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“I have decided to marry her,” Rhys revealed.
The muscle on Mayton’s jaw moved as he clenched his teeth. “That is no damned explanation, Rhys. Why did you do it?”
“I have no explanation, Miles. You will not believe me if I told you that I was consumed by her—”
“I will believe you,” Mayton interrupted, surprising him. “She has an extraordinary charm. I truly wanted to marry her!”
“I know,” Rhys looked away, “and I am sorry.” He did not regret any moment he had spent with Elizabeth, but he was sorry he had stolen her from his cousin.
“Are you?” Mayton stood and walked over to stand in front of him. “Are you truly sorry?”
“I am. I did not intend to hurt you or Lady Irene, and I am very sorry.”
Mayton chuckled humorlessly. “I never thought I would ever hear you utter an apology.” He held Rhys’ eyes for a moment before he said, “I can marry Elizabeth, so you can have the woman you want.”
“No,” Rhys said quickly, startled by his response. “I want to marry Elizabeth. It might have seemed that I was courting Lady Irene, but I realize now that I had been courting Elizabeth all along.”
Mayton nodded slowly, his gaze now unreadable. Without saying another word, he turned and stalked out of the office, leaving Rhys with heavier guilt upon his shoulders.
* * *
“Guildford?” the Dowager’s voice streamed into the front hall from the drawing room as Rhys was handing Smith his hat and gloves. Wearily, he walked into the room, and the first smell that caught his nose was that of the peppermint oil she was rubbing on her hands.
“Good afternoon, Grandmother,” Rhys greeted but remained fairly close to the door because he did not intend to sit.
“I hope you have prepared what to tell Society about this scandal and apologized to Lady Irene.” Her sharp eyes were leveled on his face.
“I will tell Society nothing. While I was unable to see Lady Irene, I did, however, offer for Lady Elizabeth.” Rhys watched his grandmother blanch.
Her hand went up to her neck while her eyes widened. “You did what?”
“I am marrying Lady Elizabeth, Grandmother,” he explained slowly.
“You cannot!” She stood, her small shoulders rigid. “You cannot marry such a woman into this family.”
“And why not?” He folded his hands across his chest and cocked his head. “She is the daughter of an earl, and she descends from the Tudors. She is more intelligent than the two of us combined and is excellent company.” Rhys realized that what he had just said were some of the things he admired about Elizabeth, especially the last two sentences.
The Dowager’s mouth opened and closed several times in outrage before she managed, “She does not behave as a proper lady should!”
“If that is your argument against me marrying her, please do not waste your time. I have offered for her, and my mind will not be changed.” He unfolded his arms and turned to leave.
“Have you forgotten what your father did?” she asked, her voice low and filled with anger.
“How can I forget what was tainted by blood?” He turned around. “I know what I did to remove that taint from our family, and I did it alone. You respected all of my decisions then, and I need you to respect this one now.”
For what felt like a long moment, his grandmother did not speak, and he was turning again to leave when she said, “Never let it be known that I did not try to save you from something you will regret.”
I will not regret this, he told himself,I cannot.He wanted to believe that nothing would ever be known about the connection between Elizabeth and Johnathan Myers. Rhys left the drawing room because his work had just begun.
* * *
“I do not know what to do, Stella.” Elizabeth returned to chewing her bottom lip as she paced her bedchamber.
“You cannot refuse his offer if he makes it,” Stella said, her brows furrowed as she watched Elizabeth. “And you might consider giving your lip a rest before it bleeds.”
Elizabeth stopped biting her lip. “Of course, I will not refuse his offer. I cannot afford to, but I am not sure he will ask me to marry him.”
“He has to. Your father will make him.”
