AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Father wants us to marry by the end of Sunday.”
Rafe was confused. What was going on? He sat forward.
“All right, you’re going too fast. Why has the wedding been moved forward? And why are you agreeing to this all of a sudden?”
Victoria’s jaw tightened, and she glanced away. Rafe turned and realised she was staring at her maid, who was looking very guilty. Charlie was talking to her, but the young woman looked as if she was about to cry.
“You remember that couple we caught being amorous last night?”
“Yes….”
“That was Abigail. She had had a…gentleman caller…late at night. Someone other than us saw them outside, and there was evidence that someone had had a late supper in the kitchen. Father was upset that one of the staff could behave in such a manner and demanded to know who it was.”
“What does that have to do…?”
“I figured it was Abigail as soon as I saw her face. She confessed as well. Our staff are allowed to court, but she shouldn’t have brought him into the house and been so…well….”
“She could have gotten into trouble.”
“Yes, and she was scared that she would be fired. My parents might not have gone through with it, but they could have punished her for sneaking a lover into the house.” Victoria swallowed. “So, I said that it was me.”
Rafe was sure his mouth had fallen open.
“I beg your pardon? You said it was you?”
“I said that I asked a friend over to talk in private, and we ended up talking more than we anticipated. Of course, I said nothing happened beyond talking, but my parents don’t believe that, especially as it was our butler Harrison who witnessed an amorous embrace.”
“And he didn’t realise who it was?”
“They were too veiled by shadows. We couldn’t tell who it was, remember? He had already told Father about it, and what he witnessed, so Father thought I’d been…well, having an affair with someone who wasn’t you.”
Rafe let all of this sink in. He wasn’t sure what to make of it now.
“So, what does that mean?”
“Father is going to be sending a message to you. That because of my actions, he wants me to marry immediately, and it has to happen this week.” Victoria sighed. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you, but once you get home and see the message, you would have to come back anyway.”
“Why would you go through all that trouble for your maid?”
“Because she’s very dear to me, and I don’t want to lose her because of an indiscretion she made.”
“Even if it means you’re going to be stuck with me sooner.”
Victoria scowled.
“I’m already not looking forward to this. Don’t make me feel worse.”
“You shouldn’t have said anything. Your father might not have let her go.”
“I wasn’t prepared to take that chance.” Victoria straightened her shoulders. “So, I guess you have your wish that I’m not going to run away.”
“I wouldn’t have cared if you ran away with a plan. But you would have gotten harmed, and nobody would have been there to help you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Just because I haven’t lived around here for a long time doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on.” Rafe sat back. “So, we’ll be married sooner than you wanted.”
“I bet you’re happy about that.”
