Part 11 (1/2)

His father gasped. ”How dare you be so vulgar with me?”

”Are you any less vulgar with me? You have told me on more than one occasion that you must have your heir. I have brought you a suitable vessel to provide just that, and now you would know her worth?”

”As usual, you have no concept of what you say,” his father said angrily. ”You are so very careless with this family's responsibility.” His gaze raked over Jared. ”You are a disappointment to me.”

”I can be no more a disappointment as a son than you are a father. And frankly, I should rather be careless than heartless. You have interfered with every aspect of my life. Could you not at least allow me the courtesy of choosing the woman with whom I shall spend the rest of my days on this earth? I intend to marry Ava Fairchild, sir. The offer has been made. If that does not please you, there is nothing more I can do.”

The duke paled; his gray eyes turned wintery. ”Nothing more you can do?” he managed, his laugh sour. ” You could be the son I raised you to be. You could make a better effort to understand what honor and duty and pride mean before you drag our name through the mud with a woman like that wh.o.r.e Waterstone! You could heed my advice instead of turning your back to me time and again! And now you have only made this situation worse by offering without thought! I would advise you not to engage in any more talk of marriage until this woman has accepted our terms.”

It was all Jared could do to keep from lunging at the old man. Or wringing his neck. ”Her name is LadyAva Fairchild. And they are not our terms,” he managed to say, his voice full of dark anger. ”They aremine. All else may be yours, but this marriage is mine.” He turned and strode for the door before hisfather could speak, his hands aching to be around his father's gullet.

He should have gone to his club or home-somewhere quiet, somewhere he could take a deep breath and calm himself. His father was a difficult man, and Jared had learned when he was a boy that if he took the time to recover his composure, he could usually smash down the hurt and resentment into a compact, neat little box that he stuffed away somewhere deep inside himself.

But today was different, for he had let go of his pride and conceded to his father's wishes, had agreed to a perfectly acceptable match, yet his father still found fault. Jared's anger was so raw that he could scarcely think, much less calm himself. His first thought was to speak with his intended bride and set a wedding date as soon as was possible.

He barked at his driver to proceed directly to the Downey town house, where he sprang out of the carriage before the footman could descend and strode to the door, rapping hard with the bra.s.s handle.

A man dressed in an ill-fitting suit of black clothing opened the door almost instantly and peered curiously at him. ”Aye?”

Aye? Jared was momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered, reaching into his coat pocket for a card. ”Lord Middleton calling for Lady Ava,” he muttered, holding the card up between two fingers.

”A caller!” the butler said aloud, looking terribly pleased. ”One moment, milord.” He turned away from the door, walked across the foyer to a small console, and picked up a silver tray, with which he returned and held out to Jared. Jared impatiently dropped the card onto the tray.

”Right, then. Now I'm to take it up,” the butler informed him.

”I am quite clear on the procedure, sir, so if you would hurry it along.”

The butler smiled-one tooth missing, Jared couldn't help noticing-and stepped back. ”You might come in, then.”

Sweeping his hat from his head, Jared stepped across the threshold. He'd never been inside the Downey home, and while he found the decor tasteful, it seemed rather Spartan, the house small.

The butler held the silver tray out from his body, as if he were afraid to touch Jared's card. ”This way, if you please, milord.”

”Would you not deliver it first?” Jared asked as he removed his gloves.

The question seemed to confuse the butler. He wrinkled his brow, seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then shook his head. ”No, milord. You're to accompany me, I'm quite certain.”

Rather odd, Jared thought, but he supposed they lived without the suffocating bonds of formality here, which, under different circ.u.mstances, he might appreciate. He followed the butler up a narrow staircase, then down an even narrower corridor to a pair of polished doors, which the butler instantly threw open without knocking.

Inside, three women gasped and jerked their gazes to the door. Ava was the first to react, practically leaping from her seat and rus.h.i.+ng toward the butler. Her sister, seated beside her, jumped up and whirled about, and seemed to be stuffing something in a basket as she stole several furtive glances over her shoulder.

And the third woman-dressed in the gray of a maid's uniform-smiled so l.u.s.tfully at him that Jared

feared for her employment.

Ava did not seem to notice her at all as she frantically grabbed the silver tray the butler held and pushed the man back toward the door. ”Mr. Morris!” she exclaimed, smiling anxiously at Jared. ”You're to announce the guests.”

”I'd do so, mu'um, could I read his card.”

That earned a furious blush from Ava. She glanced nervously at Jared, then the tray, and s.n.a.t.c.hed up the

snowy white card. ”You should really wear your spectacles, sir,” she gingerly chastised the butler. ”It isLord Middleton calling.””Lord Middleton calling, mu'um,” Morris said, bowing slightly.”Thank you,” Ava responded tightly. Behind her, Lady Phoebe clasped her hands demurely in front of her, but with her foot she pushed a basket out of Jared's sight.”How do you do, my lord?” Ava said, curtsying.”Very well, thank you.” He glanced at the maid, who continued to smile wantonly.Ava noticed his gaze and frowned at her maid. ”Sally, will you kindly find Lucy and have tea brought up?

My lord, please do come in,” she said, motioning toward a settee. ”Mr. Morris, that will be all.””Aye,” he said cheerfully, and walked out of the room.Sally, however, was not so easily put off.Ava's smile faded. ”Sally, that will be all, thank you.”Surprisingly, at least to Jared, who often forgot his servants were even in the same room because they were so deadly quiet and inconspicuous, this maid frowned at Ava. ”As you wish,” she said petulantly.

He would have dismissed her from employment on the spot.

Ava, however, merely smiled, smoothed back a loose strand of honey blond hair that had fallen over her

eye, and said uncertainly, ”How...how good of you to call.””Perhaps now is not a good-””It's perfect,” she said, more securely, and reached out her hand to him. He took it and brought it to his lips. ”Will you sit?””Thank you.” With a flip of his tails, he settled into the seat she had indicated. Ava and her sister sat on an opposing settee at the same moment, side by side, and flashed twin, beaming smiles at him.

Ava had a fair face, he'd give her that, as did her sister. Both of them were pretty in an unconventional

way, but it was the joie de vivre in Ava that he found most attractive. Attractive, perhaps...but marriage?He swallowed down a lump of sudden hesitation and looked at his hands.”How good of you to call,” Ava said again, forcing conversation.Jared glanced up and saw that her hand was nervously clutching her knee. ”Thank you,” he said for want of anything better, and glanced at her sister. ”I had hoped we might talk,” he said softly.Ava and her sister exchanged a quick look.”If you will excuse me, my lord,” Phoebe said, and stood up. ”I was just, ah...just in the midst of writing a letter to our cousin, Greer.” Her eyes flicked to the writing desk, as did Ava's. The desk wasremarkably free of ink or paper. ”I mean to say, I was in the midst of thinking of writing a letter-””The inkwell,” Ava said evenly, ”has been refilled. It'

s just there, in the desk drawer. So you might attempt your letter, darling.”

”Yes. A letter,” Phoebe repeated, and stood up, marched to the writing desk, sat hard on the wooden chair, and spread her hands before her, looking at the desk as if she'd never seen it before. She was, Jared realized, doing her best to give them some privacy.

”In the drawer,” Ava said again, smiling anxiously at Jared. ”You will find ink and paper in the drawer. A pen as well.” Her smile went brighter, as bright as it had been yesterday in the Prince's Pavilion at Vauxhall. Moreover, it was a smile that somehow made him feel better about what he was doing, more sure of himself.

He leaned forward, planted his arm on his knee, and said softly, so that Phoebe would not hear, ”If you will forgive me...I would hope that we might see our way to the altar sooner rather than later.”

”Oh!” Ava said, her eyes lighting up.

He glanced at Phoebe, who had yet to locate the ink, but was making a concerted effort to find it by opening all the drawers of the writing desk. ”I thought perhaps we might marry at my seat, Broderick Abbey, under special license. I have taken the liberty of applying to the archbishop for it.”

She blinked. Her smile faded.

”Lady Ava?”