Page 123 of A Single Obsession

“Right behind you, Mother,” Beau said, strolling through the doorway. “I’m sorry if you travelled all the way from London to tend to me when it was no more than a bump on the head.” He caught her eyes with a mocking stare. “I’m hardly dying, after all.”

Lady Harting turned an alarming shade of red. “It would seem I’ve been misinformed.”

He stepped forward and took her arm. “Come and sit down. You’ve suffered a shock and been in a needless worry about me. Mrs Allett will pour you a strong cup of coffee, and you’ll soon be feeling more the thing.”

His over-demanding parent did not make a habit of raking him down in front of an audience, and so Beau was able to lead her downstairs again to the breakfast room.

His housekeeper returned to her duties and left him alone with his mother.

“I trust you are fully recovered from your accident. When I received word that—”

“Don’t,” he said, interrupting her flow. “Don’t lie to me anymore. It would have been ironic if your minion had hit me on the head a little too hard and killed me, don’t you think?”

“I do not understand what you are talking about.”

“There is no need for you to admit what you’ve done. It is enough that I know. Stealing Romeo. Arranging for me to have an ‘accident’. Making Eliza believe I was dying, when all the while it was a ruse to trap her into marriage.”

She opened her mouth, but he wouldn’t allow her to speak. “No, Mother. Let me finish. What were you thinking of? I don’t want a wife who has been tricked into marrying me. What kind of man do you think I am?”

Beau gazed into her eyes, looking for an iota of understanding, but there was none. Her expression was unyielding.

“If you will excuse me, I’m going riding with Eliza.”

Her countenance lit up. “Elizabeth is here?”

“You know very well she is.”

“I am glad to hear you have resolved your differences, but now is not the time to go riding. You should be preparing for the ceremony.”

“There will be no wedding today.”

His mother’s expression hardened. “No wedding? Are you lost to all sense of propriety? Elizabeth’s reputation will be ruined.”

Her shock was obvious, but he did not rush to allay her fears. He allowed himself to relish just the smallest amount of revenge for all the heartache she had caused.

“Eliza’s grandmother insisted she should not be forced into marriage against her will. The Duchess was adamant.”

“The Duchess of Wessex is here?”

For the first time, Beau heard a note of uncertainty in his mother’s voice.

“Was. Yesterday. She left after dinner, once affairs had been arranged to her liking.”

“I see.”

“I doubt it,” said Beau, turning away to hide the half-smile that had crept onto his lips, and skipping down the stairs like a schoolboy at the end of lessons.

His mother did not give up. She followed him all the way to the stable yard, where Beau halted.

“Regardless of what the Duchess says, you’ll have to marry Eliza. I won’t advance you a penny out of your inheritance to fund your horses.”

“That is no longer your decision. The trust will soon be drawn to a close and you need not concern yourself with my financial affairs ever again.”

A small, hard smile appeared on his mother’s lips. “So, you are going to marry Elizabeth—”

“Eliza. Recall, she likes to be called Eliza.”

“Eliza will become an admirable viscountess in time. With me at her side to guide her—”