He gave the abridged version of how the two had come to know one another, leaving out the saucier details. The baron did not need to hear that and, in truth, neither did Richard. He might have enjoyed telling his tales of debauchery to Adrian, but Adrian was not of the same mind: he preferred to keep what was private, private.
“I rode here at once, realizing what a goose I had been,” he concluded. “I love her, Richard. I love her and I mean to marryher. So, as your oldest friend and as the man who loves her, I ask you to stand aside. You will be compensated, of course.”
For what felt like an eternity, Richard stood there with a blank look on his face, one hand resting on his hip while the other lightly pinched his lips in thought.
Meanwhile, Gregory had turned a rather alarming shade of purple, like an infant holding its breath because it could not get its way. But what could he say? He could not intervene in a matter between two dukes; he was a mere baron who had caused this mess in the first place.
But if he had not, Valerie would not have fled, and I would never have met her.For that, at least, Adrian was strangely grateful.
“I never thought I would see the day.” Richard broke the tense silence at last, a breathy laugh escaping his throat. “If you had told me that it was snowing in July, I would have believed it more than this. For so many years, I have tried to lure you out of your castle to re-enter society and meet a bride, and then one—mine—just stumbles in and does in one festive season what I have never been able to do in ten or more.”
Adrian shrugged. “Perhaps, it was all your desperate prayers for me to find a wife, finally coming true.”
He could not tell if this was a good sign or a bad one, his friend’s expression and tone falling somewhere between the two: annoyed but amused, pleased but frustrated.
“It took me anageto find a suitable wife,” Richard continued, groaning.
A dull Englishwoman, I believe you called her.Adrian kept that to himself; Valerie did not need to hear the insult, even if it was not in the least bit true. There was nothing dull about her.
“You can find another,” Adrian urged calmly. “I cannot. It is Valerie or no one.”
He felt her lightly squeeze his hand, as she peered up at him with a worried smile. There was such love in those pretty green eyes; he would not lose it, no matter what.
“How am I supposed to refuse my oldest friend when he has done the impossible and found himself a bride? Not just a bride, but one he loves?” Richard swept a hand through his hair, shaking his head as another stiff chuckle slipped from his lips. “I do not believe in miracles, Adrian, but this must be one. Prayers answered, indeed.”
“You do not need to listen to this gentleman,” Gregory muttered, wringing his hands. “Wehad a deal.”
Richard cast the man a sharp look, his lip curling in displeasure. “And it was not much of a deal to begin with,” he said coolly. “Indeed, I believe my investments will be better placed elsewhere. I find that I no longer wish to bind my family to yours.”
Heart thudding that little bit harder, Adrian cleared his throat. “Does that mean…?”
“My good man, she is clearly yours,” Richard replied, grinning. “Miss Wightman, you may consider our engagement broken. Marry my dear friend and, by goodness, make him happy! I have wanted nothing more for him since I first met him. Indeed, it is apparent to me that you are deserving of whatever you want, Miss Wightman, for you have achieved something remarkable—you have managed to get him out of his castle! This is the closest he has come to London in over ten years! I would invite you both to reside with me at my townhouse for New Year’s Eve, but I daresay I should not push my luck.”
All of a sudden, a great laugh bubbled up in Adrian’s chest and spilled from his mouth, filling the hallway with a sound he had not heard in… more years than he cared to remember. A gasp whispered from his side, and when he looked down, Valerie was beaming from ear to ear, as excited by his laugh as if he had given her a diamond the size of a duck egg.
“I have never loved a sound more,” she murmured, her hand to her heart. “Oh… what a laugh you have.”
Richard, too, seemed dumbstruck. “I had forgotten what that sounded like.” He sighed. “Goodness, I am almost tempted to ride to the Archbishop of Canterbury this minute and insist on him letting you marry at once!”
“That will not be necessary,” Adrian said, smiling. “We will do this the proper way, not in haste, but with all the planning thatmy bride desires. She is rather good at such things, as it turns out.”
Just then, the powder keg that was Gregory finally exploded, his pent-up tantrum bursting forth.
“This is beyond an insult!” the baron raged. “I am Valerie’s father! I am the one who makes the decisions. You cannot simply break an engagement and a deal because some other gentleman turned up. No one has asked me for my opinion, yet you are all inmyhouse!”
The smile faded from Adrian’s face, and though Richard looked primed to put the baron in his place, he said nothing. Perhaps, he knew that it was Adrian’s responsibility to deal with his future father-in-law, or maybe he merely wished to spectate for once, instead of being the one scolding.
“You should be grateful that I am not just taking my beloved and leaving you with nothing,” Adrian snarled, pulling away from Valerie for a moment so he could stand over the wretched little man. “If you had bothered to have some patience and some courtesy of your own, you would have learned that I have already promised to pay your debts. Not for you, but for her, so she can be free of you at last.”
The baron blinked up at him, his lips clamped shut.
“It is a pathetic man who must use his daughter as a pawn,” Adrian continued. “It is even more pathetic that you think you can speak so rudely in my presence. I, like my friend, cannotabide rudeness. As for your precious opinion: you have no grounds on which to reject this, so I suggest you stay silent.”
Turning an even deeper shade of red, hands balled into white-knuckled fists, Gregory did just that. Evidently, there was more hewantedto say, but with the prospect of his debts being cleared hanging over him, there was nothing hecouldsay. Not without risking his own freedom being taken away from him.
“But, I warn you now,” Adrian added, “if the debt returns after I have removed it, there will be no second chance. You will receive nothing more from me.”
A tight smile made the older man seem almost maniacal. “Very well, Your Grace.” He puffed out a breath. “I have no objection.”
