Page 93 of The Duke's Rules Of Engagement
“You mean to Miss Porter?”
“Noooo.” A divot appeared between Cole’s brows. “I meant to Miss Cherrington. Did you propose to Miss Porter? What happened to Miss Cherrington?”
Matthew glanced around to see if anyone was nearby. It seemed like they would have an additional moment or two of respite. “I haven’t yet proposed to anyone. And nothing ‘happened’ to Miss Cherrington. I simply decided I was in love with someone else.”
Cole blinked, then his lips spread into a wide grin.Jackass. “The Duke of Crestmont? In love? God save us all.”
Just then, a hard slap came down on Matthew’s back. “God might need to save us all, but it’s the esteemed Duke of Crestmont who’s going to save the Cherringtons.Especiallyme.”
Matthew leaned away from the sting of the slap and looked over his shoulder to see Charles Cherrington, his face flushed apple red. He raised his glass. “Thank the Almighty for my future brother-in-law!”
It took a moment for Matthew to decode what had just been said. Clearly, Cherrington hadn’t heard the bits earlier on in the conversation that had to do with Jo, and it was no surprise that he was under the impression that Matthew intended to propose to Harriet. It was the next logical step in the game of courtship, after all, and Matthew couldn’t fault him for making that assumption. But what did he mean when he said Matthew was going tosavehim?
He frowned at Cherrington, who had staggered into the seat directly across from him and Cole and sunk his body into it, his limbs flopping about as if he were made of straw.
“What do you mean I’m going to save you?” Matthew inquired.
Cherrington rubbed his fingers together, and his eyes glowed with a greedy shine. “With all your prestige. And all your blunt.” His lips had made a burbling noise as he’d said “blunt,” and, apparently fascinated by it, he said it again. “Blunt. B-b-blunt. Soooo much blunt.”
Matthew and Cole exchanged a wary look. Seeing their expressions, Cherrington tried to explain. “Blunt,” he repeated yet again. “Money? You understand, but notjustmoney.” He shook his head vigorously. “No…not money.Riches.Wealth. Thanks to you, our coffers will finally be filled.”
Matthew’s brows crept toward his hairline. He had heard of drink loosening men’s tongues, but Charles Cherrington must be deeply inebriated indeed. No gentleman would knowingly publicly say such things.
“And that will save you from what, exactly?”
“Heartbreak. Misery. A life lacking in meaning and substance.” Matthew must have looked bewildered because Cherrington glanced around, then leaned toward them conspiratorially, his cheeks glowing pink. “You see, once you marry Harriet, then I shall be free.”
“Free of what?” Cole asked, seemingly equally as confused as Matthew.
“Not freeof, dear man, freeto. Free to be with the woman I adore. My dear, sweet, beloved flower.” Seeing their frowns, he enunciated the next word carefully.“Lilly.”
Cole’s eyes widened as Matthew’s narrowed. Cole pressed his hand to his chest. “Why… Could you mean the lovely Miss Lillian Appleby?”
“She is the loveliest of all the lovelies, is she not?”
“Indeed,” Cole said solemnly.
Cherrington’s eyes glazed over with excitement. “We will announce our engagement directly after Harriet and Crestmont’s betrothal is formalized.”
“Well,” Cole said carefully. “That’s…wonderful.”
“Isn’t it, though?” Cherrington bounced in his seat. “Her bosom friend, Miss Porter—ooh, she’s a wily one—planned it all out.”
Matthew’s blood went cold.
Cole cocked his head. “Miss Porter? What do you mean?”
“Icouldn’tmarry Lilly, you see. She comes with no title, no dowry, and no fortune at all.” Cherrington blinked, looking around the hell again as if for the first time, his lip curling. “My father lost the dregs of my family’s fortune—right here, in fact—before I came of age. Then he died, leaving me as head of the family and unable to pay off his debts.
“I cannot marry Lilly. It is impossible, unless—” He leaned forward again. “Unless one of my sisters marries someone of great wealth and prestige. Someone such as yourself, Your Grace—thus securing the Cherringtons’ victorious re-entry into society!”
Cherrington raised his glass into the air and waved it before bringing it to his lips and guzzling the remainder of the amber liquid. When he came up for air, his eyes were shining with glee. “Miss Porter designed the scheme. You would meet one of my sisters and become enamored of her. You would propose to her, marry her, and when she becomes a duchess, my family will be saved. As sisters-in-law to a duke, my other sisters will be in demand, and I will be free to marry my dear Lilly.”
He raised his glass to his lips, realized it was empty, then lowered it once more. “You plan to do it tomorrow, do you not? My sister said you were going to call. I cannotwait. What time do you intend to arrive? I will be certain to be at home.”
Matthew glanced down and saw Cole’s hand on his wrist, applying light pressure. Slowly, as if his head moved through syrup, he looked at his friend.
Cole knew exactly what this meant, and he knew what it meant to Matthew, in particular.
