“When the message reached me of William’s desperate situation, I knew he’d need the best care. My first thought on reading Mrs. Young’s report of that first night was that she had made the right choice, especially since she mentioned your late father was a medical man.”
Credit was due to the right person. “It was actually Mr. Dawson, Captain Ford’s valet, who requested I remain with him, Your Grace. Mrs. Yo
ung tried to send me away when the surgeons first hesitated to treat him properly. I insisted they must at least try.”
“I see.” He shook his head, lips pursing a moment as he studied her. “You went above and beyond anything asked of you, but if scandal is how he means to repay you, then you are very badly treated.”
She shrugged. “Further delay would have cost him his life, and this will pass.”
“Perhaps not.” The duke’s expression grew tense. “Dawson is to be commended on his intelligence then in choosing you for William. I understand you didn’t sleep, hardly ate, and cared for William’s needs before your own. I did not anticipate a servant’s sense of duty could reach so far; however, I am happy for it. You should be appropriately compensated for the trouble he’s caused you.”
“I am glad he has recovered.” Matilda blushed again. She’d never been comfortable with praise and certainly not from a duke. “I expect no compensation for my part in the captain’s recovery, I assure you. ”
Not when William was already going to provide everything she needed to ensure she and Harry Lloyd could start their marriage in a prosperous fashion far from the scandal of this affair.
The duke’s eyes narrowed. “I assume that farce downstairs was William’s doing.”
Matilda nodded quickly. There was no point lying about it when he would be able to find out no marriage had taken place. “Yes, he was concerned about the arrival of Miss Chudleigh. He said his father meant to pressure him into a marriage he didn’t want, so I was to pretend to be in love with him to drive Miss Chudleigh away. Somehow it went terribly wrong, and now they believe I’m his wife.”
“True.” The duke’s eyes softened. “Under the circumstances, continuing that belief will be necessary to perpetuate. I will not have the family’s name dragged through the scandal sheet over such a lie.”
Matilda licked her lips. “For how long?”
The duke grunted, banging his fist onto the arm of the chair. “My grandson claimed that you are man and wife, and that is what you shall be.”
Matilda stared at him, unable to believe what he might be suggesting. “Are you saying I will have to marry him?”
“If you do not, everyone will think you soiled goods.”
“That is not true.” Heat enveloped her cheeks beyond her power to prevent the flush. “I cannot marry him. I am to marry another man.”
“Oh, so he chased after another man’s woman too,” he said, face contorting with disappointment. “I had assumed there was some partial truth to account for William’s actions, but there you have it. He is exactly like his uncles. I will make arrangements for an expedient wedding immediately.”
She grew very cold. This surely could not be happening. “I cannot marry Captain Ford.”
“You are a spinster without means save your employment which you now cannot keep. How will you support yourself, eh? How can I allow my grandson to act without honor? I cannot do it,” the duke said with rising passion. “The situation and scandal will be intolerable for the family. You must marry him. This other fellow, where is he?”
Matilda stilled her trembling hands. “I don’t know.”
The duke rolled his eyes. “Are you really going to turn down this generous offer to elevate yourself in society by marrying so well?”
Silence thickened around her. Was she really trapped, without means to protect her reputation from irreparable harm no matter the path she chose?
William entered the room at last, boots striking hard across the polished boards. “I won’t be talked out of it.”
The duke raised a brow. “Is that so?”
Matilda glanced behind him, but there was no sign now of Lord George Ford or the captain’s sisters following behind.
“Yes, this is perfect. Maria can turn her scheming little heart elsewhere, and when she’s married, we can go through the motions of announcing our fake marriage was dissolved.”
“What do you mean, fake marriage?” Evelyn Ford suddenly made an appearance. “You said you were married to Matilda.”
“And in love,” Audrey said, her eyes accusing him.
“I did not say I was in love,” William exclaimed.
“You called her ‘darling’ twice,” Victoria chided. “Everyone knows that’s just the same.”