to two rowdy schoolboys."

"Then I suppose you have met your match — an ungentlemanly gentleman for the unladylike lady."

"I suppose you are right, and it is quite lovely."

"You say that as though you are going to now disagree."

"I do not. It is only that… Well, you and I are not a love match. This is a marriage of convenience and nothing more, yes?"

"As you wished, yes."

"So there had been no cause for you to argue with my father like that, yet you did. Why?"

That was an excellent question and one that he had not planned for. He knew that she would likely be satisfied with the simple explanation that she was to be his wife thus he had to do his part to ensure the marriage was beneficial for her as well as himself, but that alone was not the truth, and he refused to lie to her.

"The reason I did it," he explained, "and why I had felt extremely compelled to do so, is because I will not tolerate a bully."

"Is that what you believe my father to be?"

"It is what I know him to be, and the idea of him having one final laugh at you is something that I cannot bear the thought of."

"But you had already read the contract before visiting. Why did you not discuss it with me first?"

"Because there are things that are not for your ears."

"Why is it not for my ears? It pertains to me, and so I am more than justified in wanting to be told in advance what it is you are going to do."

"That is understandable. I shall refrain from acting on your behalf in future."

"That is not what I mean. I only want you to tell me what you plan to do in the future, and why it is that you are going to do it. This is a partnership, and so we must both remember that and act accordingly."

"In which case, you deserve the truth," he sighed. "I spoke to your father in that way because it is the only way to deal with vultures such as himself."

He watched her for any sign that she was angered by that name, but there was nothing. She even nodded slightly in agreement, a far cry from their first meeting. He could not help but smile faintly though it was soon replaced by a frown.

"What is it?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"Samantha, I was not supposed to be the Duke."

"Yes, you were," she argued. "You are the firstborn son. It is your birthright to be the Duke."

"Not as far as my father was concerned, and his word was the only one that mattered to him."

"But how can a father do that? He was not powerful enough to do that, and there was no other way for him to choose an heir, was there?"

Graham steadied his breathing, looking at Samantha, who had her eyes wide.

"My father," he explained, "was a terrible man."