Page 72 of Once Upon a Devilish Duke

Once he had a snifter of brandy in hand and Jameson had left, he found himself staring at the fire. Contemplating Rose Montgomery. He dreamed of her, for God’s sake, and that was something he had not expected. It was as if he was addicted to the fantasy that was Rose. Every part of him wanted to go to her. It would be a disaster if he did, for either she would reject him or she would embrace him, and either option would end the same. In a broken heart.

The conceited, selfish part of him wanted her to be his lover, but she was right. She was a lady, not a widow who was free to dally. No one would expect him to do the honorable thing because they all thought him a dishonorable man due to what he did when Max was born. More likely for what he did afterward.

So many times, he wished he had done it differently. Had he simply accepted the situation, would he still have ended up here? It would not have changed the core of the problem or its inevitable hurt. They didn’t understand that he wished to shield Max and that to do that he had to abandon her for both their sakes. How would Rose react if she knew the truth? How would all his family react if they knew the whole of it? In a way, he was shielding them too. He had taken the brunt of their disappointment for so long, but for some reason, having Rose here had made them all bolder. None of them had dared raise the subject, except perhaps Tony, prior to her being here.

He had planned to explain it all once Max was of an age to truly understand the complexities of the situation. But even then, would it make any difference?

He pulled the nightshirt over his head and got into bed. His large, cold, ducal bed. This bed was meant to produce the future Duke of Warrington. His offspring, his legacy. Another way he had disappointed his family. Instead, he had pushed the responsibility onto his brother, who did not want it and would likely be a rubbish duke. Edward had been trained since birth. He had no other choice.

Had his father been alive, would he have let him marry Victoria? He had been a good judge of character and would have intervened if he thought it not a good match. On paper she looked like the perfect duchess, but she had been ill-prepared, and for that he could not blame her. Looking back, he should have been more patient, gentler, less…demanding.

Perhaps, had he waited a few months before removing to Ashtonvale, things might have been different, but he had been anxious to show her his home. The place where his heart lay. He felt devastated that she had found the place more a prison than a palace.

It had become a wedge between them that became larger than the English Channel.

Chapter Seventeen

“This is unacceptable,” the duke said to his solicitor. “Where are the man’s brains?”

“He said it was a family matter and that we should not be involving ourselves.”

“That sounds like a rather polite way of telling us to bugger off.”

“I may have paraphrased the actual words. They were in fact quite colorful.” Barlow the solicitor looked up gravely. “I fear he cannot be bought. I also fear that were Lady Rose to leave the protection of Your Grace, he would not hesitate to snatch her off the street.”

“Brookhaven will rue the day he decided to threaten his sister. I shall tell Lord Anthony to compile his evidence. You can relay to Brookhaven that we are very much involved and that we will see him in court.”

“If you are sure that is how you wish to do it. Perhaps you should let Lady Rose decide on the next course of action. If she decides that court is her only option, I will have my team get right on it.”

“What other options does she have?”

“She can make a deal with him.”

“I doubt any deal he proposes will be acceptable.”

“That will depend on her, I suppose. Some people will make considerable compromises in order to keep their good name intact.”

“If she were your daughter, what would you advise her to do?”

Barlow looked up and straight into the duke’s eyes. “Fight like hell. However, I would like to see this evidence and accounts from Lord Anthony so that we can be confident we have a good case against Brookhaven before heading in that direction.”

“I will get him to send them to you directly, and you can let me know what you think. I do not wish to upset Lady Rose unless we can be assured of a positive outcome.”

Barlow bowed. “As you wish, Your Grace.”

After his solicitor left, Edward sighed loudly. He had offered Brookhaven a significant amount and had been confident the man would take it. Obviously, he was not a sensible man. It was enough to pay off the debts they knew about and then some, so why would he still insist on his current course?

Unless it wasn’t solely about money. He closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them wide.

Brookhaven wanted to humiliate his sister…publicly.

The greedy, contemptuous little shit. It made sense. He was upset that she had foiled his plans and undermined his authority. She had said that she had sided with her father on most matters. That would have stung his ego. Seeking independence from him would have been the final straw, for he would have finally been able to control her otherwise.

Only total ruin and humiliation of Rose would satisfy him. Then he would take her money and leave her a pauper. Only the total annihilation of Brookhaven’s character would stop him. She would have no other course but to take him on in court. It was not what he wanted, and it certainly had not been what she wanted, but there was no way he was going to let Brookhaven win.

How to tell Rose without upsetting her was going to be a challenge. There was no way of putting it that made it any better. It was what it was. He would have to talk to her, convince her that it was all going to be fine. He would ensure it, no matter what he had to do to make it so.

He sent a note to Barlow and Tony asking them to come to him with everything they had gathered. They needed a plan. He just hoped that his brother had been able to gather enough in such a short time. It wouldn’t surprise him if Brookhaven leaked the possibility of a court case to the gossipmongers, just to get the upper hand and control the narrative.