“Vanessa!” Lord Langdon spluttered, pulling himself up onto his feet. She glanced back at him to see that he was glaring from her to the man in the doorway. “Who is this man, and how do you know him?” His eyes grew wide in horror. “Have you been—are you dallying with this gentleman?”
“Upon my honor, silence yourself!” Lord Forthwell exclaimed, shocking Vanessa, who had not expected her father to say anything reproachful to Lord Langdon. “Do not you knowwho this is? Show some respect to His Grace, the Duke of Thornfield!”
The Duke of Thornfield…
Another wave of faintness washed over her. She had accidentally confessed her sins to the Duke of Thornfield?! One of the most powerful, feared, and ruthless men of theton?
She swallowed, her mouth and throat suddenly very dry.
“I am sure that my son meant no harm,” the Marquess said into the tense silence. He was looking at Langdon with a sharp, nervous expression. “He was merely surprised by His Grace’sfamiliaritywith your daughter.”
Vanessa understood the implication in his words, and from the look on her father’s face, so did he, but before he could say anything, Langdon spoke.
“Y-your Grace!” he stammered, and Vanessa felt a momentary rush of vindictive pleasure to see that Langdon sounded as intimidated as she felt. He lowered himself into a shallow bow then straightened up. “Pardon me, I did not recognize you. However, it does not change the nature of my question: what are you doing here, and how do you know my betrothed?”
“She is not your betrothed anymore,” Thornfield said, and Vanessa’s mouth fell open. Never in her life had she heard a man speak with such certainty and authority.
“I beg your pardon!” Langdon cried, taking a step further. “How dare you! She most certainly is my betrothed, and that will not change just because you have come barging in here to?—”
“Have you accepted his proposal?” Thornfield asked, ignoring Langdon and turning directly to look at Vanessa.
“No,” she said. “Lord Langdon had just asked me to marry him when you arrived, but I had not yet responded.”
“I have asked her father!” Langdon shouted. “And he has accepted my suit! The marriage contract is all but signed!”
“That is true,” the Marquess said quickly.
“Marriage contracts can be broken if both parties agree,” the Duke said dismissively, still not looking at Lord Langdon. “And this one will be broken—because Lady Vanessa is going to marry me.”
The Marquess and Marchioness of Pedington both gasped.
“You, Your Grace?” Lord Forthwell repeated, stunned.
“Marry Vanessa?” Lady Forthwell echoed.
Vanessa felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under her.
“Yes,” the Duke said, his eyes coming back to rest on Vanessa’s. “Your daughter caught my eye the other day, and I have been eager to find her ever since. I wish her to become my wife. The next Duchess of Thornfield.”
A stunned silence filled the dining room. Vanessa could not believe what she was hearing. The Duke of Thornfield wanted to marryher.Questions raced through her mind.Why? When did he decide this? How could she marry a man she did not even know?
The silence was broken at last by Lord Langdon, who stepped forward, his whole body shaking and his hands balled into fists.
“This is preposterous!” he snarled. “Lady Vanessa is promised tome.
“Perhaps the contract is not yet signed, but we had a gentleman’s agreement, Forthwell! Your honor is at stake, as is the honor of your entire family!”
Vanessa’s father looked from Langdon—red in the face and furious—to the Duke, who seemed calm and patient, to the Marquess and Marchioness, who both looked pale and angry. At last, he drew himself up.
“Y-you are right,” Lord Forthwell finally stammered, and he turned to the Duke, his body stooping slightly as if he were afraid to stand up to the man. “Your Grace, I do apologize. We are, of course, honored by your interest in our daughter, but as LordLangdon so rightly points out, I have already agreed to marry my daughter to him instead. I am… Well, I am very sorry.”
To Vanessa’s surprise, the Duke looked amused. “Lord Langdon is right about something,” he mused, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked thoughtfully around. “Which is that the honor of your familyisat stake. It has come to my attention that you, Lord Forthwell, are involved in some shady business dealings with Lord Langdon’s father, the Marquess of Pedington.” He turned to stare at the Marquess, an eyebrow raised.
“I hate to do this the hard way,” he purred, “but I will if I have to. And while I should very much not like to have to take these dealings to the King, I will do so if you deny my suit.”
Another shocked silence filled the hall, this one even more tense than the last. Vanessa’s stomach squirmed.I told him that two nights ago, thinking he was the priest,she thought miserably.And now, he is threatening my father with it!
Her father, meanwhile, had paled. As she watched, he even began to shake.
