Silence descended onto the room. Every head swivelled to look at the woman in question. For the first time since Tobias had entered the room, she pushed herself upright. ‘I absolutely will not.’
Tobias bit back a relieved smile. It would be a lot easier if Grace didn’t argue with him over this, but he would much prefer her eyes to be sparking with anger at him than witness another moment of herdowntrodden look. ‘This is not up for debate,’ he said, using a tone of voice that normally quelled grown men.
She sat up straighter still, her chin tilted towards him in a gesture that he recognised as being the start of a fight. ‘People will think you are intending to make me your duchess. What will happen when that does not occur?’
Last night, she had told him that she didn’t care about her reputation and Tobias believed her then and now. What mattered to Grace, more than her own life, was Charlotte. If Grace thought that her presence in any way harmed her beloved niece, then she would stay away. That was unacceptable.
‘We shall say it is a house party,’ he said.
‘With one guest?’ She was now bolt upright, no hint of the misery that had haunted her. ‘That is absurd.’
His family were turning back and forth between them, eyes wide, watching the argument unfold, but Tobias paid them no heed. Grace might consider her own safety a price she was prepared to pay, but it was not one Tobias was willing to contemplate. When he was less tired, he would consider why her wellbeing mattered so much to him, why it was impossible for him to leave her in London while the rest of them moved to the countryside, but right now, he just had to make it happen. He would abduct her if necessary and risk a lifetime of her wrath, so long as she was safe.
‘There are several members of the gentry nearby who we could invite to ensure you are not the only non-family member. Or no one need know. We can put it about that you are visiting people in the north.’ He waved away her concern, suppressing an unbidden image of her walking towards him as his bride. She had told him she was not interested in that role and it was not as if he was either. At least he didn’t think he was. She was very… He did not want to be tied to… Hiswhole family was staring at him and his jumbled thoughts petered to a halt. In normal circumstances his riotous mind would hinder his speech, but this time he managed to keep going. ‘Perhaps Sophia’s sisters will join us too. We can work out the details later. The point is, even if we have people who are not part of the Dashworth family with us, we will know them. Under these circumstances, we can still better protect—’ he dipped his head towards Charlotte so that no one was in any doubt to whom he was referring ‘—our family.’
Grace was shaking her head, but no longer voicing any objections, which he decided to take as a victory.
‘Today is going to be busy,’ he said to the table at large. ‘We need to pack and be ready to leave by dawn tomorrow. Grace, is there anything essential you need from your home, or can we purchase clothes for you when we are in the country? I would prefer it if neither you nor your maid returned to your house. But if it is necessary, we will send a couple of footmen disguised as merchants. I do not want anyone knowing where you are.’
‘I cannot even go home?’ she said.
‘You are not my prisoner, Grace. Of course you can leave, should you wish to. However, I should be immensely grateful if you would refrain from doing so until the threat is over.’
She leaned back in her chair, the expression on her face wiped clean of any emotion. It hit him then that ending this threat to Lotte would come with very mixed emotions for her. It would mean that her sister’s killers would face justice, but those people were her parents. No matter how badly they had treated her, that family connection still existed. Now was not the time to ask her about them, not with a room packed full of people. It was only much later, when he was instructing Simon on what he wished to take with him, that itoccurred to Tobias that he had assumed she would be happy to discuss those emotions with him.
Chapter Sixteen
It didn’t matter how luxurious the Glanmore travelling carriage was, how well-sprung or how deep the cushions, Grace had never been more uncomfortable. Not a single member of the family had pointed out that they were all being forced to leave London because of her parents. Not that they could prove her parents were behind the break-in. Despite some of the duke’s men going back to the place Bobby Lambert, the young man who had done the breaking in on their behalf, had last seen the couple, there was no sign of them there or in the surrounding area.
Mr Lambert’s description of the man certainly sounded like it could have been Grace’s father. It wasn’t that Grace didn’t think the couple could be anyone other than her parents. She was under no illusions as to the lengths they would go to get their hands on Charlotte’s wealth. It was more the excruciating embarrassment, for want of a better word, the stress, worry and sheer inconvenience her family were putting onto this generous family. A family with four young children and a fifth on the way.
‘You will love Glanmore Park,’ said Sophia, the only Dashworth wife sharing the sumptuous carriage with her. ‘Christopher and I got married there just over a month ago and it was rather magical.’
From the way Sophia looked at her husband as if he had hung the moon, Grace suspected the wedding had coloured the woman’s impression of the place.
‘I am sure it will be lovely,’ she said, because that’s what she thought the other woman wanted to hear, not because she agreed. It was going to be an awkward nightmare. Everyone was busy pretending that, although her parents were undoubtedly duplicitous, horrible people, it had nothing to do with her. ‘Will your sisters be able to join us?’
‘Thankfully, only the younger two will be coming with my mother. The older two are rather taken with His Grace. Tobias,’ Sophia corrected herself with a fierce blush, evidently not used to being part of the family yet and referring to the duke by his given name. ‘Marissa thinks she is one more meeting away from becoming his duchess.’
Something cold and hard wrapped itself around Grace’s heart, something that felt an awful lot like jealousy at the thought of Tobias marrying this faceless stranger. That could not be good. She had absolutely no right to feel that for the man. She did not want to remarry, even if it was to a man with a strong jaw and an even stronger moral compass. Marriage was a cage for women, one they could not escape. Handsome though Tobias was, she was not going to make the mistake of entering that prison willingly. She could admire his good looks and his personality from afar and not succumb to anything worse. ‘Do you think your sister will succeed?’ she asked, pleased when no hint of her emotion revealed itself.
‘Goodness me, no. They are not at all suited. It is embarrassing more than anything, but I think, I hope, Tobias is completely unaware of her intentions. I should be mortified otherwise.’
That could not be relief sweeping through Grace; the very idea that she would care either way about Tobias and his marital prospects was absurd. There were many women on the marriage mart who would be after Tobias and not just because of the dukedom or his wealth. They would notice, as she had, how well he filled out his clothes, the fine curve of his biceps and the strength of his legs beneath his well-cut pantaloons. Not that Grace was actively looking for these things; they did, however, draw one’s eye when he was near.
‘If he is aware of it, I am sure he will pretend otherwise to save your blushes,’ said Grace. ‘He seems considerate that way.’
‘Oh, he is,’ said Sophia quickly. ‘I know he has a reputation for being stern, but he is ever so kind to his brothers and you should see him with his nieces; he positively dotes on them. And Edward’s two wards, he has quite accepted them as family despite them being no relation at all.’
What followed was a long list of Tobias’ attributes. It wasn’t until Sophia started to pontificate on how well-read the duke was that it occurred to Grace that the woman was trying to paint him in the light of a potential husband for her. Tobias had warned her of this possibility, she had even seen some hint of it herself, but none of the family had been this obvious before.
Warring emotions bubbled up inside her and she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. It was amusing how deep Sophia was willing to dig to show Tobias in a relentless good light; he was almost a paragon by this stage. It was deeply, deeply, touching that, after everything, Sophia still thought Grace was a good match for the duke. For a while, she let Sophia continue, as she sought the right words to say.
‘He sounds like he would make someone a fine spouse,’ she said stoutly.
‘Oh yes, he would.’ Sophia beamed, obviously pleased to get her message across. Grace’s heart ached because she would very soon disappoint her.
‘It is a pity I shall never take another husband, or I should seriously consider him as a potential spouse. But alas, I shall never enter the marital state again.’ Perhaps she was doing it a bit too brown, but she wanted Sophia to understand there would be no union between her and Tobias.
