Greydon was stunned. His brother had intended to divorce his wife? But they had only been married for two years. He had a sneaking suspicion about the answer to his next question but he asked it nonetheless. “Did my father know?”
“Yes, of course, considering he was preparing to help his son by pushing it through Parliament.”
“Parliament would not have granted a divorce without proper grounds.”
Mr. Libbey bobbed his head. “He claims that he never consummated the marriage between him and his wife.”
Greydon looked at the solicitor in astonishment. “But they went on a wedding tour for months. Surely Lady Rushcliffe will contend that was not the case.”
“I cannot speak as to what she would say, my lord,” Mr. Libbey said. “All I was asked to do was to prepare the documents.”
“Have they been filed yet?”
“No, your brother still had to acquire his wife’s signature,” Mr. Libbey said. “When I hadn’t heard from him, I assumed that he had changed his mind on the divorce.”
Greydon now realized that his brother had been paving the way for Lady Charlotte to be his wife. He was planning on divorcing Harriet. What a horrible blackguard! Did he not care a whit about what that would do to Harriet, or her reputation? She would be a shunned woman in high Society. No man would want to associate with her.
But Phineas had not given the divorce contract to Harriet for her to sign. If Lady Charlotte thought Phineas had backed out of divorcing Harriet, would she be furious enough to kill him? It was plausible, giving her a motive for killing him.
He shoved back his chair and walked over to the door. “Davy,” he shouted.
The butler appeared only a moment later. “Yes, my lord.”
“Bring my carriage around front,” he ordered. “I wish to visit Lady Rushcliffe.”
“I shall see to the preparations,” Davy responded before he walked off to do his bidding.
ChapterFifteen
Enid sat in the drawing room as she worked on embroidering a dress for Marigold. It was a lazy afternoon but her mind was far away. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about Greydon. She loved him, and she always would, but she couldn’t act on her feelings. Hadn’t she learned from her mistakes? Yet she couldn’t do anything but wish that things were different.
Rosamond’s voice broke through the silence. “Are you all right?” she asked with concern in her voice.
Enid brought her gaze up and replied, “I am. Why do you ask?”
“You seem deep in thought,” Rosamond said. “Is there something bothering you?”
“Nothing in particular,” Enid lied.
Rosamond gave her a look that implied she didn’t believe her. “You will find that I am an excellent listener.”
Enid knew she could trust her sister-in-law, but she was scared. What if Rosamond thought she was foolish for developing feelings for Greydon? It hadn’t been so long since her husband had died.
“Is this about Lord Rushcliffe?” Rosamond asked.
Was she so transparent, she thought. “How did you know?”
Rosamond smiled. “I would be blind if I didn’t notice the growing attraction between you two. I think it is sweet that Lord Rushcliffe looks at you like you are the only one he sees.”
Leaning forward, Enid put her needlework onto the table as she found the strength to say her next words. “He offered for me, but I turned him down.”
If Rosamond was surprised by what she had just revealed, she didn’t show it. “May I ask why you turned him down?” she asked. “It is obvious that you have feelings for him.”
“I do, but I do not deserve him,” Enid replied.
“I see, and did you tell him as much?”
Enid nodded. “I did, but he is still pressing his suit,” she said. “He needs a wife that doesn’t have a tarnished past.”
