Victoria rested her arms on her knees and smiled at him. “You can punish me for my transgressions later, Your Grace, but first I want to set my proposal before you.”
He slowly sat up in the bed, catching the shirt she tossed his way, before letting her help him put it on. Robert looked tired, wrung out.
I just hope he sees the sanity in my plan.
“I’d kill for a cup of tea. I didn’t exactly have much to eat all of yesterday,” he croaked.
She pointed to the tray which sat on the nearby bedside table. “There is a fresh pot of tea and some rosemary biscuits. Under the cloth are some fresh egg and watercress sandwiches. I know you love them, and I figured they would be useful to soften your resolve. I can fix you another pain tonic as well, if that helps.”
Robert poured them both a cup of tea and handed Victoria the plate of biscuits. She waved away the offered sandwiches. “I ate a round of them while you were sleeping. The eggs were freshly boiled and peeled, so they are particularly good.”
While he got himself sorted with sustenance, she moved to the other side of the bed and composed herself. It was vital that she got this right. Got him to understand that her plan not only had merit, but that it could actually work.
He sipped his tea, washing down the last of the sandwiches, then focused his gaze on her. “Alright, I am listening.”
Victoria cleared her throat. “This fight against the company isn’t something you can win. I’m not saying your war against them wasn’t a righteous thing, but I would argue that how you went about things certainly wasn’t. You can’t steal from people like the East India Company and not expect repercussions.”
For an opening statement, it was a good one. She was quietly proud of herself. As she’d worked to put this plan together in her head, Victoria had been clear with her intended purpose. No matter what Robert said, she was not going to lose her temper.
If there was one lesson she had learned from her parents, it was that letting emotions rule the day did no one any good.
“I don’t necessarily agree with everything, but yes, there are consequences to my actions,” he replied.
She let the remark about his illegal activities slide. Let him win that small skirmish. Her sights were set on the bigger prize—getting out of this war with their future intact.
“Go on,” he said.
“The East India have clearly figured out who has been stealing from them.” She held her hand up when he went to protest. This wasn’t up for debate. It was fact. “The agent who came here didn’t do so on a mere whim. Heknew. He told me they were coming for you, and your people.”
That held his attention. “Yes. I am aware. And my people in London have been warned.”
Thank heavens he is starting to see the truth.
“My family has power and influence, but I doubt that even they would be able to save us, if push came to shove. Some of the things you have done are indefensible, Robert. I love you, but even you have to admit that you are a bit of a villain. Dukes don’t normally go in for thievery and highway robbery. And while your motives might have been somewhat honorable, your means have been…” Her voiced tapered off.
She didn’t want to condemn him. This wasn’t a trial. It was an honest attempt to salvage what they could and set up their lives forever.
“You have a choice, Robert. We can have a real marriage, one with affection and…” She swallowed deep. “Love. Or you can have nothing.”
Victoria waved her hand in the air, then lay it over her heart. A solemn promise of what would come if he didn’t agree to her plan. “You won’t have me. If you try to stop me leaving, I’ll raise merry hell. And when I do, the resulting scandal will be so earth-shattering that my mother will come after you. The duchess will have you soon begging for a swift death.”
As much as it irked him, Robert had to concede Victoria was right. His goal had been to break the East India’s monopoly over the London spice market by all means necessary, but somewhere in the past he had lost sight of who the villain was in the story. He’d crossed the line between right and wrong a long time ago. Had become so used to working in the gray areas between those lines, that he no longer knew the way back.
As the sun’s dying rays streamed in through the window, bathing their bedroom with its golden light, Robert finally came to an understanding with himself. He’d lost the war against the East India Company.
The risk to his family was too great. The risk to the people of his estate was also one he could no longer afford. His loyal steward had spent the night before last burning then hiding the body of a company agent. A man, Robert’s beautiful bride had been forced to kill in order to save him.
My wife.
His marriage vows had included protecting her, but instead he’d placed the woman he loved right in the front of the battle. In the firing line.
Victoria had now taken a stand. She was prepared to fight for them, for a real future. But not this life. And only a damn fool would risk losing such a woman in order to prove he was also a stubborn ass.
Robert Tolley, His Grace, the Duke of Saffron Walden, had stolen his last barrel of spice. Now he just had to figure out how to get the East India Company off his back.
“I take it you have come up with a plan, my love?”
She had, and it was a simple one, but not without risk. “Do you remember meeting my cousin, Alex Radley, at our wedding? The Marquis of Brooke. His wife, Millie, was the woman dressed in a pink and gold sari. She had a ruby stud in her nose.”
