“I should wed him if he were to ask me.” Miss Shaw’s sharp voice rang out around the room as she took a step forward, her head held high and one hand pointed towards the seated gentleman. “You think that he would be completely abandoned should this threat of ruination come to pass? You are mistaken in that.” Her declaration seemed to pull the smile from the gentleman’s face and James’ heart warmed with a small but growing sense of relief. “You shall not succeed in pulling all of his happiness away, no matter how much you think you might have achieved,” she continued, just as the gentleman tried to say something – but Miss Shaw was not finished. Pointing one finger towards the man, she continued to speak with vehemence and fervor, sending James’ confidence soaring. “One does not need to have a satisfactory reputation to achieve happiness. I am certain that Lord Pottinger and I could be very contented indeed in our own estate with our own family and situation. Your threats are not as terrible as you might think. Your power is not as great as you believe it to be.”
James’ lingering anger immediately began to fade away as Miss Shaw painted a beautiful picture of what his future could be, should he share it with Miss Shaw. She was right, he realized, his gaze falling away from the man. Yes, reputation ruination and scandal was a viable threat. Certainly to any children that he might be blessed with could face difficulty – but to imagine that such a threat would remain with all its strength in some twenty years was a laughable idea. Yes, were he to wed Miss Shaw, then he could very easily reside at his estate and live there, quite contented, with his bride. Any children borne to them could be brought up in a happy home and should there be any whispers remaining when it came time for their children to make their own way in life, then he would find a way to deal swiftly with them – and there was always a hope that his many years of contented marriage, should he be blessed with that, would be enough to silence any lingering whispers completely.
“Yes, you are quite right.” Ignoring the fellow completely, he turned and grasped Miss Shaw’s hand. “I had never thought of such a thing, but now that you have said it, it is all that I find my heart longing for. This man’s threats mean nothing to me. How can his words pierce me now, when you hold up such a beautiful picture of our future together?” The desire to grasp hold of it before it had even the smallest opportunity to slip away filled him and he spoke quickly. “That is, if you would have me.”
“Have you?” Miss Shaw’s eyes widened and, despite the fact that they were standing in front of the very gentleman who had attempted to ruin his life and caused such trouble for her, found that she was laughing with clear and evident joy – a sound that James could not help but join in with. “Would you truly offer me such a thing, Lord Pottinger?”
“Yes, I would.” There was not a single modicum of doubt, his heart singing with anticipation of expected happiness. “In such a short space of time, our acquaintance has become so much more than mere familiarity, and my heart has been so overcome with all that I feel for you that to offer you my hand is all that I can think of and the only thing I wish to do. Regardless of what happens to me, regardless of the circumstances that will follow thereafter, I swear to you that I will do everything I can to make our future a happy one.”
Miss Shaw’s smile spread so very wide that it filled up all the spaces in James’ heart and he saw her answer in her vivid hazel eyes.
“Then yes, of course. I should be glad to accept you, Lord Pottinger.”
Her hand squeezed his and, were it not for the fact that she was still holding a candlestick in one hand, James was sure she would have flung her arms around his neck. It was the strangest of circumstances, and yet the most jubilant. Laughing he settled one hand around her waist and tugged her closer. Her head rested on his shoulder, and James turned back towards the man who had tried to ruin him, aware that he now, for whatever reason, could not seem to stop smiling.
“You have attempted to cause me a great deal of pain and immense difficulty. Now that I have Miss Shaw by my side, now that I have seen her strength and determination, permit me to express the same to you.” Taking a deep breath, he tightened his hand on Miss Shaw’s waist. “It appears as though I shallnotbe paying your vowel,” he stated firmly. “You may do as you please. You may pay whomever you wish to threaten my reputation or to attempt to ruin me completely. But you will gain nothing. You willachievenothing. No matter what you do, I will not be scorned. Your little plan has been foiled by the great affection which has flourished between myself and Miss Shaw - and it has flourished solely because of your actions, I might add.”
To James’s delight, the gentleman now seemed entirely non-plussed. He did not seem to know what to do or to say, for his mouth opened and then shut again on at least four occasions before he closed his eyes, and his proud smile was no longer present. Instead, he put one hand to his forehead, letting out a long breath, as if he were battling to find a solution that would once more give him the victory – but he had no strength remaining. Regardless of what he threatened, James had decided that he would not pay the debt.
“But the legal ramifications!” the man sputtered, eventually. “You know that it is legal document.”
“And I shall pay my solicitors to do all that they can to refute it. I will have witnesses state that I was never at that place. If you can pay men or women for their silence, then I can do the same and pay them substantially for telling the truth. The debt shall be tied up in legality for years, and you will pay a great deal in attempting to gain what was never yours to take in the first place.”
The man glowered and began to rise from his chair, his shoulders hunching.
“No. No, this cannot be! I will have your wealth! I require it. I need it.”
“Then I am afraid you will be disappointed.” Miss Shaw spoke up, her voice steady now. “You have nothing.”
“And you have no one to aid you in this – and the man who encouraged you into this scheme, Lord Montague, has left for the continent and I highly doubt that he will return to England,” James added, seeing the man glower, his confident demeanor quite gone. “The others involved are slowly being discovered and one by one, we shall haveallof you. This game you play will not be allowed to continue. My advice would be to give up your schemes here and make your way back to whatever estate you come from. Seek to build your own fortune on your own means.”
The man took a step forward and James immediately braced himself, concerned that the man was to throw a punch and worried indeed that Miss Shaw would be caught by it. Before the man could even attempt to strike him, however, the door to the room suddenly flung itself open and a shrill voice echoed through it.
“There he is, Mama! That tall, whiskered gentleman at the back of the room!”
At the next moment, the room seemed to be filled with people – both gentlemen and ladies. The young lady, Miss Attison, had clearly chosennotto remain silent about what had taken place and had gone directly to her mother, who in turn had evidently gone to her husband, for they all came forward together, their daughter in front of them. A few others – both gentlemen and ladies – all flooded into the room – perhaps friends of the Miss Attison’s – and all were clearly furious about what this gentleman had tried to do. Dark mutterings echoed around the room, sharp eyes fixed themselves on the man - and James’ heart jumped with a sudden, furious hope.
“How dare you?” Miss Attison’s mother quickened her steps as she walked past James and Miss Shaw, hesitating for not even a moment before slapping the gentleman full across the face. Thereafter, her hands pinned themselves to her hips as she glared at the man, her husband now standing beside her. “You tried to steal our daughter away, did you? And it was only this good gentleman and his friends that prevented you from doing so. Shameful! Utterly shameful.”
“Lord Pottinger and Miss Shaw at your service, my Lady.”
James gave a quick bow, then caught Miss Shaw’s hand. It seemed that this incident could not be kept secret.
“I know you!” another gentleman shouted, as the men all drew closer. “You and I were introduced last Season when you had only just come to take on the title.”
“You know who this man is?” James asked as another gentleman elbowed his way forward, his face dark with anger.
“Yes, I certainly do.” The man drew himself up, pointing one finger at the man’s chest. “This is Edward, Viscount Bickens.”
“Viscount Bickens.” Miss Shaw repeated the name as James drew in a long breath, a sense of satisfaction filling his chest, loosening it. “Well, Viscount Bickens, it seems as though your previous anonymity is no longer able to hide you.”
James smiled quietly as the newly named gentleman glowered back at them. He could do nothing more than that, James knew, for he had nothing with which to threaten them. There was no anonymity now, no threat left for him to make, and certainly no power by which to terrify them. It was all at an end.
“Your father was a gracious, upright man,” the other gentleman continued, throwing up his hands. “How much of a disgrace you are to his memory!”
“My father is the reason for my actions,” Viscount Bickens shot back, his face a little red from where he had been slapped. “Yes, I took on the title, upon my father’s death, but it was a title that came with very little wealth.” His eyes narrowed. “My father had thought it was adequate, but he was sorely mistaken. I had to find a way to improve it.”
Someone else – a rotund, grey-bearded fellow - stepped forward, coming to stand on the other side of James.
