“I suggest you understand my meaning of this meeting, Miss Ashford?”
“Of course I do. You rudely barged into my sister’s home without observing the correct proprieties in calling at one’s home after noon merely to ascertain if there is an attachment between Lord Kingsley and myself. You then decided to be as ruthless as possible and to use your wealth and words to cut such a thread had it existed. I assure you, Lord Kingsley is merely kind in helping a spinster get the proper notice to land her a decent offer. There is no sort of attachment between us. Your visit was boorish and unnecessary.”
Winters’s eyes had hardened at her speech, and as he stood, he tugged at his neckcloth as if made uncomfortable.
“I will pay you twenty thousand pounds to immediately cease all connections with the earl. Whether they be false or not.”
Poppy stepped back, her hand fluttering to her chest. “I beg your pardon?”
“Twenty thousand pounds will be my only offer. Do not play coy for more.”
“You heard me. It is not real,” she said, clenching her fist tightly against the pain piercing her belly.
“I know what I saw,” Mr. Winters hissed unexpectedly. “I watched as he walked with you along Rotten Row last week, and then when he danced with you at Lady Bloomfield’s ball. That blasted earl had the look of a man desperately in love. You might think it is not real, Miss Ashbrook, but I am a man. I know hunger when I see it.”
The breath whooshed from her, and Poppy’s cheeks heated. James stared at her with undisguised hunger, and this man knew it? “You do not know, James,” she said quietly.
That hawk-like gaze sharpened, and his lips curled. “James, is it?”
“Yes, James…Lord Kingsley, he is my friend.” Poppy lifted her chin. “He has honor. If he made you a promise to marry your daughter, he will honor that promise, even at the cost of his own happiness.” She glanced at the contract he had waved before her. “He will not break or dishonor that promise. Ever. It is against his character as a gentleman to do so. If you are overly concerned about the earl keeping his promise, I urge you to pay him a visit and discuss it in a gentleman-like manner.”
Mr. Winters stared at her for a long time, and Poppy did not wilt under his hard scrutiny but lifted her chin and held his regard. A glint of admiration entered his hardened eyes.
“I understand the appeal,” he finally murmured before bowing, donning his hat and walked away.
Poppy dropped without any form of grace into the sofa and buried her face in her hands. “Oh, James.” It shocked her to feel the wetness on her face.
They had never stood a chance. All the dreams blooming in her heart, the bubbling love, and the hope that if she waited until he was ready to marry, he might choose her vanished like ashes in the wind. It hurt. Deeply. For she had fallen in love with him, and despite knowing better, had dreamed such dreams of being his lover…his wife…his countess. Silly, I am beyond silly.
James had woken this morning with the knowledge he could not marry Miss Vinnette Winters, and he would have to break the oath his brother made. It had gutted him, but the thought of breaking Poppy’s heart destroyed him. If he had to choose between his honor…between Henry’s honor and Poppy, his choice was clear.
It had shocked him that he could be so certain that he loved her beyond honor and consequences. With her by his side, he could face any hurdle, and even if it took years, they would overcome it. He had risen early, engaged in a bout of vigorous boxing with Worsely while James plotted what he could offer Mr. Winters for the dishonor of breaking the oath.
If the man wanted to duel, though it was highly illegal, James would oblige. His thoughts had raced in several directions, and he had decided the only way forward was to visit Winters. Now James sat in the man’s study, awaiting his presence for almost an hour before Mr. Winters entered.
James kept his expression inscrutable as he stared at Mr. Winters.
“You wish to break the agreement,” the man murmured in a dangerous undertone. “I believe that is what I am hearing.”
“Yes,” James said flatly. “My brother, Henry, was desperate when he made this bargain, and I am thankful you were there to help him. It helped us restore several of our estates and kept me on the path I am on now in recovering my inheritance. I cannot honor Henry’s oath to make your daughter the Countess of Kingsley. I have my reasons for it. Upon my honor, I vow that the connection you sought from my family can be maintained without a marriage alliance. While I am not able to marry Miss Winters, the full connections and circumstance of my family will be made available to her when she is ready to come out in society.” James stood, holding the glass of brandy in a tight clasp. “I will also repay the sum you gave my brother. I only asked we draft up an agreement and a reasonable timeframe for me to repay it. I ask for five years.”
A very tight and almost impossible timeframe, but he would work his fingers to the bones if necessary.
Mr. Winters considered him with his cold, piercing green eyes. “I assume this change of heart is because of Miss Poppy Ashford. I understand. Our meeting was brief, but she is a remarkable woman. Fierce. Loyal. Qualities I admire.”
James stiffened, an icy feeling moving through his heart. “You approached Miss Ashford?”
“Yes, I was most interested in knowing why she spent so much time with my daughter’s intended.”
A cold fury blew through James. “You dared?”
Mr. Winters stood, leaned forward, and slammed his hands down on his desk. “When I saw your name mentioned in the scandal sheets with this unknown lady, it surprised me. Since you became aware of the agreement, you have courted no lady, not even taken a mistress to your bed!”
“So you took it upon yourself to spy on me?” James demanded, outraged by the man’s gall. “Who do you think you are…and who do you think I am? You dared to follow and spy on my personal business?”
“I dared, more than once, and I saw how you looked at Miss Ashford!”
“How I look at her is not your goddamn business,” James snapped. “It is not the conduct of a gentleman to approach a lady to speak with her of business she has no knowledge of.”
“And is it the conduct of a gentleman to break his oaths?”
“Yes,” James said quietly. “Especially if the bonds of that oath will see me hurting your daughter who is an innocent. And if it will see me hurting the woman I have fallen in love with.”
At the mention of causing his daughter pain, Winters stiffened.
“I love Miss Ashford, and there is nothing under this sun that can change that. Should I continue on this path and marry your daughter, I would give her my respect and fidelity but not much else. She is deserving of better. You want her to be a countess, to have connections within society. I can help her. My family can help her when she is ready. That I can swear to and fulfill.”
Winters fisted his hands at his side. “I will sue you.”
James stared at him, a hollow pit opening inside. He had known the risk of this when he ventured here, and he was willing to assume it. “If you must. I will meet you in court and let them be the judge of our situation. I was not bound to complete the promise Henry made. I did so because I still had your money. I am now offering to repay that money…with interest and still be a connection for your daughter when she is ready. That is a fair and honorable bargain.”