“Alice.” He wasn’t in the mood for small talk and Alice Bishop wasn’t high on his list of people he’d care to engage in that pointless endeavor anyway.

Elenora raised her hand. “Alice, bring me the Scotch.”

“I should clean up that broken—”

“Scotch,” she repeated. “Now.”

“Right away.” Alice trudged off, but not before she shot a questioning glance at Sebastian.

He ignored it. The witch’s concerns weren’t his priority. “Drinking already, Grandmamma?”

Elenora frowned. “I have a feeling whatever you’re about to tell me will be made more palatable by some good whiskey.”

“I doubt that. But I’ll wait.” He plucked up one of the finger sandwiches and downed it in one bite. It was delicious, even for something so mundane, but then Frauke was a perfectionist. All the more proof that he needed a cook of his own. Especially if he was going to be entertaining Tessa for meals on a regular basis.

Alice returned, put the crystal carafe on the table, then drifted off to the perimeter of the room. Elenora made no move to dismiss her and the woman would find out what was going on soon enough anyway, so he begin the explanation as Didi filled a new tea cup with Scotch.

“Evangeline came to town a few days ago looking to move in with me under the assumption that she and I would resume our marital life as if nothing had happened.”

Elenora took her first sip of whiskey. It seemed to bring her back to center as she answered with a great deal more calm than her previous responses. “And you said?”

“I told her that couldn’t happen. Specifically because…I was engaged.” He grimaced, knowing his grandmother would only want more information. “She seemed flabbergasted that I might actually be involved with anyone else. She doubted it to such a degree that pride pushed me to lie. It was a foolish decision and one that’s brought me to where I am now.”

Didi frowned. “How so?”

“Forgive me if I skip the minor details, but as a result of my lie and an equally careless invitation to dinner, I needed someone to fill the role of my fiancée. That person came in the form of Deputy Blythe’s sister, Tessa. She happened to be in town to interview for the new dean of library studies that we’re hiring at Harmswood.”

“And she agreed to do this for you?” Elenora looked skeptical. “How much did you offer to pay her?”

“Nothing. But we negotiated that the job would be hers in return.”

Elenora nodded. “Smart woman to make that kind of deal.”

“Actually, Deputy Blythe made that stipulation. Tessa was too shell-shocked by her sister volunteering her to say much on her own behalf. And I’ll admit, I had my doubts about her ability to carry off the role of my fiancée, but she did beautifully.”

Elenora settled back in her chair, keeping a firm grip on her tea cup. “I still don’t see how this results in you getting married.”

“Tessa and I both think that Evangeline truly wants me back. For what reason, I can’t say. Maybe she’s tired of life on her own. I don’t know. Don’t care. Because I have finally reached a place in my life where I’m over her.”

“Remarkable. If that’s true.”

“It is. And I have Tessa to thank. Evangeline…ruined me in so many ways.”

She reached out and patted his hand. “I know, my darling. You didn’t deserve the rubbish she put you through. Why do you think I loathe the woman? For all the hurt and pain she caused you. If this Tessa has changed things for you, then I already like her.”

“She has changed things. She’s shown me that life can be so much more. That my sense of duty and responsibility don’t have to be tied to my personal happiness. More than that, she’s shown me how to be happy again. Something, I must confess, I haven’t been in a long time.”

Didi smiled at him in that way of all grandmothers, with unconditional love and caring. “You sound like you’re in love with her. No wonder you’re marrying her.”

“We’re marrying because Evangeline challenged us to, but I have definitely come to care for this woman. Evangeline said if we married tonight, in front of her, she’d sign the dissolution papers necessary to cut the ties between us. It means my freedom, Grandmamma.”

“I wholly support this. Shocking, I know, but I do. I have no love for that awful woman and I don’t know why you’ve continued to care for her as you have, but I am thrilled that this day has arrived. Put her behind you and move on. Marry this Tessa, whoever she is, and be happy, my darling.”

“That’s essentially the plan.”

She stared at him. “I have to ask. Why not just tell Evangeline it’s over? Why go through with the wedding? Do you need the papers signed that badly? You’ve gone this long. Why now?”

He rolled his shoulders, doing little to ease the tension that had settled there. “She threatened to go to the council.”

Didi’s eyes silvered and her fangs showed. “That ungrateful little tramp. How dare she? After all this family has done for her. Not to mention the history between our families! I ought to put a stake through her heart and be done with her.”

“Grandmamma.” He glared at her. “Let’s have some decorum, shall we?”

She thrust her hand out to point a perfectly manicured nail at him, causing the bracelet that held her amulet to slide free of her sleeve. “You ought to go to the council and report her. You have grounds for infidelity.”