Delacorte snapped his fingers. “I thought I’d heard them somewhere before.”
And then they all turned at the sharp rap on the door.
The other three men filed out.
Hugh was left alone in the room with the Earl of Vaughn.
Despite the fact that the Earl had said, “I’d like a word with Mr. Cassidy,” he said nothing for a good long while. He studied him thoughtfully, almost quizzically, from the opposite side of the room. He didn’t reach for the cigars or the brandy.
Hugh met the scrutiny head on, without blinking, without flinching.
There wasn’t an expression in the world that could break him, even as he died a thousand deaths internally. He could only guess at some of the things the earl was thinking.
Finally Hugh spoke. “Lord Vaughn, I deeply regret the manner in which you learned of our attachment.”
The earl barked a laugh. “Youregret it,” he said dryly. “Like a bloody show at Piccadilly, the curtain going up, there you were.”
Hugh didn’t say, “You’d have to pay dearly forthat sort of show.” He was in an agony of shame and disbelief.
And then another moody silence ensued.
“I was young once, Cassidy. I did a few inadvisable things. Not on stage, mind you.”
Oh God.
“Yes, sir.”
“Here is the thing,” the earl said. “While I’m tempted to issue a more vociferous objection and castigation based on the circumstances—in other words, I’m tempted to have you hog-tied and flogged—the truth is I think you will be good for Lillias. She is strong-willed and too clever for her own good and I think you are just the man to keep her in line and protect her from herself. Her settlements are generous and will enable you to dabble in business here while you keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed. A house in Devon will be at your disposal. She is my oldest daughter. I’d dreamed of a grander match, of course, but her happiness is paramount to me.”
It was a guillotine coming down.
Hugh stared at him. “Dabble.”
What he wanted didn’t matter, that much was clear, given the circumstances. And though it was more or less what he’d expected, the brief rote recitation of what his domestic life would be like—the cozy life in Devon, finances controlled by her father—settled like a cannonball on his chest. As did, oddly, the notion that Lillias ought to be “kept in line,” something he might have concurred with some weeks ago. As though she was a pet requiring tethering, not a person with agency and original thoughts and restless desires.
“But I will not have you take her out of England to live,” the earl said. “If you do, there will be no settlement at all. And while I do have some sympathy for your disappointed dreams, if you abandon her to return to America, I will see to your ruin. Do you understand me?”
Hugh breathed in and breathed out.
“Yes, sir. Upon my life, I will never abandon her,” he said quietly.
“I know you won’t. That’s not the sort of man you are.” The earl sounded almost sympathetic. “Congratulations. Welcome to the family.”
Chapter Fourteen
Word certainly spread quickly.
Hugh realized this when he awoke much later than usual to a dark, cold room and the kind of pounding in his skull that made him immediately wish he could twist it off his neck and hurl it out the window. Memory sifted in—the glorious woman and the kind of kiss he’d told himself he’d risk damnation for followed by—surprise!—damnation. Two lives ruined and salvaged in one fell swoop, followed by sympathy whiskey and an Armageddon-like discussion with the Earl of Vaughn.
Surely he’d had a choice in all of it? It was only when he was away from Lillias that he felt he’d had a choice. He was honest enough about that.
How wasshefaring? He doubted anyone had fed her liquor.
He groaned and steadied his head between his hands.
The fire was all but dead. No steaming coffee or freshly baked scone awaited on a tray next to him.
The maids were punishing him.