Chapter Thirteen
“You have to marry her.” The Countess of Castleton spoke in a low, but firm tone. Her hands were folded in her lap as she sat across from her son.
Ian admired his mother’s outward show of calm, but he wasn’t fooled. Beneath the cool, proper facade, she was bloody furious. “Don’t be unreasonable, Mother.”
“Unreasonable? The girl is ruined.”
He shifted in his chair. Lady Castleton, his mother, sat across from him in his study. Cold. Reserved. Judgmental. “I just explained why Miss Ashton was here.” After weighing his options, he’d decided to tell her the true reason Grace was at his home.
“I thought you retained the services of a family friend, specifically Lord Winton, not a gently bred lady to refresh your manners. The daughter of a baron, no less!”
“You’re the one who insists I attend Lady Crowley’s ball.”
“You cannot possibly think to blame me for this scandal.”
“I did what was most efficient to ensure my success at the ball.”
Her eyes narrowed, the first true sign of her fury. “Efficient! Forget Lady Crowley’s ball. I no longer want, nor expect, you to attend. Your proper entry into Society will be at your wedding.”
He drummed his fingers on the armrest of his leather chair. “No one needs to know about tonight.”
She looked at him as if he were a simpleton. “It’s too late. I saw her. Lady Taddlesworth saw her.” The woman was seated in the drawing room waiting for mother and son to speak in Ian’s study before they joined her.
Meanwhile, Ian had summoned another carriage to take the two women home. They couldn’t leave fast enough in his opinion. His thoughts kept returning to Grace. He could imagine her torment. They’d been caught in an erotic embrace by not one, but two Society matrons. She’d also drunk too much wine and would no doubt feel the ill effects tomorrow.
What was she thinking now? She shouldn’t be alone, shouldn’t have to handle tonight’s troublesome events by herself.
Ian’s gaze narrowed. “Lady Taddlesworth is your friend. Ensure her silence.”
The countess gave a humorless laugh. “No one can ensure anyone’s silence, least of all Lady Taddlesworth’s. She is preparing Ellie and Olivia for their upcoming Seasons so that I could eventually go to my sister in Bath. Lady Taddlesworth is a paragon of propriety and well-respected in Society. She would not be able to keep this secret, even if she truly desired to do so, which she undoubtedly will not.”
Ian’s mind spun as he tried to negotiate a way out of this mess. “Miss Ashton wasn’t here unchaperoned.”
“Oh?”
“My housekeeper is present.”
“Your housekeeper?”
“Yes. A widow. Surely that’s sufficient. Tell Lady Tattletale that she is Grace’s aunt and her chaperone.”
“It’s Lady Taddlesworth, and no, she will not believe such an outrageous tale. It is well after midnight. There is only one reason a young, unmarried lady would be present in a bachelor’s home. Not only is a housekeeper not a proper chaperone, but you forget that Miss Ashton was caught in your heated embrace.”
Damn. If Ian hadn’t been so distracted by Grace, he wouldn’t have opened the front door, but would have gone out the servant’s entrance. He would have heard the carriage, their approaching footsteps, heard something.
At Ian’s silence, she continued. “As the earl, it is your duty to secure the succession by marrying well and producing the next generation of Castleton heirs.”
“I had not planned to marry anyone,” he said irritably.
She ignored him. “I had hoped for you to wed the Duke of Desmond’s daughter, but I am willing to settle with the daughter of a baron.”
“It is not your choice,” he said, his voice terse.
Her lips thinned, her color high. “Oh, but it is. You may recover from such gossip, but Miss Ashton never will. She will be ostracized by Society. Are you that cruel?”
He pictured Grace moments before they were discovered. Her full lips glossy, her blue eyes glazed as she looked up at him and brazenly asked if he would kiss her. Her soft, warm body as she pressed her curves against him.
Christ. He’d wanted to do much more than simply kiss her and touch her. He’d fiercely wanted her naked and writhing beneath him.
He still did.
But Grace was a true lady, and she deserved to be treated as one. She’d met his sisters, and from their brief encounter, she’d learned things about them that he’d never known. Ellie hated the piano but liked to read. She was more like him than he’d realized. Olivia disliked singing but wanted to ride. Maybe she was more like Matthew who always loved to recklessly race his horses. Right to the end of his life. Because of that chance meeting, Grace had changed from having to help him to wanting to help him succeed. Could he throw her to the wolves?
An unfamiliar, heavy feeling constricted in his chest. He knew firsthand how cruel Society could be. But to marry?
“It’s not just Miss Ashton who will suffer the consequences of social ruin,” the countess said. “Ellie and Olivia will be harmed by your actions tonight.”
“You go too far. A scandal will not taint them, only myself and Miss Ashton.”
Her eyes flashed with a sheen of purpose. “Don’t be difficult. What of rumors of your involvement with your brother’s death? You may not think I’m aware, or that they are of concern now, but they are.”
Ian froze. He couldn’t believe she was dragging Matthew’s death into their conversation. “Are you suggesting you believe the malicious gossip of magpies?”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe. The talk, combined with tonight’s gossip, will ensure wagging tongues follow your sisters at every Society function for years. What respectable family would want their son to marry into ours? You must think of your sisters.”
His gut twisted at the cold reality of her words. Matthew’s death was a dark specter that haunted Ian. Who would believe he had tried to convince his brother not to ride the treacherous Devil’s Leap track that day?
Ian shut out the hurt and felt the familiar armor encase his heart. He was a businessman, and he forced himself to analyze the decision before him as if he were adding a new roulette table or additional boxing ring to the club.
As his wife, Grace’s title and reputation would help launch his sisters properly into Society. They wouldn’t need Lady Taddlesworth’s assistance. Ian disliked the widow on sight. Grace’s continued tutelage would allow him to polish his rough edges and ensure he acted the perfect gentleman when required. Her lack of dowry didn’t dissuade him.
Then there was Grace herself. He’d get to bed her nightly. Possess her body until his crazed need for her subsided.
But what of the Raven Club?
Grace had made her position clear. She’d never marry a man who owned a casino. His mother would agree with her, but despite his mother’s demands to dispose of the Raven Club, he had no intention of doing so. He would live life on his own terms after the wedding.
He could tell Grace he’d sell the Raven, but not search for a buyer. Whether he went through with a sale or not, after tonight, Grace did not have a choice.
She must marry him or face ruin.
His jaw hardened in determination, and he met his mother’s gaze. “I shall speak with the baron tomorrow.”
“Good. You must arrange for a special license. It must be handled quickly. Meanwhile, I’ll tell Lady Taddlesworth that I knew of your secret engagement. I can only hope it ensures her silence until the wedding.”
The more he thought of the arrangement, the more convinced he became that the benefits outweighed the detriments. He would continue to live as he always had.
A wife, even one as tempting as Grace, would change nothing.
…
As soon as the carriage whisked away Ian’s mother and Lady Taddlesworth, Ian headed for the Raven Club. Brooks had been overseeing the club while Ian took his lessons with Grace, and he needed to speak with him now.
Ian spotted Brooks by the roulette table and quickly summarized the night’s events.
Brooks shot him an incredulous look after learning everything. “You really did it this time.”
Ian watched a group of wealthy men place bets. The roulette wheel spun and Ian marveled at how much life was like gambling. The odds were always stacked against you.
The wheel stopped. “Twenty-three black,” his croupier called out. All those crowded around the table let out a groan as the croupier collected their lost bets. A small fortune. The club would do well tonight.
“I didn’t have a choice. My mother and her acquaintance, a gossip, discovered Grace and me together.”
“You always have a choice.”
“Should I have let the lady be ruined?”
“Why care?”
Brooks was watching him closely, too closely. “You’re right,” Ian said. “I’ve always said no one can force my hand, not even my mother. My father, the old bastard, had tried and failed.” Brooks knew about Ian’s past and how his father had attempted to marry Ian off to a simple-minded country neighbor.
“Then why agree to marry the lady?”
“Blackmail by guilt.”
“Your mother blackmailed you?”
“In essence. My mother pointed out that the talk of Matthew’s death, combined with the inevitable scandal from tonight, would harm my sisters’ chances for future happiness.”
“I never thought I’d see the day. Ian Swift coerced. It’s always been you doing the persuading.”
He knew what Brooks was referring to. Ian was a ruthless businessman and had often used information from the Raven Club’s clientele to his advantage.
“The marriage to Grace has its advantages. She’ll assist my sisters. She’ll continue with my lessons. As my wife, we’ll no longer need to meet in secret at night. She’s beautiful and no hardship to bed. She’s been raised as a proper baron’s daughter and accepted by the beau monde. She has been overseeing her father’s household for some time and has the skills to efficiently run my household. As for her lack of dowry, it is insignificant to me.” Ian rattled off the reasons like one of his croupiers at the club calling out winning numbers.
“That’s all?”
“What else?”
“I’ve met the lady. I think she’s gotten under your skin.”
“Don’t be an ass. I’m attracted to her. What man wouldn’t be?”
“Hmm. What of the club? Despite your beliefs that a marriage is solely a business arrangement, your wife may have a say in how you run your life.”
At Brooks’s questioning look, Ian snapped out. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It’s simple. Would she accept a man who owns a gambling club when her own father is a reckless gambler? She may take your mother’s side and insist you sell the place.”
She already has. “Her opinion on the matter is meaningless.”
“Don’t be daft. She has to agree to marry you.”
Ian knew the club could be an issue. His mother had insisted he sell the Raven Club after inheriting the earldom.
But Grace…
Grace’s disapproval of the Raven Club was for entirely different reasons. She didn’t care what others thought. Grace believed gambling had ruined her father, and she despised casinos. Grace and her young brother were victims of the baron’s addiction.
But the Raven Club had saved Ian. The casino floor held a piece of his soul, and he was not willing to relinquish it. He hadn’t spoken of his past with Grace, and it was not something that he shared with anyone. Only Brooks knew the truth of how he came to open the club.
He was surprised at how badly he wanted Grace to marry him. For a man who swore never to marry, he was uncomfortable with this need to bind her to him. Yes, her consent was required in order to shield his sisters from the taint of scandal. But he also realized that he’d grown to admire her, a first for any woman of his acquaintance. She had admirable traits. Loyalty to her family and her father—a man whom in Ian’s opinion did not deserve his daughter’s loyalty or love. She was intelligent, feisty, and headstrong, traits some men didn’t value in a lady, but Ian was not one of them. To the contrary, he had grown to look forward to conversing with her. He also found her more and more desirable with each evening visit.
If he wasn’t careful, she’d bewitch him, and Ian could never allow that to happen.
Ian hardened his resolve. “My mother believes I’ll sell the club. I’ll tell Grace the same.”
Brooks studied his friend and employer for several long heartbeats. “You’d lie to the lady to get her to marry you?”
“Not entirely. I do plan to sell the club in my ripe old age.”
Brooks whistled. “That’s deceptive, even for you.”
“My tactics have never bothered you in the past,” Ian said.
“It’s not me I’m worried about. I’ve met Miss Ashton. She has grit and intelligence. Do not underestimate her. You may have met your match.”