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“Your Graces.” He bowed his head to both of us. I looked at Verity, still not sure why she was here or why she remained beside Dr. Darrington. “As you both may have heard, I am the illegitimate son of the Marquess of Whitmear, Lord Francis Theodore Greycliff.”
I stared at him, an eerie chill going up my spine as I noticed his nervousness and Verity’s attention on him.
“For what reason do you tell us this?” I asked softly, as my heart began to quicken. Surely this could not be what I thought it was.
“I come seeking to marry your sister, Lady Verity Eagleman.”
Verity smiled, but I could not grasp what I had heard. I glanced down to Aphrodite, who stared at them, eyes wide and mouth parted.
“My dear, I believe my ears are failing me, or is this some nightmare?” I said to her as all of me went cold.
But she did not speak.
“Evander,” Verity called out to me, so my attention returned to her. “Please—”
“Aphrodite, take her from the room,” I ordered. “Aphrodite!”
“Stay calm,” she said to me when she rose to her feet, giving me a stern look. “Remain calm.”
“Get her out.”
“Evander, Theodore and I—”
“Theodore?” I repeated as I stepped forward, eyes wide. “You are calling him by his Christian name? Verity, leave this room immediately.”
“No, listen—”
“I will not!” I hollered at her.
“Evander, calm!” Aphrodite said, rushing to Verity’s side and holding a hand out for me to stop where I was. The man beside them glanced over at my sister and smiled.
“Verity, it is all right to go.”
She listened to him—not me, despite the state I was in—and allowed Aphrodite to lead her out of the room, closing the door behind her. Leaving me and this…this…bastard.
“I understand this comes as a shock to you, and I know my background offends you, but nevertheless, we could not keep it a secret any longer, for we love—”
“It is in your best interest to stop there.” I held my hand up, and it was shaking. Closing it into a fist, I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to remain, as my wife repeatedly stated, calm. “I have only one question. What have you done to my sister? Let me be very specific, in fact. How far has this madness gone?”
He did not answer.
“We believed you to be a straightforward, upright man, Dr. Darrington!”
“And I have sought to be—”
Once more, I stepped toward him. “I am well aware that the Du Bells sought your services to aid her health. It is now clear you have used your position to insinuate yourself into her life and cause her current confusion. That is not the behavior of an honest man!”
“I truly did work to help her—”
“You worked to manipulate a fragile, impressionable young lady well above your station. Now you stand before me with no shame asking for her hand?” The audacity of him. “My answer is no. Never! Remove yourself from my property, or I shall have you thrown off it. Do not dare to ever return, and forever keep my sister’s name from your lips.”
“If you wish to have me thrown out, that is your right, but I shall say what I came to say,” he dared snap back at me. “I am madly and deeply in love with your sister, Your Grace. She has made it known to me that her feelings are the same. I came here for her. I shall not leave here without her. I will wait at the boundary of your estate every day for years if need be.”
“Wallace!” I shouted, and the doors opened. “See this man removed from my house at once. He is never to return.”
Wallace moved to take his arm, but Dr. Darrington stepped through the door of his own accord. I felt a sudden heaviness on my shoulders return.
“Theodore!”
Hearing my sister, I dashed out of the room to see her running to him. “Verity, you will return here this instant!”
She looked back at me, her eyes wide, before turning back to him. “Theodore!”
“Verity!” I marched to her.
“Do not worry. We knew this would be the case. I am prepared to stay here.” He nodded to her.
“Did I not say I want him out of my house!” I yelled again, and the footman rushed to show him the door.
When he was gone, Verity spun back to me so furiously and quickly that her dress swirled around her. “You did not listen, did you?”
“Listen to what? Who listens to the words of villains and fiends, Verity?”
“He is neither of those things!” she yelled back at me. “You, of all people, should know, after all he has done. He came to your aid with Fitzwilliam time and time again—”
“Clearly because he plotted to have you. Can you not see? How has he blinded you? Men like him seek rich young girls such as yourself for their own gain. Right before your eyes, not even a week ago, we watched as chaos unfolded all because of a bastard who used a poor girl as his means to elevate his life!”
