Page 72 of The Botanist’s Improper Bride

Trevor pivoted and left the room, waiting outside for Mr. Dalton to join him. He escorted the man to his office and, once inside, closed the door. Mr. Dalton sat in the guest chair and Trevor pushed aside the papers he’d been studying and studied his future father-in-law across the desk, waiting for him to speak.

Mr. Dalton’s tongue flicked out to wet his lips. “I’m afraid I come bearing bad news. Seraphina has decided not to wed you. She’ll marry Mr. Chester Emerson instead.”

Trevor stared at him, scarcely able to believe his ears. If they hadn’t served him well for over two decades, he might think they’d failed him. “You’re… ending our betrothal?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Because Seraphina is choosing to marry Mr. Emerson instead?”

“Indeed.”

Once, he might have believed it, but after all their conversations over recent days, he knew there was no way she would willingly marry the man—and it seemed unlikely that Mr. Dalton would allow her to, considering he’d witnessed Trevor and Seraphina kissing.

Something else was at play, but what?

“Has she said why she’s decided to marry Mr. Emerson now when she was uninterested in his suit when he first proposed marriage?”

Mr. Dalton looked close to passing out. “She told you about that?”

“Of course. We’re to be wed. Communication is important for a successful relationship.”

Mr. Dalton squirmed, shifting slightly from one side to the other as if his breeches were too tight and he couldn’t quite get comfortable. It was strange to see a man who’d always been so implacable seem so ill at ease.

“I suppose I may not have worded that quite correctly,” he said. “Something has come to light that makes it imperative that Seraphina marry Mr. Emerson. Please accept my deepest apologies. I know this is entirely unacceptable, but it’s also the best course of action. I’m certain you won’t have any difficulty finding a different bride. You’re an earl’s heir, after all.”

Find a different bride? What on earth made him think that Trevor would want to marry anyone who wasn’t Seraphina?

“Miss Dalton is the only woman I wish to marry.”

Mr. Dalton laughed, but there wasn’t any humor in it. “I doubt that would be the case for long.”

Ah. So he’d somehow found out about Seraphina’s scientific endeavors. Perhaps Mr. Emerson had realized that blackmailing her directly would get him nowhere, so he’d approached her father instead, knowing the man cared more for his reputation than his daughter’s happiness.

“I know everything.” He didn’t see any reason to dissemble. “It won’t stop me from choosing to marry her.”

Mr. Dalton sat back, shaking his head ever so slightly. “Sera told me you did, but I struggled to believe her. Why would you be so reckless?”

“Because I care about Seraphina more than anything else.” His fingers started to tap and he rested them on his thighs beneath the desk so that Mr. Dalton wouldn’t see. The last thing he needed to do was remind the man of his peculiarities. “I said I’ll marry her, and I will. I’m perfectly serious.”

He gazed at Trevor for so long that he thought he might have swayed him, but then he shook his head more firmly. “Be that as it may, I can’t trust that you wouldn’t change your mind if she was brought up on charges.” Sighing heavily, he went on, “I can’t handle the thought of Seraphina being locked up, nor of what might happen to us even if she wasn’t convicted. The risk is too great.”

Trevor paused, the first part of Mr. Dalton’s reasoning catching him off guard. Seraphina had given the impression that her father didn’t care for her much, but perhaps that wasn’t entirely right. Maybe he was just bad at showing how he felt.

“I sincerely apologize for the trouble you’ve experienced since you began courting my daughter,” Mr. Dalton continued. “And for any distress the end of the betrothal brings you. Honestly, I don’t understand why Seraphina has behaved in such a shocking way. If her mother was alive, she’d be horrified by the predicament she’s found herself in.”

“But she’s doing it because of her mother!” The words burst from him before he could consider whether he really ought to say them. “She’s honoring Mrs. Dalton’s memory by preventing others from dying as she did. It’s remarkable, and you should be proud of her.”

“It isn’t her place to do that,” Mr. Dalton snapped. “Seraphina’s mother knew what her role was. Sera refuses to listen to reason.”

Agitated, Trevor fisted and unfisted his hands beneath the table, trying to rid himself of the urge to leap up and start pacing. “How is it reasonable to ask her to marry a man of such poor character that he’d lower himself to blackmail in order to secure a wife?”

“It’s reasonable to expect her not to do anything that might give someone a way to blackmail her.”

“If she was a man, she’d be praised for being clever and hardworking. It’s ridiculous that the same actions are worthy of blackmail just because a woman is the one taking them.”

Mr. Dalton raised his hands, palms splayed. “It’s the way of the world. Women are more delicate and shouldn’t be involved in such matters.”

“I disagree. And if you care for her well-being, as you claim to, you should want her married to me. The status my rank would give her, combined with the financial settlement she would receive after our marriage, is the best way to ensure she has the freedom to make the choices she wants.”