Page 100 of A Misguided Devotion

“No. She wouldn’t come with me.”

Incredulous glances passed between the three of them, but it was Anthony who spoke. “She refused you?”

“I didn’t ask.”

Hetta shook her head in despair. “I thought you loved her.”

“I do, but how could I propose when I could not guarantee Father would give his consent? You predicted what Grandmama’s reaction would be, Charlotte. I tried to explain to Kitty that I wasn’t free to offer for her yet. That I want her to be welcomed by my relatives, not judged for things she can’t control. I asked her to come and stay with you until I came of age, but she refused to risk dividing the family if Father withheld his permission.”

His twin drew her eyebrows together. The pain in her gaze mirrored his own. “Oh, William, will you really marry her when you turn twenty-one? Even if Grandmama disapproves?”

He closed his eyes and counted to ten before reopening them, blinking away the moisture that clouded his vision. “I might not have the chance.”

“Why not?” asked Hetta. “She’s not going to marry Mr Barrington, is she?”

Bile rose into his mouth as he recalled his last glimpse of Kitty, leaning on that man’s arm as she waved goodbye.

“They looked mighty cosy on the doorstep as I drove away.” But that wasn’t what upset him the most. It was her lack of faith in him. “She thinks if Father refuses his consent that I’ll change my mind. Or rather, that the weight of family disapproval will change it for me. Kitty made no promise to wait for me. Perhaps I was mistaken in thinking she cared for me as much as I do for her.”

Anthony tipped his head back and stared up at the ceiling before directing a piercing look at William. “I refuse to go through this again. Far too painful. Your family seems to have a propensity for difficult relationships. I watched my best friend moon over your sister Eliza for weeks until matters were resolved, and I’m not about to let you make the mistake of watching the woman you love marry another.”

Both his sisters nodded in agreement.

“Love is worth fighting for,” said Hetta. “I’ve only met her once, but I can see Kitty’s got sound principles. What Father would call moral fibre.”

“I fear he will disapprove of the match as much as Grandmama.”

“I disagree,” she replied. “He won’t bow to the Duchess’s opinion. When has he let a person’s past dictate their future? He will be more concerned with Kitty’s character than her pedigree.”

Hope flickered within him. Hetta was right. Had he made a huge mistake, delaying his declaration because he feared his father would not approve?

“I expect you made a hash of it,” said Anthony. “You said you would marry her if you gained your father’s consent to the match, but didn’t actually offer for her. That’s like giving her an IOU without her knowing the size of your bank balance. You did tell her you loved her, didn’t you?”

He had told her he loved her—hadn’t he? “Maybe not in so many words. I let her know I cared—”

“Not the same. I care for my horses, but the love a man has for a woman is so much more. No doubt you persuaded yourself out of kissing her as well. Am I correct?”

William scraped a hand through his hair. His friend was right. He had messed it up.

Anthony folded his arms and shot him a despairing look. “Don’t make the mistake of letting her go, or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“You need to return in the morning,” said Charlotte. “Refuse to take no for an answer.”

“Be the man she needs you to be,” said Hetta.

William grimaced. “I’m not sure that Mr Barrington will let me in the house again. He more or less banished me.”

“Then we’ll go in your stead,” Anthony said. “Your sisters and I will drive over to Rufus House in the morning to see her.”

“We’ll inform her you are distraught…” said Hetta.

“…and beg her to come back with us to prevent you from wasting away,” added his twin with a gleeful grin.

It bolstered William’s spirits to have them rallying to his cause. “Don’t return without her.”

“You won’t come with us?” Charlotte asked. “You need not come to the door.”

William shook his head. “No—but you go with my blessing. If my sisters choose to help the woman I love, who am I to object?”