“Then there’s to be no duel?” Caution edged Lawrence’s voice.
“Not today.”
“Good.” Lawrence blew a relieved breath. “I don’t mind telling you, sir, my father would, well, let us simply say he would not be at all pleased if I were to be involved in a duel or anything of that nature. Especially not after the incident with the . . .”
“The Austrian count’s daughter?”
Lawrence stared. “How did you know about that?”
“How does one ever know about things like that?” Win said in an enigmatic manner and realized his father did precisely the same thing. Perhaps it was the chair itself that made whoever sat it in sound at once all-knowing yet still rather vague.
“Please don’t tell me the incident has become fodder for England’s gossips.”
Win could confess that he had overheard the young man mention the Austrian count’s daughter to Caroline, but then he would have to admit he had been eavesdropping, which would alter the moral balance of their discussion. At the moment, Win was the injured party and therefore had the advantage. “Not as far as I know.”
“Then how . . . Never mind.” Lawrence shook his head. “It scarcely matters, I suppose.” He paused. “If you do not intend to shoot me, what do you intend to do?”
“I suppose that depends on you.”
Lawrence’s brow furrowed. “On me?”
Good Lord. Had Win been that stupid when he was Lawrence’s age? Probably. “Do you or do you not intend to prevent Caroline from marrying me?”
“Oh.” His expression cleared and he nodded. “I do. I most definitely do.”
“Why?”
“Because I love her and she loves me.”
“And?”
“And . . . and therefore she cannot marry you.”
On second thought, Win had not been that stupid. “You do realize your actions have consequences. Are you prepared for them?”
Confusion shone in the young man’s eyes. “Consequences?”
“Yes, consequences. Marriage. Are you prepared for marriage?”
“Marriage?”
“Yes, marriage,” Win said sharply. “You know. One woman, forever and ever, until the day you breathe your last. Marriage.” Win studied him closely. “You did ask her to marry you instead of me.”
“Well, yes, but I didn’t really mean . . .”
Win stared in disbelief. “What did you mean?”
“Well, I’m not sure exactly.” He leaned forward in an earnest manner. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. The words just came out of their accord. It did seem the right thing to say at the time. You understand.”
“No, I don’t.”
“You never said something to a woman in the heat of the moment that wasn’t quite what you meant?”
“I never asked one to marry me!”
“You did ask a few others,” Lawrence said under his breath.
“Two others and neither of those proposals were impulsive.” Win glared. “They were both well thought out.” He paused. “Well, perhaps not the first. I was, oh, infatuated I would say and marriage seemed like an excellent idea. The second, however, was extremely well thought out. In hindsight, perhaps too well thought out. It was a rational, sensible decision and that itself was probably a mistake.”
“Was asking Caroline to marry you a mistake as well?”
“I didn’t think so at the time, but then I didn’t know she was in love with someone else.” He paused. “No, it was not a mistake. She is a lovely woman, the kind of woman one could easily spend the rest of one’s days with. She is amusing and clever and knows her own mind. Caroline is a woman one could easily love.” Too easily.
“Yes, she is.” Lawrence stared. “Do you love her then?”
“I am extremely fond of her,” he said staunchly. “But I cannot marry a woman who is in love with someone else.”
“Well, then there’s nothing more to talk about is there?” Lawrence grinned and got to his feet.
“Sit down!”
Lawrence plopped back down.
“Perhaps you did not give this due consideration, but if this wedding is cancelled, Caroline and I will be thrust into scandal. We will be the center of gossip. Speculation will be rampant. People will say the most unkind things about the two of us. But, as is the way of such things, she will bear the brunt of it. Her reputation will be in question if not ruined. Scandal does not particularly concern me. But I suspect it concerns her.” Win narrowed his eye. “I will not permit that.”
“Oh?” Lawrence squirmed in his seat.
“There is only one way to avoid scandal.”
“There is?”
“I have no intention of cancelling yet another wedding.”
“You don’t?” Lawrence said weakly.
“I do not.” Win sighed. “Mr. Royce, let me ask you this. Did you or did you not come here to stop this wedding?”
He nodded. “I did.”
“Because you love her.”
“I do.”
“And can you imagine your life without her in it?”
“No, of course not, I . . .” Lawrence paused. “I do want to marry her, don’t I?”
“So it would appear.”
“There really isn’t any other choice, is there? It’s the only way to keep her with me for the rest of my days.” He thought for a moment. “It doesn’t sound quite as dire as it did a moment ago. Indeed, the more I think about it, the more delightful it sounds.” He grinned. “You know, on occasion one says things in the heat of the moment one truly means. By God, I shall marry Caroline!”
“Excellent.” Win nodded. “Then I suggest you send word to your family. They will want to be here. There are any number of arrangements that need to be made as well. Special licenses and all that.”
Lawrence’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“Mr. Royce, I am beginning to think you are not as intelligent as I had hoped you were.” Win leaned forward. “In order to avoid scandal, the wedding will proceed as scheduled. However, I will not be the groom.”
“Then . . .” Realization dawned on the younger man’s face. “Me?”
Win nodded. “You.”
“Oh.” Lawrence stared for a long moment, a stunned look on his face. At last he smiled. “Oh.”
“One does hope there is more to your repertoire than oh.” Win resisted the urge to once more roll his eyes toward the ceiling. “Now, I suggest you find your bride and deliver her the happy news. I shall arrange for you to speak to Sir William privately. I’ll have to break the news to my parents. Again.” He shuddered. “There are any number of other arrangements that need to be dealt with as well.”
Lawrence nodded mutely.
“Don’t just sit there. There is much to do and only three days to accomplish it all.”
“Yes, sir.” Lawrence jumped to his feet, turned to leave and then turned back. “You have my thanks, my eternal gratitude for this. I shall never forget it.”
“Yes, well, that makes it all worthwhile then.”
Lawrence grinned and started to leave.
“Mr. Royce.”
Lawrence turned back.
“There is one caveat, as it were.” Win rose to his feet, narrowed his eyes and met the young man’s gaze. “I fully intended to spend the rest of my life making Caroline happy. Should I ever hear so much as a whisper, the faintest hint of gossip, a suggestion in passing that she is unhappy for whatever reason, I will not rest until I have destroyed you and perhaps your family as well. And, make no mistake, I have the means to do so. Do you understand?”
Lawrence stared. “You do love her, don’t you?”
“I . . . I am extremely fond of her. Now, do you understand?”
“Completely, sir.” Lawrence straightened his shoulders and nodded. “Let me assure you, you have nothing to fear on that score. I shall cherish her for the gift she is.” He cast Win a giddy sort of grin. “I’m going to marry Caroline.” With that, he nodded and took his leave.
Good Lord. Win sank back into his chair. Was this a disaster narrowly averted or debacle yet to come? There would certainly be gossip, but with the wedding at Fairborough Hall and Win in attendance, it would be more speculative than anything else. That was a matter for later. For now, he had to once again tell his parents he would not be married. Not an easy task, but he had no doubt he had done the right thing.