He directed his guests to the seating area by the fireplace, although he’d given serious thought to having this tense exchange from behind the safety of his desk.Pouring three whiskies, he ignored the memory of learning that from Evie, passed two to the others, and sat.
“Your Grace,” the earl started without waiting for niceties or protocol.“I am given to understand from my wife that you are declining my request to honor the marriage contract.Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Xander answered.He’d studied the Earl of Craven over supper.Evie was a mirror image of her mother, except for the set of her mouth.It wasn’t the shape as much as the expressions.In another setting, he’d want to joke with her father to see if her enchanting laugh came from him.
“Yet my daughter has been living in your house for a month without a chaperone.”That expressive mouth flattened.
“Yes.By her choice and without my consent or awareness.”Xander laid out the facts in a flat tone, fighting to keep his calm.Defensiveness would not help his case.
“You’ll find that doesn’t matter to many in the Ton, unfortunately.”The earl shook his head once, the blond strands moving in a motion similar to Evie’s darker tresses.“She’ll still be considered well and truly compromised.I realize the circumstances are less than ideal, but please think of her reputation.”
Xander replied, “The marquess has informed me that he thinks we are far enough north that scandal can be avoided if we end this quietly and I do not come to London for a few months.”
The earl shot a look at his cousin.“Holly.You’re taking his side?”
“He has a lot on his plate at the moment, Elliot.I’ve asked him to consider not taking action until after the Season.”
Craven nodded.“That would give them time to see she’s not with child, should it come to that.”
“What?”Xander roared, shooting to stand.“Surely, you’ve spoken with your daughter about this.She’ll tell you she cannot be pregnant—at least not by me.”
Craven stood, too, balling his fists at his sides.“Duke or no, I’ll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head when it comes to my daughter.I never said she might be pregnant.But London is all about appearances, and they need proof.Even so, if word gets out about this, she’s done for.”
Xander shook his head.“You cannot have it both ways.Either we are remote and quiet enough that we avoid rumors, or it won’t matter whether she’s expecting.”
Hollibrook jumped in.“Look, I understand your frustration—” At Xander’s doubtful look, he added, “Family or not, I do comprehend it.But the more time we can put between you becoming duke and her stay here versus a broken betrothal, the better it is.People forget, including the people closer to Rutland, and new scandals arise.If Evie returns to London with her family now, then the contract is broken after the Season, it will help everyone.”
“How will it help me?”
“For one, it will allow you time to establish your presence in the House of Lords, even if you do it from here.If you are able to accumulate like-minded allies there, they can smooth your path into society when you come to Town.Evie has her circle of friends, as do her parents.They can support the message of voiding the old contract upon the prior duke’s death as a mutual agreement between the families.”
Xander suspected it would reinforce the view that he was an upstart, a working-class man who didn’t belong with the London set, but he couldn’t care less.He was still scrambling to learn everything required to do the most good for the men and women of England who needed his support—people like him from humble origins who could benefit from his representation.Not the liars of the London set.
However, despite her duplicity, he didn’t want Evie’s reputation to be irrevocably smeared.He nodded his acquiescence, taking a gulp of whiskey.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Desperate, Evie waited until the household was quiet to trace her nightly path to Xander’s bedroom.
Anxiety that he wouldn’t hear her out threatened to choke her.Holding her breath, she depressed the lever of the door handle.Locked.Her fears had been well-founded.
She shrugged.The guests, including her family, were around a corner of the hall.The staff had accepted both her and Xander’s unique perspectives on their supposed “stations.”So she knocked softly and spoke close to the door.“Xander, please let me apologize.”
Silence.
“Xander,” she tried a little louder.“Please.”
She debated going to see if she could find Mrs.Betters’s keyring, but she didn’t want to anger Xander any further.
She knocked again.
A rustle of fabric through the door signified movement, but the lock did not click open.
Almost nose-to-wood, she said, “I want to explain.”
At that, the door was yanked open.“You explained already.Forgive me for not finding your excuses acceptable.”He shrugged and added, “Or don’t.”
She lifted a foot to step forward, not wanting to have this conversation in the hall, but Xander stepped into her space, blocking the doorway.
