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Those blue eyes cut toward her. “How so?”
Cynthia turned to Nick in alarm. What would he say? Why had they not discussed this beforehand?
“She reaches her majority in nine days.”
“I see.” What Somerhart saw clearly did not please him.
The duchess, however, brightened. “Are you fleeing a disastrous marriage?”
Cynthia’s whole body twitched with tension.
The duchess’s eyes brightened further. “Are you eloping with Lancaster?”
“No,” she answered, at the same moment Nick said, “We shall see.”
The duke’s eyebrow rose again. “I see. But I’m not sure my debt obliges me to suffer the wrath of an entire enraged family. Two families even. Or…” He looked to Nick. “Perhaps four.”
Four, Cynthia thought. Yes, that was exactly it. Four families ruined if they married. “Of course, Your Grace.” She stood, forcing the gentlemen to stand as well. “We should never have asked it.”
“We did not ask,” Nick interrupted. His London face disappeared, replaced by gravity. “I did. And family wrath or not, I’ll ask you to take her under your protection. The suitor in question is Lord Richmond.”
“Richmond,” the duchess gasped.
“I thought you might be familiar with his reputation.”
“Oh, at least,” she said. “He was one of my father’s dearest friends. If one believes that jackals have the capacity for friendship. A more despicable man I’ve never met.”
Cynthia’s face heated. She could feel the disgust in the room coalesce, as if it were something solid. Something she had brought here.
“Well, there’s no question then,” the duchess said. “You shall stay.”
Somerhart crossed his arms. “I suppose you must stay as well?”
Nick bowed with a little flourish. “Your generosity knows no bounds.”
The duchess stood and took Cynthia’s arm. “Come, I’ll show you to your room. And you must call me Emma, for it seems we are more like cousins than I suspected.”
Stunned by the quickness of the current she found herself in, Cynthia let herself be swept from the room. The men stayed where they were. She was to be discussed. She understood that. She only wished she knew what would be said.
“You can imagine my confusion,” Somerhart said as soon as the door closed behind the women. “Emma and I were just discussing our upcoming trip to London. For your wedding.”
“Ah. Confusion. Yes.”
“I take it you’ve broken your betrothal.”
“I’ll call on Miss Brandiss in person as soon as I return to London.”
“That won’t go over well. With her family or your creditors.”
“I’m aware.”
Somerhart took a seat and crossed his legs. “I was given to understand that Lord Richmond had become…incapacitated.”
“If you mean that someone castrated him, yes I’d heard that as well. I don’t know what he’s about with Cynthia. All accounts are that he’s no longer capable of fathering children, but perhaps they were wrong.”
Somerhart grimaced and took a hasty sip of wine.
“His man followed me here. I plan to send my carriage on in the morning to try to throw the scent. If you’d like me to go with it, I will.” Relief washed over him when Somerhart waved him off.
