It was vulgar, ill-bred, and unbecoming. No one expects me to be chaste, but they do expect me to be in control of myself, not an animal pawing at women in dark corners of eminent household cloak rooms.
He sighed.
But if we were to be wed,he thought, suddenly,older men would conspiratorially pat me on the back and the women would smile knowingly.
Duke Talbot examined himself in the glass of the carriage window.
Yes,he concluded,that is the way forward. That way, this evening becomes an amusing anecdote which will fall into oblivion after a few years instead of a stain on my name.
After a confused manservant let him in, Talbot found the Hawkins brother and sister standing at opposite ends of the room in silence.
“Lizzie,” Nicholas whispered, but she stood frozen. Hawkins then turned his fury on the newcomer, “What doyouwant?”
Talbot stood a little straighter, his eyes trained on Elizabeth.
“Let us talk outside, Nicholas.”
Once they stood near the spot where he first laid eyes on Elizabeth, Talbot steadied himself on his feet in preparation for what he knew was coming. Only a moment later, Nicholas’s fist hit him in the face.
Talbot pressed the back of his hand to his throbbing lip and felt the wetness of blood. He saw his friend struggling to breathe through his anger.
Talbot, on the other hand, felt more alive than he had in weeks. His whole body was humming with energy.
“What have you done to my sister, you pig!?”
Talbot raised a disapproving eyebrow at Nicholas. “I’ve done nothing to her.”
“I know you and I have had our problems, but I never thought that you would stoop so low as to harm a member of my family!”
“Will you stop?” Talbot raised his voice in exasperation. “How am I harming her? I shall make your baseborn sister a duchess, give her the Talbot name and all theprestigethat goes with it!”
“Never! Over my dead body!” Nicholas yelled back. “I would never sentence Lizzie to a life with a man with your attitude towards marriage and family.”
“I doubt Harding will want her now,” Talbot said pointedly.
Nicholas took an angry step towards him, but Talbot lifted his palm and tsked. “I allowed you to hit me once, as a courtesy.Don’t get a big head. We both know I’m a better fighter than you.”
“Only because you fight dirty,” Nicholas retorted petulantly, but then his anger seemed to drain away. “I want a good life for Lizzie, a good husband. Not someone like you,” he said almost apologetically.
“You went through great trouble to legitimise her, do you truly believe her reputation could endure this scandal?”
“Since when do you care about anyone but yourself?”
“I don’t care. But this might reflect negatively on me as well. I may be many things, but I do my best not to be dishonourable. I shall make her my wife and salvage both of our reputations in the process.”
Nicholas exhaled, and Talbot knew he had won.
“All right, but only because I don’t see another way out of this mess.”
“I shall obtain a special licence as soon as possible.”
“Let’s go tell her.”
When he entered the room his future wife was in, Colin felt like a blood-stained warrior returning home from the battlefield. Elizabeth couldn’t tear her eyes away from his wounded lip.
“We shall marry,” he announced, trying to keep the tremble from his voice, “I shall obtain the license and then I’ll write to inform you of the date.”
When Elizabeth said nothing (She is most likely overwhelmed by the news,he thought), Talbot turned to Nicholas. “I shall meet you at your lawyer’s office tomorrow at 10 to negotiate the marriage settlement.”
