Chapter FIFTY
Later that morning, Lucy stood in front of her open wardrobe, hands on her hips, staring at the contents. Which items of clothing might she retain as the new Duchess of Claringdon and which had to go? Oh, she needed Cass’s help. Lucy didn’t give a fig about fashions, and neither did Jane. Jane had on more than one occasion remarked that she’d become a nun for the simplicity of dressing and never having to buy fripperies if it weren’t for all that religious nonsense she just couldn’t get past.
Thankfully, Lucy had managed to slip back into the house early this morning with Garret and Aunt Mary being none the wiser. Lucy was just about to give up on the clothing and go in search of Cass when a sharp knock sounded on her door.
“Who is it?” she called.
“It’s me” came Cass’s sweet voice.
Lucy hurried over to the door and opened it. Excellent timing. “Come in, dear. I was just looking at—”
Lucy snapped her mouth shut. Cass stood in the corridor looking quite pale and wringing her hands. “Oh, Lucy, you must come quickly.”
Lucy’s heart leaped to her throat. “What is it, Cass?”
“Mama and Papa have gone to the duke’s town house to demand that he offer for me.” The words rushed out of Cass’s mouth like water through a dam.
Lucy’s hand flew to her throat. “No.”
“Yes.” Cass nodded, her blond curls bobbing at her temples. “It’s awful. I’m mortified. I’m afraid that if the two of us don’t go and try to explain what’s happened, Papa will end up with a forced offer from Derek and I couldn’t stand it. You must come with me, Lucy. You must help.”
Lucy nodded rapidly and pointed down the corridor. “By all means, let’s go.”
The two hurried downstairs where Lucy took a moment to hastily throw on a pelisse and a bonnet. Then they were off in the coach Cass had come in.
Their insistent knocks at Derek’s door were met with Hughes’s monotonous tone. “Yes?”
“We must speak with His Grace immediately,” Lucy said.
Thankfully, the butler acted as if he’d never seen Lucy before. “His Grace is already occupied with callers at the moment.”
“We know!” Cass brushed past the large man. Lucy was impressed by her forcefulness.
Hughes looked at them both as if they were street urchins forcing their way into the kitchens and demanding scraps. Clearly under duress, he showed them to the drawing room where Lord and Lady Moreland were already having words with the duke. Lucy and Cass rushed inside. But the other occupants of the room didn’t seem to notice them.
Derek stood next to the mantelpiece, his hand braced against it, his face a mask of stone.
Lady Moreland, her nose high in the air, sat on the settee. Lord Moreland paced across the expensive carpet nearly shouting at the duke. “I will not have my daughter treated so cavalierly.”
A muscle ticked in Derek’s jaw. “My lord, if you’ll just be reasonable—”
Lord Monroe pulled on his lapels. “I’ve been reasonable, Claringdon. More than reasonable waiting for you to make my daughter an offer. I demand you make things right.”
“Yes, we were quite convinced an offer was forthcoming,” Lady Moreland said, dabbing at her brow with her handkerchief.
“I’m certain if we all just discuss this rationally…,” Derek continued.
“The time for being rational is over,” Cass’s father nearly shouted.
Cass took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Mother, Father, I know you both think you’re doing the right thing for me, but you’re making a terrible mistake.”
The Monroes turned to stare at their daughter. “That’s enough from you, Cassandra. You haven’t been thinking properly in weeks,” her mother said.
Cass raised her hand in a pleading gesture. “Mother, please. I will not marry the duke.”
Her father clamped his jaw so tightly his jowls shook. “Young lady, you do not know what you’re saying.”
Cass raised her chin. “Yes, I do. I’m telling you that I refuse to marry him.”
“You will marry him and that’s an end to it,” her mother insisted. “Captain Swift plans to marry your cousin when he returns. Do not hold out false hope on that score. Besides, he’s a second son. He’ll never hold a title.”
That last comment caused Derek to raise his brows.
Cass pushed up her chin. “I do not hold out false hope, Mama. Believe me. But that does not mean I should ruin another man’s life by dragging him into a loveless marriage.”
“Who says it’s loveless?” her mother snapped. “You could well learn to have feelings for each other someday.”
Cass smiled and crossed over the thick carpet to lean down and pat her mother’s cheek. “Oh, Mama. I do know you want the best for me. Truly, I do. But the duke is madly in love with Lucy and I cannot blame him.” She turned to her two friends and gave them a warm smile. Lucy smiled back and Derek nodded and shifted on his booted feet, his hands folded behind his back.
“Lucy!” Lady Moreland wailed. “Lucy’s the biggest wallflower in the ton.”
Lucy wrinkled her nose and clapped her hand over her mouth. Somehow she didn’t think pointing out to Lady Moreland that Janie was a bigger wallflower than she was a prudent idea at the moment.
Cass’s father slapped his leather gloves against his thigh. He pointed at Cass. “I don’t care who he’s in love with. He’s led you on and if he’s a true gentleman, he’ll do the right thing and marry you, by God.”
None of them missed the emphasis the man placed on the word “gentleman.” He was questioning Derek’s honor. Derek’s fist was tightly clenched.
Lady Moreland shot up from the settee. “Tell me, Claringdon, do you still refuse to marry my daughter?”
Derek nodded. “Inasmuch as she refuses to marry me as well, my lady. Yes.”
Cass nodded. “Mama, if I marry someday, I want it to be to a man who loves me as well as the duke loves Lucy.”
Lady Moreland turned a mottled shade of purple. “Lucy? Lucy Upton will never be a duchess!”
Derek clenched his jaw. “I’ve done my best to be civil, Lady Moreland, but now I must ask that you leave my home. I won’t have you disparage my future wife.”
Lucy gasped softly. Derek stood up for her. No one had ever done that before. Cass tugged on her mother’s hand. “Let’s go, Mama, before you say something you’ll regret.”
Cass’s father pulled on his gloves so hard, Lucy wondered if the leather would shred. He stalked to the door and opened it, turning to wait for his wife to follow.
Lady Moreland turned in a swirl of orange silk, savagely clutching her reticule. She faced Derek and Lucy, who stood together near the fireplace.
“You mark my words, Claringdon,” Lady Moreland seethed. “You may refuse to marry Cassandra but it’ll be a cold day in hell before a duke marries the likes of Lucy Upton. I’ll go to the queen herself and inform her of this travesty. I happen to know that the conditions of your investiture require that the Crown approves of your wife. The queen will never allow it.”
Lucy swallowed and glanced away. Derek, the muscle still ticking furiously in his jaw, nodded at Lady Moreland. “You do what you must, my lady, as will I.”
Two minutes later, all three of the Monroes had left Derek’s town house. Cass had given Lucy a hug and said her good-byes to Derek, offering them both her best wishes. Lord and Lady Moreland had resignedly trotted out to their carriage with their daughter. Lady Moreland paused only long enough to give Lucy another simmering narrowed-eyed glare.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Lucy sank to the sofa. Shaking, she dropped her head into her hands. Derek crossed over to her and sat next to her. He pulled her tight against him. “It’s an idle threat. She’s angry, that’s all.”
Lucy tugged herself out of his arms and looked at him. “No, Derek, you don’t understand. The queen, she … She doesn’t approve of me. She won’t approve of me. Why didn’t I think of this before? It will never work.”
A thunderous expression moved across his face. “What do you mean?”
“The queen won’t say yes. I know it.”
“There’s no guarantee Lady Moreland will even bring it to her attention. She was probably only bluffing.”
Lucy shook her head. “You don’t think the queen will notice when one of her dukes marries?”
“I don’t give a damn what the queen thinks. We can get a special license and be married before anyone can object.”
She put a hand on his sleeve. “Is what Lady Moreland said true? Is it a condition of your investiture that the Crown approve of your wife?”
He swore under his breath. “Yes.”
Lucy squeezed her eyes closed. “They won’t accept me.”
“That makes no sense. You’re the daughter of an earl.”
“The unwanted daughter of an earl who disgraced herself at her come-out. There’s more than one reason I’ve remained unmarried all these years, Derek.”
He scrubbed both hands through his hair. “Your debut was five years ago. Not to mention we’ve already—”
She looked away, couldn’t face him. “I trust you won’t tell anyone about that. And you must ask Hughes to be discreet as well.”
“Damn it, Lucy, of course I won’t tell anyone, and Hughes will be out on the street if he dares breathe a word about it, but—”
Her head snapped back to face him. “You don’t understand the ways of the ton as I do, Derek.”
“I don’t care about the bloody ton,” he growled.
Lucy searched his face. “You say you don’t care, but what if you were forced to give up your title?”
He grabbed her by the upper arms and stared into her eyes, his words coming through clenched teeth. “It won’t come to that. Say yes. Marry me, Lucy.”
Lucy pulled away from him, stood, and crossed over to the door. She placed her hand on the cool brass handle and faced the dark wood. “I cannot say yes to you, Derek. Not knowing it may cost you everything you’ve earned. My answer is no.”