“There isn’t.” Her voice shook as she dared to contradict her father, but she had to make them understand there was no way she could marry Lord Montfort now. “I can’t marry—”
“I said silence!” The ferocity in her father’s voice iced her insides.
“But, Father—”
“You are a disgrace as a daughter. For your own sake, you better hope that Lord Montfort is still willing to take you. You wouldn’t like the second choice I have for your hand. The next time I see you, I hope you have come to your senses and are ready to do your duty.”
She shook her head, now more resolved than ever. “I won’t change my mind. I want to marry Lord Michael, and you can’t force me to marry his brother.”
The look on her father’s face was one she would never forget. A mixture of contempt and unholy rage that she had dared to contradict him. Her father had never been loving or particularly warm, but she had not known true rejection until now.
“You will do as I say or suffer the consequences.” Turning to her mother, who stood livid and motionless in the middle of the room, he spat. “Start packing and leave the estate within an hour. Don’t let her out of your sight. I’ll tell everybody that she came down with a virulent case of the ague and you chose to take her away to avoid infecting the rest of the guests.”
With that, he turned and exited the room, locking the door after him.
“You stupid chit.” Her mother’s hand flew, connecting with her cheek in a stinging slap. “Look what you have caused.”
Good God. Everything had gone horribly wrong. And now she wouldn’t even be able to tell Michael that she was leaving.
CHAPTER 11
TheonlythingkeepingMichael from going into an outright frenzy of worry was that he knew Jo was not sick. He had seen her this very morning. They had greeted the sunrise in each other’s arms, their bodies naked and entwined, and she had been the picture of health and happiness. She was planning to speak with her parents about ending her betrothal today.
Which could only mean one thing. And it wasn’t good either. She had spoken to her parents, and they had not taken the news well. Of course they wouldn’t. They had arranged the betrothal to his brother. The heir. The future duke. The younger son was a poor substitute.
But what had they done to her? Too late, he realized they had failed to plan for this eventuality. It had never occurred to him that her family would simply leave. He had returned from his errands by late morning, ready to take her to Scotland this same night if their families failed to see reason. Only to be told Josephine and her family had departed with some urgency notan hour ago. It had taken him most of the afternoon to finagle the information from his parents without seeming obvious.
Lady Dunhaven and her daughter had departed due to Lady Josephine being stricken by a sudden illness. Nothing serious. She should be well in a few days, but they had left to avoid exposing the other guests to her malady.
What balderdash. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. Jo had told her parents about their relationship and wanting to break her engagement, and they had taken her away to avoid it.
What would they do? Could they force her to marry his brother against her will? He wouldn’t allow it. He would talk to his brother and tell him everything. The only thing preventing him from doing so until now had been Josephine. He wanted to give her the time to deal with her feelings, talk to her parents, and resolve things on her own.
He needed to talk to her. Where had they taken her? Her father’s estate? It seemed the most logical place if they wanted to keep her isolated. He knew her family’s seat was in Cumberland. A more remote place in England would be difficult to come by. But still, if he left today, he could be there by tomorrow. A quick search through his mother’s writing desk produced the directions to the Dunhaven estate.
The house party had lost much of its luster with the guests of honor gone. His mother planned to valiantly proceed with the ball tonight, but he wasn’t staying for it.
Fortunately, everybody was so occupied with the changed plans that his imminent departure barely caused a ripple.
It wasn’t until he was loading his luggage onto the carriage that would take him to the train station that he crossed paths with his brother, who was also loading luggage onto his own carriage. He hoped to heaven that his brother was not going after Josephine too.
“Where are you going, Henry? After your fiancée?” The tone was casual. The intention behind the words was not.
“Hell, no!” His brother’s reply was immediate and accompanied by a wince. “If the girl has some plague, I don’t want to catch it. I was invited to Jack’s hunting party, and that’s where I’m headed. A damn sight more fun than Mother’s ball.”
“Aren’t you concerned about your fiancée?” Now why would he ask that? He didn’t want his brother concerned about Josie, or even thinking about her at all. But his brother’s blasé attitude irked him so much he had been unable to control his mouth.
Henry merely shrugged. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. It didn’t sound like anything serious. The way I see it, I’ve been granted a few days of reprieve before I have to act as the attentive fiancé. And I’m going to make good use of them. Where are you going? Want to come with me?”
“No, thanks. I’m headed to London. I’ll spend a few days in town before I have to report back to my regiment.”
“Making an early escape from this boring house party as well, are you?” Henry chuckled as he leaped onto his carriage. “Well, suit yourself, brother. Don’t be a stranger.”
If only Henry knew. The last few days had been the least boring of his life. His entire world had changed.
And he was on his way to steal his brother’s fiancée.
CHAPTER 12
