Chapter Three
Chase stormed down the steps of the great London townhouse, stopped at the pavement, then drove a hand through his already wild hair.
A note of frustration ripped past his lips. In fact, he wished he could rail at the proverbial gods for what had just transpired.
Devil take it. That had not gone at all as he’d planned.
The whole thing had gone completely awry.
He’d planned on entering the lady’s chamber, making her aware of the situation, sweeping her out of the house to the bishop’s residence, and wedding her on the spot.
Thereby, rescuing her from immediate ruin and a miserable life. He had heard Lady Victoria Kirby was difficult.
Everyone had heard of Lady Victoria and her disdain for company.
She was as tart as a lemon and looked like a squeezed one.
That was the general reputation of said lady.
And yet, she was one of the most powerful heiresses in the land. He did not need her money or her power. He was already one of the wealthiest people in the world, and his family name was one of the most important.
Still, deep in his bones, he held one thing true. He could not bear to see a lady destroyed by those meant to protect her. Society did not know it, but he did. And he worked at it daily, surely, carefully.
In fact, every scandal he’d ever been a part of, the divorce cases, all of which had accused him of criminal conversation, had been a ruse. The worse his reputation, the more easily he could free women from terrible marriages.
Yes, his reputation was spectacular. And he loved every moment of it. But now it was hurting him and his cause.
Lady Victoria would not let him come to her aid because of it.
Perhaps he had not been clear enough, but he had been stunned by the way she’d stood up to him, met his gaze with such ferocity, and declared what he said impossible.
He’d not had the appropriate words or control to tell her what he felt needed to be done. She’d left him…stymied. Possibly because all his usual tools had not worked.
She had assessed his usually quite appealing looks, looks he knew how to make use of, and she had found him quite wanting. So wanting, in fact, that she’d refused to marry him.
She’d refused to believe that her father might do such a thing. And that was galling indeed.
His stomach tightened.
What was going to happen if her father returned home this night? Having seen the way he’d rolled the dice time and time again? Chase would put nothing past that man.
And Craven?
Bloody hell, that man was a true libertine. There was nothing charming about his cruelty. No, he was a lecher in the true sense of the word, the sort of man that he found absolutely appalling.
One last time, he turned and looked up at the townhouse.
It was so bloody tempting not to accept this defeat, to storm back in, haul her over his shoulder, and carry her out of the building.
He could then thrust her into his coach, drive her across town, and marry her to save her. As a duke who spent his life dedicated to helping ladies, he surely knew best.
Oh, there had been laws passed against such things. But that was not how the world worked when it came to men of power. A little bit of coin here, a word there would see the deed done. If he chose to take all her agency away, her rights, it certainly would have it all done quickly. And then she would be safe.
He could ship her off to a house in the North of England and she would never be bothered with the sight of him again. And both of them would be content.
He would have a wife that he never had to see. One that would not expect an heir and who would no doubt be quite happy to be left alone for the rest of her life, doing whatever it was that ladies as determined as Lady Victoria did.
Except…he would be as great a villain as all the rest if he did such a thing. A pretty bow would be tied about his villainy, but it would be villainy nonetheless. She was no child, and he would not make decisions for her.