A Lesson in Pride (30 page)

Of course Grant knew what it meant. It had been his only purpose for the past thirty-some years of his life. He was the spare. But now, he was the heir. With his older brother gone, dead without a son of his own, Grant was the next in line. When the bitter old man standing before him finally died, he would be the duke of Bedford. He would carry on the proud tradition of seven generations.

He knew exactly what his life was now to be. As such, he answered his father for the first time in complete irreverence. “It means that I will have to put off my marriage for a few months. To properly mourn.”

His father's eyes blazed in anger. “You will release the Horton girl from the engagement. No Bedford shall marry a commoner, no matter her wealth. She was a means to an end. An end that has changed dramatically. You will not marry her now.”

Despite his sadness, Grant let his anger bubble up to the surface. “I will marry Persephone. I will not break this engagement now. It would be cruel to both her and her family.”

“The hell with her family. You were only marrying her for her money. You now have all the money you could possibly need. You got what you wanted, so there is no need to martyr yourself.”

Grant rose from his chair. “Martyr myself? You have dangled me from a string for the whole of my life. You have forbidden me from taking employment because in the event I might become your heir, it would have been unseemly. I have put aside my pride rather than make something of myself. Those days are over, your grace. I will not have a young girl suffer because my circumstances have changed.”

“This is outrageous. You would be a laughingstock if you marry that girl.”

Suddenly, Grant saw this as his chance to teach the old man a lesson. A lesson on how to treat other people was exactly what Bedford could use. Throughout his life, his father had used him, as well as abused anyone he felt was beneath him. Grant could see that the old man was worried. He had married Grant's mother for her bloodline, not for anything so pedestrian as love. The thought of some common child someday becoming the duke of Bedford would eat at his father like a goat in a garbage pile.

“I am willing to take that chance, your grace. My engagement will stand. She was good enough for me yesterday, so there is no reason she is not good enough for me today.”

“You know damn well there is good reason. You are being childish. You think you can punish me for your life? I had no hand in what order your birth came. If you wish to blame someone, blame your mother.”

It should have infuriated Grant to hear him speak of his mother in such a way, but it didn't. For once in his life, Grant held all the cards, and he would damn well lord them over his father.

“When is the funeral?” Grant asked instead of responding to his father's comment.

Most people would think it would not have been decided. Most people would be in deep mourning over the loss of their child that planning a funeral would be the last thing on their mind. Most people were not the duke of Bedford.

“Friday, next. He will be buried in the family plot. The Hortons will not be invited.”

Bedford left immediately after and required no answer. As soon as his father left his home, Grant called for his servant.

“I will be traveling to the country on Monday. Please make sure that everything is prepared.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Chapter 37

Was it cowardly to fake illness to avoid family and parties? Ginny thought that it just might be, but didn't really care either way. She had confined herself to the her room for the past two days, pleading a nagging headache that wouldn't go away. It wasn't entirely untrue. Her head did ache from trying to figure out what she was going to do.

Both Hope and Charlotte had stopped by to check on her. She had reassured them that she was fine, but needed to rest a bit longer. They took the explanation at face value and didn't question her further, for which Ginny had been grateful. The last thing she needed was to try and explain why she was hiding.

After her subterfuge, Ginny was surprised when the housekeeper, Mrs. Smith, came into her room on the afternoon of the second day to announce she had a guest.

“I beg your pardon, my lady, but a Miss Horton is here and refusing to leave until she sees you.”

Persephone? How strange. “Did she say what was the matter?”

“No, my lady, but if I may say, she does look very distraught.”

Ginny hesitated for only a moment before saying, “Send her up here.”

“Very good, my lady,” Mrs. Smith uttered as she left the room.

At least Ginny had dressed that morning. She remained hiding in her room, taking her meals and tea there, but refused to lay about in bed all day. The door opened and Persephone walked in. One look at the young girl's face and Ginny knew something was dreadfully wrong.

“Persephone, what is wrong?” Ginny gasped as she watched the tears pour down her face.

“Lord Grant's brother...”

Waiting a moment to see if Persephone would finish, Ginny finally asked, “Lord Grant's brother what?”

Persephone threw herself into Ginny's arms and sobbed on her shoulder. It couldn't be that Grant's brother cut him off since he'd never gave him anything to begin with. Not to mention, Malcolm had been generous already. So why was the girl so hysterical?

Persephone continued to sob and Ginny waited patiently. When she heard the gasps and hiccups associated with the end of a good cry, she pulled Persephone away from her shoulder and brought her over to sit by the hearth.

After taking her own seat, Ginny calmly asked, “What is this about Grant's brother?”

“He is dead,” she stated emphatically.

Ginny drew back. “He's dead? When? How?”

Taking a deep breath, Persephone tried to explain what she knew. “He was taking his wife to their country estate for her confinement. There was an accident with the carriage and he was killed.”

“Oh my God,” Ginny whispered. “That is dreadful.”

“That is not the worst of it,” Persephone stated cryptically.

“Oh, God, what's the worst?”

“His wife was killed as well.”

A strange kind of calm settled over Ginny for she knew exactly what that meant. Grant's sister-in-law was carrying the next possible heir to the duke of Bedford. In this time, the baby could not have survived without the mother. That meant that Grant was the heir now. He was no longer poor. He no longer had to marry Persephone Horton. Why hadn't she seen this coming?

“Grant is now the heir,” Ginny reiterated her thoughts out loud.

“Yes,” Persephone said with a muffled sob. “I am to be a duchess.” She barely got the word
duchess
out before she broke down into sobs once again.

Ginny didn't have to question why the girl was so distraught. She knew that Persephone had no desire to marry Grant. Now she would have to face the fact that some day she would take a very lofty position in society. The question boiled down to one thing. Would Grant still marry her?

“Now, now,” Ginny placated. “It's not that bad, is it? Being a duchess will thrill your parents.”

“Of course it thrills them. Grant came by this morning with the news. He wanted to ensure my parents that he still had every intention of marrying me.”

Well, that answered her one question. Grant had told her that he wanted to be a better person than he'd been in the past. He would not end an engagement simply because his circumstances had changed for the better. He would not surrender his honor for that.

“Persephone, nothing has changed from before really. You were already going to marry him to satisfy your parents. What difference does this make?”

“I do not wish to marry him, my lady. I want love.”

Wanting to be compassionate, but not in a mental position to be so, Ginny got snarky. “Well, unless you have someone you're in love with at the moment and are willing to run away with him, I suggest you get used to the idea. Your parents, I think, will not be deterred.”

Ginny dropped her eyes to her lap, covering them with her hand. She hadn't meant to be so harsh, but she had too many problems of her own to worry about a rich girl who got to marry the one man she needed to marry. Feeling guilty, Ginny raised her eyes back up to apologize and saw that Persephone had stopped crying. In fact, she looked almost... hopeful.

“I apologize for my outburst,” Ginny mumbled as she watched the girl's eyes light up with something.

“No, do not apologize. You are correct. Thank you, my lady. Thank you ever so much!”

The girl burst from the seat and wrapped her arms around Ginny's neck. The hug was brief, but strong.

“I must leave you be now,” Persephone stated as she walked to the door. “Thank you again, my lady. I hope you are feeling better soon.”

Before Ginny could question the change, the girl was gone. It occurred to Ginny to run after Persephone and ask what was going on, but instead she just stared at the open door. A strange kind of hope filled her. Something told Ginny that Persephone would not marry Grant. No, she would find what she was looking for, thereby granting Ginny a chance to take what she needed as well.

********

After Persephone's visit, Ginny was cured of her “illness.” She was well enough to attend a ball that evening. She decided that she was well enough to dance with men, drink some wine, and stay up late. It had been too long since she'd experienced so much relief.

Charlotte and Hope both waited for her in the foyer. Both commented on how well she looked, how bright her smile was.

“After not feeling well for two days, I'm just happy to feel better,” Ginny responded to their inquiries.

“I am glad to hear it,” Hope stated as they entered the carriage.

“Will Mr. Pierce be attending this evening, Charlotte?” It had been her one regret when she holed herself up that she wasn't more excited for Charlotte. Despite her problems, she should have been more of a friend to her stepdaughter.

“He will. The announcement is set to run in the papers tomorrow.”

Ginny beamed a smile at the girl. “That is wonderful. I am so happy for you, Charlotte. You will be very happy, I promise you.”

At her boastful statement, Hope asked, “You can guarantee a successful marriage, Ally?”

“I can. I can't explain why, but I can.”

The girls entered the ball and were immediately surrounded by young gentlemen. Ginny's reputation as unwilling to diddle around made her slightly less popular, but she had secured a handful of dances. Charlotte had saved every waltz for Braydon and Hope had a wide selection of men to dance with.

During a break, Ginny looked around the room for Grant. She didn't expect him to be there, considering his brother had just died, but this was a romance novel and he was expected to seek her out. It only took a minute to find his head among a group of men talking animatedly.

Ginny approached and caught his attention. They met in a quiet corner not far from the dance floor. The people around them were either watching the dancers or speaking among themselves, so they had their privacy. As Grant came to her side, he handed her a glass of champagne that he had pilfered from a passing waiter.

“I am sorry to hear about your brother, Grant. His wife too. Your father must be devastated.”

“You might think that if you knew my father. I think the only thing that he is devastated by is the fact that I am now his sole heir.”

“Then I'm sorry your father is such an ass.”

A small smile came to Grant's face. “This changes everything, Alysanne.”

“I saw Persephone this morning. She said that you were set to marry her.”

“My father is less than pleased, but yes, I made the commitment and I plan to keep it.”

Normally, the heroine would be anguished, but Ginny was not. She knew better. It came with all her heroine experience. The story would have its way, as it always did.

“I can't say that I'm not disappointed that you are willing to be less of a man. You did make a commitment to Persephone and I'm proud that you are willing to keep it.” What a load! Ginny fought to keep the smile off her face.

“Speaking of Persephone... where is she this evening?”

“I received word that she was unwell. I will stop by tomorrow and see how she fares.”

“That would be kind,” Ginny responded. Taking a sip of her champagne, she looked about for her stepdaughters. Both were dancing a jig and appeared to be having a good time.

Grant leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “Meet me in the back of the garden in ten minutes.” The man disappeared into the crowd shortly after.

Shrugging her shoulders, Ginny walked about the room for a few more minutes before making her way outside. She knew there wouldn't be a proposal, but that didn't meant there wouldn't be something more pleasurable. There was only one way to find out, so she found the stairs that led to the gardens and made her way along the paved path.

Chapter 38

What was he doing? Grant paced back and forth in the back of the garden for ten minutes waiting for Alysanne to arrive. He would honor his engagement, but he would take something for himself first. It was incredibly selfish, but he didn't care. It wasn't to be between him and Alysanne and there was nothing he could do about that. What he could do was take a small piece of happiness at this moment. He might not deserve it, but that wasn't going to stop him.