“I do not know why I am so eager to defend him.” Shrugging her shoulders, she let them fall heavily. “He has not shown me any kindness. Indeed, he has been nothing but cruel to me these last few months.”
“There will always be an eagerness to defend one’s family. I understand that, and I would not lay any blame upon his shoulders until I have absolute proof. I want you to be aware, however, that there is a possibility. And that possibility is that your brother is involved in a scheme whereby he steals the fortunes of other gentlemen.”
“But that doesn’t make any particular sense. He has his own fortune, and is going to great lengths to protect that from me, and my requirements upon it. Why then, should he desire more?”
Lord Wiltsham shook his head.
“I cannot answer that. If your brother is already a rich gentleman, it does bring to mind the question as to why he would desire yet more wealth - but could it not also be said that the rich man is always eager for more riches?”
Julia dropped her head, battling against the urge to break down into furious tears. There was truth in what Lord Wiltsham said, loath as she was to admit it.
“That is precisely what my brother is doing, Lord Wiltsham. In forcing me to wed, he is making certain that any coin he has can be kept solely for himself.”
“That is the reason he gave for forcing you into marriage?”
She lifted her head and held his gaze.
“Ever since he has taken on the title, I have seen his character change. There is not one shred of kindness in him, for he thinks only of himself. Indeed, he went as far as to declare that my father was foolish in blessing my mother with gifts of love and affection. Those words have brought great injury to my heart, and shown me that my brother is not the man I once knew him to be.” A lump lodged itself in her throat, but she continued, for, if she could not speak honestly to her betrothed, then who could she speak to? “Therefore, after only a few minutes of consideration, I must admit that there is every possibility that my brother is involved in this affair. As much as I would like to state that there is no possible reason, no possible way, for him to have done anything of this sort, my heart states entirely the opposite.”
Benjamin pressed her hand, his eyes glowing gently with a sympathy and tenderness that sought to bind up her broken heart. That gave her great comfort, and she used that comfort to build courage in her heart again.
“I have left you with a great burden.” He moved a little closer, not looking at her, but the space between them. “If I could, I would enfold you in my arms at this very moment. I would hold you close and tell you that I care for you deeply and that I am sorry for the pain I am bringing to you.”
She shook her head.
“It is not you who has brought this pain, Lord Wiltsham. That is my brother. Your honesty in telling me all of this is something I greatly value.”
“I am only sorry that you are marrying a gentleman with very little coin.”
The heavy sigh which followed had her frowning.
“I do not understand that entirely. If you have no money to speak of, how can you live in a manner which indicates otherwise?” A sudden realization dawned on her, and she continued speaking, just as his mouth opened in explanation. “There are no improvements, is that not so? It was an excuse only, so that you might reside with Lord Foster for a time.”
He nodded.
“I have very generous friends. Lord Foster recovered his fortune, and has insisted that he use some of it to make sure that I regained a little comfort. In the week after the theft, I returned to my country estate. My man of business informed me that I had only a few weeks left before I was forced to encourage my staff to find other employment – and thus I removed them from my London townhouse, simply because I could not afford them. It is only Lord Foster’s generosity that has returned me to this position. Theton,you see, believe that I am fully recovered, perhaps thinking that there actually was no loss of fortune, merely improvements being made to my townhouse. When I am successful in regaining what is lost, then I have every intention of giving back every single penny to Lord Foster that he has put towards my comfort.”
“You sound a little more hopeful that you will be able to do such a thing.” She smiled up at him despite the ongoing troubles of her heart. “I fully believe every word you have told me, Wiltsham. You are a man IknowI can trust. Why would I think that you would choose to lie rather than speak the truth in this matter?”
Lord Wiltsham smiled at her, his hazel eyes light.
“You are the most extraordinary creature,” he confessed to her, making a blush color her cheeks. “I do not know how I shall go about proving whether or not your brother is the one responsible, but I shall give every thought to achieving it so that we might know the truth as soon as possible. I should like to spare you as much distress as I can.”
“You have already spared me from a great deal of distress.” Her heart warmed as his gloved hand lifted to brush down her cheek, ignoring those who were walking through the park near them. “And now we find ourselves here. I am certain that there will be happiness between us, regardless of what we achieve concerning your fortune – and it will be a happiness that I would never have found elsewhere. That will be enough for me, Wiltsham. That will be more than enough.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Ihave informed her.” Benjamin looked from Lord Foster to Lord Stoneleigh and back again. “Thankfully, she understands and accepts everything.”
Lord Foster nodded.
“And here I was, thinking that you hadn’t wanted to consideranyyoung lady at this present moment. I am quite certain that you told me that you would not do so until you had regained your fortune.”
Benjamin grimaced.
“Perhaps I was foolish in following her that evening, but I could not ignore the fact that she was clearly in great distress, and from one look over my shoulder I could tell that she was fleeing from one particular fellow who had a wicked grin as his eyes followed her. I feared what would happen to her if I left her alone.”
Lord Stoneleigh and Lord Foster shared a glance, only for Lord Stoneleigh to grin broadly.
