A Matter of Choice (7 page)

“Are you listening to me,
Father
? If we do not come up with enough money to pay at least part of the bills you have amassed, we will even have to sell the liquor you’re pouring down your throat.”

“Then sell it. Sell everything!”

“No!”

The duke settled back in his chair and looked up. The corners of his mouth lifted, his loathsome smile oozed with contempt. “Are you worried about your precious Graystone Manor,
son
?”

“You know damn well I am. It’s all that’s ever concerned me. Certainly nothing of
yours
matters to me.”

Father and son faced each other like mortal enemies, determined to fight to the death.

Joshua was in jeopardy of losing Graystone Manor. A wave of panic raced through him that nearly took him to his knees.

He stared at the man sitting in the chair. His father had downed another glass of liquor and was now mumbling incoherently.

“Why did you do it? Why didn’t you tell me sooner, when there was still something we could have done?”

His father smiled as he took another swallow of the mind-numbing liquor he’d already had too much of. “I was afraid I wouldn’t have the courage to go through with it.”

“Through with what?”

His father ignored him. “But I did. And it’s worked out perfectly.” He laughed. “Now it’s too late. I’ve won. Lost it all. Even…Graystone.”

A heavy hollow space deep in his gut churned with a sickening emptiness. Ice flowed through his veins. “You intentionally lost everything to keep me from inheriting?”

The duke’s laughter had a demented ring to it. “Of course. I coul
d never let you have any of it.”

Joshua staggered backwards, his legs trembling beneath him.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t manage to lose everything before you
discovered what I was doing. I was afraid you’d marry some chit with a hefty dowry and save it. But it’s gone now and you’ll never save it.”

Joshua couldn’t believe his father could hate him so much. He couldn’t fathom that he intentionally lost every Ashbury holding so Joshua wouldn’t get it.

He braced his shoulders. “You should be very pleased then, Father. I won’t be able to touch it now. You’ve seen to that.”

His father lifted his glass to his mouth and drank. “Not yours. It was never yours. Always and only, Philip’s.”

His words were nearly incoherent now, so jumbled Joshua could barely make them out. What was plain, though, was something Joshua had always known. His father hated him more than any father should hate his son. He blamed him for Philip’s death.

What his father couldn’t know was that no one blamed him more than he blamed himself.

+++

Joshua sat at a small, round table in the corner of his club, trying to get drunk. For three days he’d spent every waking hour hounding their solicitor, searching for a way to save at least some of the Ashbury holdings. But there was nothing he could do. There wasn’t enough income to pay off the debts that threatened to take Graystone Manor away from him.

He was amazed at how quickly and foolishly his father had wasted a fortune. In exasperation, the solicitor had finally dropped his pen from his fingers and declared all their attempts futile.

Joshua refilled his glass and drained the contents in one long swallow. Futile. Useless. Hopeless. Graystone Manor was lost to him.

He reached for the bottle to refill his glass and halted when a figure cast a shadow over his table.

“Go away,” he said, not caring who he offended. “I want to be left alone.”

The man did not move, but pulled out a chair from the table and sat.

Joshua snapped up his head. “I said—“

“I know. I heard you.”

Joshua glared at the Earl of Hartley.

Instead of leaving, the man motioned for a waiter to bring an empty glass.

With a disgruntled sigh, Joshua leaned back in his chair and attempted to ignore him.

When the glass arrived, Hartley filled it two fingers high with brandy. “There are rumors circulating that your father is about to lose everything. That means you, too, are in the same predicament.”

“I don’t think I want to discuss my family finances with you, Hartley. So if you’d kindly leave me the hell alone, I’d be most—“

Hartley held up his hand in a halting gesture, then reached for the glass in front of him. Without hesitation, he drained what was left and slid back his chair. He tugged on the sleeves of his black wool jacket before he hooked the silver handle of his cane over one arm and leaned forward. Joshua had no choice but to look into his face.

“If you want to save your inheritance, I have an offer that might benefit you.”

There was no malice in his eyes, not a hint of haughty disdain in his features. Only a closed, dark expression that left more questions than gave answers.

“And that would be?”

Hartley glanced around the room. “This is neither the time nor the place to discuss anything of this magnitude. And you will need a clear head when we talk.” He slid the bottle out of Joshua’s reach. “Tomorrow morning? Say ten o’clock?”

Joshua glared at him without answering.

“Until then.” Hartley nodded, then walked across the room, greeting several acquaintances as he left the club.

When he was gone, Joshua reached for the bottle to fill his glass. He stopped. He had a feeling that whatever Hartley wanted to discuss with him would require every bit of his senses. And probably a whole lot more.

+++

Time had run out.

For the past week, each new day was more tension-filled than the last. She could hardly sit in the same room with David without a little of the friction they both felt coming through. But it would not last much longer.

David had given her an ultimatum. She had until today to agree to marry. She had until noon to give him the name of the husband of her choice. Or he would choose a husband for her.

Allison thought she’d be ill.

She’d gone over both her options again and again and knew she had little choice in her future. David had made that more than clear when he’d told her of the stipulation in her grandmother’s trust: that she either marry prior to her twenty-fifth birthday to a husband who met with David’s approval. Or, he would be required to choose a husband for her.

The very idea made her furious. What kind of archaic stipulation was that? To assume David would know with whom she should live her life better than she?

She clutched her hands into tight fists, her nails biting into her flesh. She remembered the argument she and David had had two nights ago when she announced she’d decided not to marry. She could still see the priceless vase crash to the floor when he slammed his fist against the corner of the table. Could still hear his angry words. He repeated his vow that he refused to let her give up her trust, refused to allow her to rely on her siblings for a roof over her head and food to eat.

She fought a shiver. Deep down, she knew every reason she had for refusing to marry no longer mattered. In the end, she wouldn’t be left with a choice. She’d have to marry. Even if was to someone she didn’t love.

She uttered a curse as the door opened.

“Good afternoon, Allison,” Lynette said from the doorway of the morning room.

Allison straightened from the corner of the sofa and slid her feet to the floor.

Her sister-in-law walked toward her and sat on the other end of the sofa. “David sent me to tell you he’d like to see you in his study.”

“I went to see him earlier and he couldn’t be disturbed.”

“He had business to attend to.” She turned enough so they faced each other. “It must be concluded now.”

Allison closed her book and laid it on the table.

“May I speak with you first?” Lynette asked when she started to rise.

“Of course. But I think I already know what you’re going to say.” Allison sat back down. “You don’t have to concern yourself with me any longer, Lynette. I know what I have to do.”

“You never did have a choice. None of us do. Unless you thought to rely on David’s generosity for the rest of your life.”

“No, I never thought to do that.”

“He loves you, you know. Sometimes I think even more than me.”

“Oh, Lynette. That’s not—”

“It’s all right,” Lynette interrupted. “There’s a special bond between you and David. Which is the reason I found the courage to speak to you. If you love David, you’ll marry and free him from feeling responsible for you.”

Allison’s world shifted beneath her.

“I don’t mean to be selfish, Allison. But I want my husband to myself and he’ll never totally be mine if I have to share him with you.”

There’d always been a special connection between she and her brother, but she never considered that bond might interfere with David’s marriage. Or that Lynette might resent their closeness.

Allison’s world slowed to a standstill. “I see. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s not your fault. Or David’s. It’s just the way things are.”

Allison pasted a smile on her face and turned to Lynette. “You are right, of course. It’s past time I married. Past time I had a home of my own.”

Allison waited until her legs were steady beneath her, then walked to the door. “I’ll see David now.” She knew what she had to do.

Refusing to marry was no longer an option. But she’d marry who she wanted. David could demand all he liked. She was done with his dictating.

She walked down the stairs and across the marble foyer. She didn’t knock when she reached his study but grabbed the handle and opened the door. David’s head snapped in her direction, the surprise evident on his face.

“You don’t have to concern yourself with me any longer, David. I have decided I will marry.” She closed the door hard behind her. “But I will not allow you to choose my husband for me.
I
will decide with whom I must spend the rest of my life.”

“Allison—“

“No. Hear me out.”

She marched to the small side table where David was pouring two glasses of brandy and anchored her fists on her hips. “I won’t make the same mistake each of my sisters made. I won’t marry a man who only wants to marry me to get control of my dowry. And I won’t take a husband who will humiliate me by sharing a bed with every woman who will have him.”

“Allison—“

“Hear me out, David. It’s the least you can do. You above anyone know how desperate I am to avoid marriage. And you know the reasons why.”

David shifted his focus to look over her left shoulder. She didn’t doubt he had trouble holding her gaze. He
should
feel guilty. He was the one who had issued the ultimatum.

She faced him and gave him the most intent look she could muster. “You can put your mind to rest. I’ve decided who I will marry.”

“Who?”

“Someone I can trust not to humiliate me with his string of mistresses. Someone with whom I am sure I can be content spending my life.” A long silence stretched between them while she searched for the courage to say his name. “I will marry the Earl of Archbite.”

“No, you will not.”

Allison stared at him with her mouth open. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Surely you don’t mean to object to Lord Archbite?”

“I’m afraid if your brother doesn’t, Lady Allison, I will.”

She spun around in search of the low, velvety voice that came from the corner behind her. Her gaze locked with the Marquess of Montfort’s and she reached out to steady herself.

“What are you doing here?”

“Your brother and I were about to toast my betrothal and upcoming marriage. Would you care to join us?”

Montfort crossed the room with slow, deliberate steps and came to a halt next to her. His nearness forced her to look up.

His towering height engulfed her, his broad shoulders and dark presence acted as a barrier. Beneath his cool exterior, she sensed some turmoil that surrounded him, a chaotic upheaval that never seemed at rest. He was the most compelling force she’d ever encountered.

She couldn’t hide her surprise. Nor could she stop the niggling of unease that erupted inside her. “I didn’t know you were in the market for a bride, Lord Montfort. The last time we spoke, you indicated quite the opposite was true.”

“So it was. Then.”

“And now?”

“Now, I have decided to marry.”

“And who is this unfortunate female?”

“Allison.”

David’s warning came from behind her. She ignored him.

The marquess smiled.

A knot tightened in Allison’s belly. “Do I know her?”

“Yes. Quite well as a matter of fact.”

Her legs weakened beneath her, her mouth suddenly dry as lint. “Why the sudden change of heart, Lord Montfort?”

“Would you believe I have fallen quite madly in love?”

“Not for a moment. I doubt you know the meaning of the word.”

“Allison,” David warned again. “What has come over you?”

The marquess gave her another heart-stopping grin, this time accompanied by a suggestive tilt of his head.