The Earl's Inconvenient Wife (Regency Collection Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

miss you.”
    Claire returned her hug.  “I’m going to miss you, too.”
    Pulling away from her, Lilly brushed a tear from her eye.  “Please write.”
    “You know I will, though I suspect you’ll soon be married as well.”
    “I hope so.”
    “To Mister Morris,” Claire clarified.
    Though Lilly shook her head, she didn’t vocalize her opposition.
    Not surprised, Claire went down the staircase and to the drawing room.  The door was open, and her father was staring out the window.  She was about to ask him what he was watching with such interest, but he turned in her direction and offered her a tentative smile.
    “You’re not upset with me, are you?” he asked.
    “I wish you hadn’t done it.” There was no sense in pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about.
    He sighed and motioned for her to sit.  When she did, he sat across from her in a chair.  “Claire, your mother and I want to see you well off.  I’ve been talking to others to find out which titled gentlemen have good reputations, and Lord Roderick’s is ideal.  He keeps his financial affairs in order and doesn’t engage in frivolous pursuits.  When I saw you outside with him, I knew it was the perfect way to secure your future.”
    “But I wasn’t with him the way…the way you made it seem.”
    “I know.  I feel bad about that part.  I saw you fall and knew he was trying to help you up.” He shrugged.  “Your sister went through an entire Season and didn’t get married.  I didn’t want the same thing to happen to you, especially when I could arrange for you to marry someone like Lord Roderick.”
    “He’s not happy about the marriage.”
    “No.  I didn’t expect him to be, but he’ll have a week to calm down. By the time the wedding takes place, his mood will improve and he’ll see you for the wonderful girl you are.  Mark my word, he’ll be glad he married you.”
    She didn’t agree, but even if she succeeded in convincing her father he was wrong, the Ton was talking about the previous night and would hold it against her.  Her only reasonable recourse was to follow through and marry Roderick.
    “It w ill be all right, my dear,” her father said in a tender voice.  “I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t believe that.”
    She nodded.  Even if she didn’t agree with what he did, she couldn’t fault his motives.  He patted her hand and stood up.  As he left the room, she closed her eyes and prayed he was right and that in time, Roderick would be glad he had to marry her.
     
    ***
     
    Nate knew the exact moment his life came to an end.  It was a week later in a small church where he muttered his vows in front of a vicar and the manipulative family who were more than happy about this monstrosity they called a wedding.  It was disgusting.  Absolutely disgusting.  How could he have so easily fallen into their trap?
    T he wedding was brief, and as he exchanged the vows that sealed his doom, he couldn’t help but recall the peaceful life he had envisioned with Lord Rumsey’s daughter.  So much for that.  In one idiotic decision to try to help a naïve lady avoid scandal, he’d plopped himself right in the middle of it and was now paying the price, something that most assuredly pleased Mister Lowell and his daughter to no end.
    The weddin g was done and over within a matter of minutes, and he waited as patiently as he could for the family to be done hugging each other.  At one point, he overheard his deceitful new wife, Blair or something—he didn’t pay that much attention when they told him her name—tell her parents that she didn’t want to go home with him.  He rolled his eyes.  If nothing else, he had to admire her ability to play the victim.  If he wasn’t aware of her father’s desire to see his daughters married to titled gentlemen, he would have believed she was innocent.
    “You must go home with him,” her father softly told her from where they stood several feet from him.