Page 79 of Much Ado about a Widow

“Travers!” Father bellowed so loudly the seagulls shrieked and fled the beach. “What is the meaning of this? Why are my daughter and St. Just claiming that your servant is the one who abducted Georgina in the first place?”

The earl shuffled over to them, his mouth smiling widely while his eyes shifted like a mouse in a trap. “My lord, I can explain.”

“Good. Do so.” Her father glared at the man until he squirmed.

“I was afraid, my lord . . . That is, I had heard rumors, you see, that your son did not look favorably on my match with Lady Georgina. And I remembered last time, when she ran off with Kirkpatrick, and slipped through my grasp at the very last moment.” The conciliatory persona changed, Travers’s voice becoming more peevish. “I couldn’t let that happen again. I’d had to live it down the last time, that she jilted me for a vicar’s son.” He glared at Georgie, and she shrank back to grasp Rob’s arm. “I wasn’t about to do that a second time.”

“I gave you no reason to suppose I would do anything of the kind this time.” Indignant, Georgie glowered back at Travers.

“And yet there you stand on the arm of another man, once more, my lady.”

Well, the man had a point, although, if he’d not interfered with her journey, none of them would be standing here right now. For the first time, she wanted to thank Lord Travers for something.

“So what had you planned to do to secure Lady Georgina’s affections, Travers?” Beneath her fingers Rob’s body went taut.

“We were to spend time together, to let her get to know me. The woman wouldn’t even agree to speak to me before then.” The petulant tone of his voice did him no credit, but Georgie couldn’t help feeling a modicum of pity for the man. She had treated him rather badly, if you looked at everything that had occurred between them over the last five years.

“In an inn down by the docks in Portsmouth?” Rob’s voice cut through her thoughts like a newly sharpened knife. “Without a chaperone, save her maid?”

“You had no more chaperone when you took her off,” Travers shot back.

“But I didn’t intend to ravish her against her will, as you so aptly demonstrated you did the other night.”

“Enough!” Father put an end to the argument by pulling Travers to the side. “You kidnapped my daughter because you doubted I would keep my word?”

Travers’s mouth worked although nothing came out.

“Fool. You could have had her, her dowry, and in six years her mother’s inheritance as well. I am known as a man who keeps his word, no matter what. You should have listened to those rumors before any other.” Father glared at Travers, the tendons on his neck popping out like taut lines on a ship. “Not to mention the expense you have made me incur, due simply to your lack of faith in me. I had to pay for travel and lodging for my servants from Somerset to come rescue Georgina. And when I decided I must come to Cornwall to see to this debacle myself, I incurred another expense with my ship. Instead of shipping goods, it’s been transporting me to this out of the way place.” Father paced forward until he stood toe to toe with the earl. “Inconvenience me at your peril, Travers. I am not a man to take a slight lightly, especially one that costs me time and money.”

“But my lord—”

Father raised his hand to Travers, effectively silencing him. “Let me assure you, I will refuse to ally myself with a man who has the poor judgment to mistrust my word. Even though the alternative”—he shifted his glare to Rob—“has little more to recommend his suit.”

“I think you have misspoken yet again, Blackham.” Lady St. Just’s gaze beat down on Father until Georgie could swear her parent shrank backward. “My son has everything to recommend him. An old and prestigious title, wealth beyond Lord Travers’s dreams, and the regard and affection of your daughter. I think all three of these things should be taken into consideration when bestowing your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

To her great surprise, Father gave Lady St. Just a thoughtful glance, then turned away from Travers to scrutinize Rob. “I take it you still wish to wed my daughter?”

“What are you saying, Lord Blackham?” Grasping her father’s arm, the earl tried to turn him back toward him. “We have an accord, a signed agreement.”

With a casual flip of his hand Father dismissed the man who had been his favored suitor for all these years. “Well, St. Just?”

Startled, Rob shot Georgie a glance and an impish grin. “Yes, my lord.”

“You cannot renege on this marriage contract.” The desperation in Travers’s face and voice were making him reckless. “You promised me her dowry, and I have to have it, Blackham. My last investment sank to the bottom of the Channel a week ago, so I’m on the rocks, my lord. You gave me your word, so I was counting on Lady Georgina’s dowry to see me through this lean time, don’t you see?”

With an absolutely straight face, Father replied, “Then I believe you have miscounted, Travers. I agreed to align myself with you because five years ago your wealth was sound, your properties prosperous. I fear I neglected to reinvestigate your financial standing when you renewed your suit. Apparently, I too have been the victim of rumors, ones that said you were still one of the wealthiest men in England. We might have saved ourselves a deal of trouble had I not done so.”

The color had drained from Travers’s face, and he remained speechless.

Father stopped, and put his hand on Rob’s sleeve. “You are certain she’s breeding already?”

A tinge of red invaded Rob’s cheeks. “To the best of my ability, I believe so, my lord.”

After a long stare that took in Georgie, Rob, and Rob’s mother, Father nodded. “Very well. Be certain you do not disappoint me as others have done.” Issuing a spectacular glower at Travers, Father sniffed and turned to Lady St. Just, to whom he bowed and offered his arm. “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you, my lady?”

With a gracious nod, she laid her hand lightly on his sleeve. “I believe you will do after all, Blackham.”

Unmoving, the stunned Lord Travers blinked several times, as if not quite certain what had just happened. Finally, he settled a grim look on Rob. “St. Just, you accepted my challenge. I want satisfaction!”