He needed to banish her from his thoughts and be done with it.
The sound of the main door slamming drew his attention and it was promptly followed by William shouting, “Harred!”
“What now?” he muttered to himself. This was a question that he found himself asking far too often.
He rose and came around the desk. His brother had disappeared after he’d confronted him in Hyde Park and failed to return home last night. Not that it mattered much to him, assuming he hadn’t blown through more of his money.
Harred stepped into the entry hall and saw a short, petite brown-haired young woman standing next to William. Her eyes were downcast, but he could tell that the poor thing was nervous by the way she was fidgeting with her hands.
“Who is this?” Harred demanded.
William went and slipped his arm around the young woman’s waist. “This is Ruth,” he revealed. “She is my wife.”
Harred was stunned. Nothing could have surprised him more than what William had just announced. As he stared at his brother in disbelief, he asked, “Surely you can’t be serious?”
“I am,” William said with a smug smile. “We were married by special license yesterday and we intend to stay here only long enough until we can find our own place. A bigger place than this one.”
“William…” His words stilled. He didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Ruth. “Can I speak to you privately?”
His brother scowled as he dropped his arm. “It won’t change anything. What’s done is done and you need to accept the fact that I have a wife now.”
Knowing he was being rude to Ruth, Harred went to acknowledge her. “Forgive my brother for his lack of manners. My name is Harred.” He bowed.
Ruth’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I know who you are, my lord.” She went to drop into a curtsy but William stopped her. “You don’t need to curtsy to Harred. He is family now.”
“Yes, of course,” Ruth murmured.
William turned his head towards the butler and ordered, “Take my wife’s things up to one of the empty bedchambers and find a maid to tend to her until we can find a proper lady’s maid.”
Mitchell stepped forward. “I shall see to it, my lord.”
Placing his hand on Ruth’s sleeve, William asked, “Are you hungry?”
“I am a little famished,” Ruth admitted.
“Then a tray shall be sent to your bedchamber and you can eat in there,” William said. “I will join you once I am done speaking with Harred.”
Ruth offered him a weak smile. “Thank you,” she acknowledged.
William turned his gaze towards Harred, and the usual look of contempt was in his eyes. “I suppose we must get this over with.”
Not bothering to justify his words with a response, Harred headed towards his study. He stopped at the door and waited for his brother to enter before closing the door.
William dropped down onto the settee. “Isn’t Ruth wonderful?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Harred replied. “I don’t know anything about her.”
“She is rich,” his brother stated. “Far richer than you, I must say. Her father is Sir Percy Hall.”
Harred lifted his brow. “The Merchant King.”
William chuckled. “Yes, that is what people call him and Ruth is his only daughter. Her dowry was forty thousand pounds. When Sir Percy first approached me about this union, I figured he was using his money to secure his daughter a title and I didn’t even give it any heed. But then it hit me. Why shouldn’t I marry Ruth and live the life I was supposed to?”
Harred knew what the answer was, but he asked it anyways. “Do you even care for Ruth?”
William shrugged. “I will grow to care for her,” he said. “She is a timid little thing, but I do believe with time that she will open up.”
Harred ran a hand through his hair, wondering how William was so calm about this. “Did she even want to marry you?”
