Chapter 26
Luke stepped down from the carriage, looking nervously back to the gentleman that was still sat in the carriage.
“Do you wish me to come in yet?” the gentleman asked.
“Soon.” Luke looked back to the house. Before he made the necessary introduction, he wished to explain himself first. “Give me a few minutes.” The gentleman nodded and sat back in the carriage once again, hiding his face from view.
Luke walked toward the house just as the door opened, letting a visitor leave. When Luke clocked eyes with the man, he nearly fell over, shocked to the core.
“Mr Knight?” he said aloud, unable to keep his surprise at bay. Mr Knight looked equally afeared, coming to a quick stop as their eyes met.
“Lord Yeatman, you surprise me,” Mr Knight said as he stepped past him. “I would have wagered money on you not turning up today.”
“Perhaps you do not know me as well as you think you do.
“In which case, I will be happy to be proven wrong, for Miss Storey’s sake.” Mr Knight paused and offered Luke a bow. It shocked him, for it was a sign of respect at this moment. “Good day, my lord.”
“Good day, Mr Knight.”
Luke waited until Mr Knight had walked away down the street before he moved to the door and knocked. It was quickly answered by a butler who allowed him in.
Before Luke could be shown into a parlour, voices moved toward them.
“Annie, you do not seem to understand that you no longer have the luxury of a choice. You must accept Mr Knight.”
“Must? You merely mean I must abide by your wishes, do you not?” Annie’s words came to a stop as she appeared in the hallway, and her eyes found Luke. She stumbled so quickly to a halt that her mother, who was following on behind her, nearly collided with her back.
“What is the matter? Oh!” Lady Maybury stepped around Annie to find Luke.
At first, Luke could not look at Lady Maybury. His eyes only found Annie, wishing to communicate something with her through the silence. He watched as her lips parted, but she did not smile. There were only the hints of tears in her face, from where she may have spent hours crying, with red eyes.
“Lord Yeatman, you will leave this house at once!” Lady Maybury insisted, thrusting a finger toward the door.
“I cannot.” Luke shook his head and returned his eyes to Lady Maybury.
“You dare to ignore my request? You will not barge into my house when you are unwelcome!”
“I have not barged in, merely stepped in. Lady Maybury, please.” Luke stepped forward, closer to her, aware of what risks he was about to take. “I know after my actions I do not deserve your company or your daughter’s at present, but I beg you, please, allow me to stay for a few minutes and hear what I have to say.”
“So you can apologise and be on your way?” Lady Maybury scoffed. “I have no wish to hear a false apology.”
“Please, Mother,” Annie pleaded at her side and stepped forward. For one hopeful second, Luke thought Annie was trying to come to him, but she was forced to come to a stop when Lady Maybury moved between them. “Let us hear what Lord Yeatman has to say.”
“So, he can charm you with paper-thin words again?” Lady Maybury asked wildly, a quivering hand on her chest. “No, I will not stand for it.”
“What I have to say is no simple thing, my lady,” Luke said, aware his tone was becoming desperate.
“What is it, then?” she asked, looking back at him with a mad wave of her hand.
“I wish to marry your daughter,” Luke uttered the words loudly. It was not as he had rehearsed it all night. Neither were they the words he had hoped to use. They had fallen from his lips in the desperation of the moment.
Silence fell in the hallway. Luke looked between the two ladies before him, seeing the resemblance in their matching looks of shock, with wide eyes and parted lips. Shakily, Lady Maybury stepped back in plain disbelief.
“What do you hope to accomplish by this ruse, Lord Yeatman? To string my daughter along for a few weeks before you call off an engagement, in the hope it would amend her reputation a little?”
“Lady Maybury, may you entertain for a few short minutes please that I am not the gentleman you believe me to be.” The words escaped him, firmer than intended. In surprise, Lady Maybury held his gaze, but she fidgeted, with her hands clasping and unclasping. “I have not come here to merely try to rescue something that is already broken. I have come to offer my hand in marriage for two reasons.”
“What are the reasons?” Annie asked, stepping forward to her mother’s side. Lady Maybury looked at her daughter accusingly, but Annie didn’t appear to notice, for her eyes were only on him.