Edmond Worthington, 9th Duke of Hartford looked up in annoyance when his study door slammed opened, the paintings on the walls trembling from the force. He had wondered how long it would take his younger brother to find him once he was told the news.
“How could you, Hartford?” Brandon shouted. He quickly made his way across the room and displayed his frustration by pounding his fists upon the desk. “Tell me it is not true.”
Edmond’s brow rose in understanding; not that this would in some way change the situation. “Mother told you?”
“I have not spoken to mother as yet. I read about it in some disgusting gossip rag. Dammit Hartford, how can you be so callous?” Brandon fumed before stepping back while he awaited an answer. His face turned red with anger while his hands balled into fists at his side.
Edmond nodded his head towards the sideboard. “Make it two.”
Brandon once more crossed the room to take hold of two crystal glasses before surveying his choice of liquor. He grabbed the whiskey. “Perhaps I should bring the bottle.” Setting the glasses down, he began pouring, not bothering to be neat about it.
Edmond quickly moved his correspondence to save it from a good drenching. He motioned for Brandon to take a seat. Reaching for his glass he took a long hard pull of the fiery whiskey. This discussion was nothing to celebrate, although his sister’s impending marriage should have been.
“How can you honor such a contract between Gwendolyn and someone old enough to be her father? Sandhurst is hardly what I would call a young woman’s ideal of a loving husband,” Brandon said. He proceeded to down his drink and then refilled it.
Edmond sighed. “Yes, well, I have to agree with you on that but my hands are tied. Father begged me on his death bed to honor their contract. Why he made such an arrangement with the man I cannot say.”
“Blackmail, perhaps?”
Edmond shrugged. “I have no idea, but whatever our father got himself into, he made a bargain with the very devil. I am honor bound to see the matter done. If father had not passed on requiring us to observe our year of mourning, Gwendolyn would already have been wed. She did agree to the marriage, if you will recall.”
“At least it will not be on my conscious that I made her marry Sandhurst.”
Edmond rubbed his neck. “I do not look forward to the confrontation. Her tears will most likely be my downfall.”
“At least you were not in attendance at the Book Emporium and Teashop when I went to purchase a novel for mother. To hear our lovely sister’s name bandied about while those ladies were sniggering behind their fans at such news was almost more than I could bear,” Brandon said with a grimace. He pulled the newspaper from his jacket and tossed it across the desk. “At least it is not on the front but buried on the seventh page.”
“The Teatime Tattler? I have not heard of it,” Edmond said reaching for the paper, “not that I have the time or the inclination to read about what the gossipmongers have to say.”
“It is all the rage with society. Normally such filth does not interest me either, but I heard Gwendolyn’s name mentioned so it perked my interest. You will not be pleased.”
Edmond turned to the page Brandon had indicated and read:
It appears, dear reader, that an impending marriage will shortly be announced between none other than Lady Gwendolyn Worthington and the elderly Lord Bernard Sandhurst. With news of the haste in their nuptials, will the bride and groom be making another announcement shortly thereafter of cause to celebrate again not nine months hence?
Edmond balled up the newspaper. How dare someone assume that Gwendolyn was pregnant of all things? He finished his drink, disgusted with society and with himself for having to honor his father’s decree.
This is an original piece and prequel to Sherry Ewing’s work in progress, Nothing But Time. Sherry picked up her first historical romance when she was a teenager and has been hooked ever since. A bestselling author, she writes historical & time travel romances to awaken the soul one heart at a time. Always wanting to write a novel but busy raising her children, she finally took the plunge in 2008 and wrote her first Regency. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Beau Monde & the Bluestocking Belles. Sherry is currently working on her next novel and when not writing, she can be found in the San Francisco area at her day job as an Information Technology Specialist. You can learn more about Sherry and her published work here on her page with the Belles or on these social medial outlets:
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