Page 76 of Real Earls Break the Rules

Huntingdon’s dark watchful eyes missed nothing. “You love Amelia.”

Love? Was it possible? His parents had hated each other. Love had not been abundant in his household. He loved his sisters and his grandmother and had taken it upon himself to care for his siblings since his parents had ignored them.

But that was different. That emotion wasn’t what he felt when he was with Amelia.

Raw, aching possession was more like it. But there was more…so much more every time he saw her, every time she invaded his thoughts and dreams.

The truth struck him like a blow to the stomach. He wanted to bind Amelia to him not because of honor or because she’d been a virgin or because she was his best friend’s sister-in-law. He wanted to marry her because he loved her. A future without her in his life would be bleak. He needed her as much as he needed air to breathe and water to survive. He loved her.

“She’s ruined. You have to do right by her,” Huntingdon said.

Brandon’s gaze snapped back to his friend. “That’s why I asked you here. Even though Amelia is of age, you’re her closest male relation. I want your consent.”

Huntingdon sighed. “As far as I’m concerned, you have it. But I need to speak with Eliza. For once, I’m not looking forward to talking with my wife.”

…

“You have to marry him,” Eliza said.

Amelia sat on the bench seat of her bedchamber wringing her hands. Her sister paced the Brussels carpet and stopped to glare at her. “Huntingdon told me everything. The portrait. The copy of the Cuyp landscape. Everything.”

Just splendid. Her secrets were revealed in glorious fashion. She’d hoped to confess to her sister one day in the future.

But her choices were limited now. Everything had changed in an instant. They’d been discovered in a highly compromising position by a duke, and she was truly ruined. Her only option was marriage.

But if Brandon married her, he’d lose his land and the textile mill. He’d be financially devastated. Could she do that to him?

Worse still, he might come to regret the decision. He might even resent her for his choice. Could she live with the guilt, or heaven forbid, with a husband who grew to blame her, a man who didn’t love her?

Her reputation would be in tatters if she refused him, but his would remain intact. Brandon’s title, along with his grandmother’s influence, would ensure that he would be unscathed by the scandal. He could still marry Minerva or another heiress.

Anguish seared Amelia’s heart. Why did it have to hurt so much?

Eliza sat beside her on the bench seat. “You must not refuse Lord Vale’s offer,” she said softly.

Amelia stared at her hands in her lap. “No one can force me to say my vows. I had different plans for my future.”

“Your art, I know.”

“If I must give up part of my dream, then I had hoped to do it for a man’s love.”

Eliza sighed and smoothed a stray lock of hair from Amelia’s cheek. “I must have been blind not to see it, but it is clear to me now. Vale cares for you greatly, Amelia.”

Amelia twisted her fingers in her skirts. “Perhaps he cares, but he does not love me. There is a difference.”

“Men are slow to acknowledge their emotions, especially love. They fear it will weaken them.”

“What about Huntingdon?”

The corner of Eliza’s lips curled in a smile. “He was no different. Most strong-willed and dominant men need to be hit over the head before they recognize an emotion as overwhelming as love for a woman.”

Amelia laughed softly. “You make them sound dimwitted.”

“Never,” Eliza said. “They are highly intelligent. They are just afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Love is all consuming. You willingly put another before yourself. You aren’t happy unless they are. It’s as frightening as it is invigorating.”