“Nevertheless,” she continued, “we talked, and he was grateful for your care, even if he does not show it well.”
Blaise felt a rare warmth at her words. Despite the fact that his plans would eventually displace her, Iris had been kind to Marcus, and he was grateful for that.
“Thank you, Iris,” he said quietly.
She looked up, surprised. “For what?”
“For treating him with respect. You did not have to.” He looked into her eyes and saw the unwavering kindness within them.
Perhaps she only shows her hard side to me.
And that was understandable.
Iris gave him a small, sad smile. “He is just a young man trying to find his way. Much like the rest of us.”
Blaise watched her for a long moment, and the weight of their complicated situation settled heavily between them. The month was slipping away faster than he liked. He could see the lingering flush on Iris’s cheeks, and he wished he knew what she wasthinking about. He needed to change the subject before the tension pulled them into dangerous territory again.
“Young people can be remarkably difficult creatures,” Blaise said, his tone deliberately lighter as he leaned against the edge of the desk. “Marcus fights me at every turn. He is as stubborn as a mule and twice as proud. I tell him to come to London, and he digs his heels in deeper at Oxford.”
Iris’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and a small, genuine smile touched her lips. “I know the feeling well. I had to take care of my sisters after Mama died. Margaret was still so young, and then recently Pamela came along. There were days I thought I would lose my mind trying to keep them all in line while Papa grieved.”
Blaise chuckled, the sound low and warm. “I understand that all too well. Marcus once convinced half his dormitory that a ghost haunted the east tower in Eton. They spent three nights sneaking out with lanterns and salt to ‘exorcise’ it. The headmaster was not amused. I had to ride up there and smooth things over with a rather large donation to the library fund.”
Iris laughed softly, and the sound eased something tight in his chest. “Margaret once decided she would run away to become a theatrical actress. She packed a bag with three dresses and all our mother’s old jewelry, then got as far as the end of the drive before realizing she had no idea how to reach the theater. I found her sitting on a rock, crying because her favorite doll had fallen out of the bag somewhere along the way. I carried her home and never told Papa.”
They shared a quiet moment of amusement, and for a brief time, the sharp edges between them dulled.
“I truly believe that Margaret would be perfect for Marcus,” Blaise said after a pause, testing the waters again. “She seems spirited, clever, and she is from a good family. She could handle his stubbornness, too.”
“No.” Iris’s expression closed off instantly. “Absolutely not.”
Blaise raised a brow. “Why are you so opposed? You do not want to be related to me that badly?”
Iris gulped, her gaze dropping to the floor for a second before she met his eyes again.
“No, Blaise, I do not want to be related to you,” she admitted quietly.
The honesty hit him harder than expected. Blaise felt a strange twist in his gut, but he pushed it aside. He wanted to ask what she truly meant by that, but even he was afraid of the answer.
Iris hesitated, then asked with genuine curiosity, “Is finding a bride for someone so young and hard-headed truly the right decision? He is still practically a boy.”
Blaise recognized the line of questioning immediately. It circled back to the same accusation his cousin Alistair had made againsthim: that he was playing God and forcing solutions where they were not wanted. He exhaled slowly.
“I suppose I have no problem answering honestly when asked directly,” he said, a faint smirk touching his lips. “Much like the night you called me a murderer to my face.”
Iris blushed deeply at the memory, the color rising beautifully on her cheeks, and Blaise allowed himself a moment to savor it before continuing.
“A greedy cousin of mine, named Daniel, has set his sights on the title. He has filed a formal claim alleging that Marcus is illegitimate. The matter will become public in about three weeks, and I want to secure a strong bride for Marcus before the scandal breaks. A respectable match will give him leverage and silence some of the whispers.” Blaise felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders after he confessed everything to Iris.
“But would it not all be well for you and your nephew as the title cannot be taken away fromyou?” Iris asked simply.
Blaise’s mind drifted back to Surrey and his horses.
“That is true, but I did not and do not want the title. It was wrongly given to me when it belongs to Marcus. I have a business to run and would much rather concentrate on that. But in order to save my nephew from my cousin, I had to take over, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. That is, if Daniel does not have an even more sinister plan for me.”
Her eyes widened. “You are not suggesting that he would go as far as…murdering you?”
“I would not be surprised.”
