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Lucy ignored him entirely, staring intently at her cousin. “Jane?”
Jane took a deep, shuddering breath. “I accept,” she said, her face contorting with emotion. “If you promise to never speak of what happened here today.”
Lucy smiled triumphantly. “You have my word, Cousin. I shall take your secret to the grave…as long as the earl agrees to play his part.”
Now, both Lucy and Jane turned to him. He swore underneath his breath again. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He couldn’t believe that Lucy Metcalfe could be so opportunistic, nor that Jane was letting her get away with it.
Was Jane really prepared to make him marry her cousin to save her honour? Just because she refused to contemplate marriage at all? Surely, she couldn’t do it to him. He knew how committed she was to spinsterhood, but this was becoming ridiculous. She would be dooming them both to eternal unhappiness because of it.
He could just refuse, of course. He could tell Lucy Metcalfe to go to the devil again and that he would never marry her. But he knew that Jane’s cousin would make good on her threat, and what she had seen in this room would be all over town by the end of the day.
To save Jane’s honour, he must agree to this, unless Jane put a stop to the madness and realised finally,shewas the one he wanted; Shewas the one who was destined to be his wife and always had been. Why was she being so stubborn?
“Jane?” His voice was an agonised whisper. “Please, do not let this happen. You have the power to stop it. I beg you.”
“I am sorry,” she whispered, the tears spilling down her cheeks. “I wish it were different. I truly do. But I cannot marry you.”
His hands clenched into fists at his sides. He decided to call Lucy’s bluff, to see if the lady would back down once she saw how much he didn’t want to marry her. Surely, her ambition couldn’t be so strong that she would wish to be shackled to a man who despised her for the rest of her life?
“I shall not marry you,” he said firmly, his heart beating fast. “I do notwantto marry you. You would be miserable with me. I hope you have a shred of goodness in your heart and abandon this heartless plan of yours.”
But Lucy’s face was implacable. “If you do not agree to marry me, my lord, then I shall have no choice but to tell Jane’s father what happened here today. He will not be happy you have compromised his daughter and will force her to marry you, which she clearly does not want to do. If you care for her so much, you will not force her against her will, will you?”
Percy was so frustrated he couldn’t speak for a moment. He needed to get out of here before he did something he might regret. He was hanging onto his self-control by a thread. It might snap at any moment.
“So be it,” he spat out, not looking at either of them. “It is a devil’s bargain I have made. I hope you are both happy with your choices, for you have both doomed me to misery.”
He strode out of the room without another word. In the foyer, he grabbed his hat and gloves, shaking with fury. Marianne suddenly descended the staircase, gaping at him.
“Percy?” She looked alarmed. “What is wrong?”
“Ask your sister and your cousin,” he said, not even looking at her.
He slammed the door behind him. He didn’t know where he was going. He walked aimlessly for half an hour, his mind a blank, before he found his feet taking him up the path towards Cliff Lodge.
He sat on the veranda, gazing out at the sea. Mercifully, the workers had already left for the day, and he was quite alone. The only sound was the whisper of the breeze through the trees and the faint hissing and crashing of the waves in the distance.
He gazed around at the house that he now owned. Cliff Lodge. It didn’t seem real anymore. None of it seemed real. He imagined bringing Lucy Metcalfe here as his wife, but his mind instantly rejected the idea. He just couldn’t bear to think of what his future held now.
Only a few short days ago, he had made sweet love to Jane here. He had sat with her by the wood stove in the kitchen while a storm raged around them, thinking of the bliss it could be to have her by his side like that forever. He hadn’t dared hope that it might happen. But now, even that small kernel of hope had been crushed forever.
Why would she do such a thing? How could she make him marry her cousin?
For he knew he had no choice. He loved her and couldn’t ruin her reputation in such a way. And he wouldn’t force her to marry him against her will. The power to change this situation was entirely in her hands. All she had to do was agree to marry him. Why couldn’t she? He knew she cared for him.
He knew she desired him. But her stubborn insistence that she must remain a spinster surpassed everything. She was willing to sacrifice him upon the altar of it. She was willing to let him marry a woman she knew he despised for it.
He was doomed.
He got up, wandering into the house, walking from room to room. All the pleasure he had felt in purchasing it and renovating it had evaporated. It was just an old house that had seen better days, and it would never be a home. How could it if he were living with Lucy Metcalfe within it?
He could just leave. He could leave Seaborne forever. He need never see Lucy or Jane again. Lucy might make good on her threat to tell Jane’s father, but he could always refuse to marry Jane. The man and Marianne would think him a cad, but he knew he would be doing it for her sake. Surely, her cousin wouldn’t spread gossip about Jane and ruin her reputation once he had left, and she knew she wasn’t going to get what she wanted?
He ran a hand over his face. He couldn’t risk it. Lucy Metcalfe might just do it. She clearly didn’t care about her cousin at all. And as much as he loathed the thought of marrying that woman, he couldn’t do that to Jane. Lucy had stitched it all up so well it was watertight. He must go ahead with this marriage. He truly had no choice.
He groaned aloud. Could it have been different if he had just told Jane he loved her? That he had been a fool to have not realised before? Why was it still so hard for him to admit it to her? Why had he been so vocal about the fact he would never marry for love and loathed the whole concept of falling in love entirely?
But his hands were firmly tied now. He couldn’t go near Jane anymore. Lucy would be watching like a hawk. And he had no idea if he risked it, whether it would change Jane’s mind anyway. Maybe nothing would. It was all such a tangled mess that he couldn’t think straight.
