“Of course not. Our intention is to find lodgings for rent in a more agreeable part of town while we work on increasing our savings. In time we’ll hopefully manage to purchase a property of our own if we combine our funds.” He knew he was making suggestions he’d not had a chance to discuss with Charlotte yet, so he gave her a quick glance to gauge her reaction and was instantly put at ease by the brilliant smile she gave him.
“I think that’s an excellent plan,” she whispered.
He rather agreed. They both wanted to live somewhere in the countryside, but neither could afford it on their own. Together, however, he was sure they would be able to do so in a few years considering she was as hardworking as he. Yet another benefit of getting married to this remarkable woman, the other one being the days he would spend in her company and the nights they’d enjoy in bed.
“And if I protest?” Lord Elkins asked in a low tone.
Blayne’s muscles tightened with sudden swiftness, not because he cared one whit for Lord Elkins’s blessing, but because of the hurt he saw in Charlotte’s eyes. It infuriated him that anyone should make her feel less deserving than she was, that this man would dare to cause her additional pain when he had to know the situation was already difficult enough as it was.
Before he could say as much however, she spoke up. “You have the right to withhold your blessing. I certainly cannot prevent you from doing so. But what would be the point, except to show displeasure? I would still have to marry Mr. MacNeil in order to lessen the scandal that’s bound to arise when the Mayfair Chronicle journalist prints his story. So, if this is the course you wish to take, then understand this: I shall never forgive you for being so hateful and you will never see me again after today, which means you’ll have no relationship with the grandchildren I may give you.”
Stunned by the length to which she meant to go if her father didn’t support their union, Blayne held his tongue and waited to see how the viscount would respond. It was all he could do without undermining her threat.
Instead of addressing his daughter, however, Lord Elkins gave Blayne a stare intended to strip the meat from a man’s bones. “This is your doing, you good for nothing cur. I’d like to run you through with my sword until—”
“Right,” Charlotte said, her voice clipped. She stood, forcing Blayne and her father out of their seats. “You clearly have no intention of trying to welcome Mr. MacNeil into the family or of wishing us happy.”
“You were always my most practical daughter, Charlotte. How the hell could you let this happen?”
She managed a wan smile and said, “It was rather simple really. I fell in love.”
Turning away, she started toward the door. The pull of her hand on Blayne’s forced him to follow her out, which he did with a swift, “Good day, sir,” directed at Lord Elkins.
“I need to gather some things,” Charlotte said when they returned to the foyer. Her voice shook.
“Are ye sure this is how ye wish to proceed, lass?”
She gave a tight nod. “If Papa can’t accept you or give his support, then I don’t see how he and I can ever hope to have a cordial relationship again.”
“Ye’re hurting, Charlotte, and that’s normal, but cutting ties with yer family is—”
“Not with my family, Blayne, just with him.”
“Nevertheless. Once ye step over that threshold it’s hard to come back.”
“I know, which is why it’s so bloody hard, but I cannot love you as much as I do and also accept his lack of approval. Blayne, he tried to sell me to Mr. Cooper and now he’s withholding his blessing out of spite. What sort of man does that to his daughter?”
“I suppose ye do have a point.”
“Yes, I rather believe I do.”
Ignoring the butler who’d arrived while they’d been speaking, Blayne wrapped one arm around Charlotte’s waist, pulled her flush up against him, and gave her a thorough kiss. “Do ye ken how terrifying ye can be when ye’re angry?”
She kissed him back. “Not enough to frighten you away, I hope.”
“Never,” he murmured, and kissed her again before adding respectable distance once more. “I’m going to have Guthrie send one of his carriages over along with a couple of footmen to help.”
“That really isn’t—”
He silenced her with a finger to her lips. “Ye’ll nae leave here by hackney, Charlotte. From now on, we do things properly, which means ye’ll be visiting with the Windhams until ye and I are properly wed.”
“But they’ve no idea I’ll be coming, Blayne. We cannot impose on them like this. I’m really not comfortable with it.”
“Would ye rather stay here?”
“No. I would rather go back to The Black Swan with you.”
“And so ye shall. As Mrs. MacNeil. Not a moment sooner.” When she frowned, he told her, “Ye’ve nae need to worry. Regina’s a lovely lass.”
“I know. I’ve met her on a few occasions.”
“And Guthrie’s not so bad himself. The important thing is they’ll welcome ye with open arms. Of that I can assure ye.”
Blayne wasn’t wrong. When Charlotte arrived at Windham house later that day, Regina met her with a warm smile.
“Your Grace,” Charlotte said once she’d handed over her outerwear garments, and she had been shown into the parlor. “Thank you so much for allowing me to visit on such short notice. I’m terribly grateful.”
“I appreciate the company,” the duchess told her. She gestured for Charlotte to take a seat on a sofa in front of a low table where a tea service stood at the ready. “And really, you must call me Regina. You and I have known each other long enough to allow for such informality, especially if you and Blayne are to be married. He’s practically family, so it would be odd for me to be on familiar terms with him and not with you. As long as you do not mind, of course.”
“No,” Charlotte said with a laugh of relief, “I do not mind at all. I’d be happy for you to call me Charlotte.”
“Excellent.” Regina proceeded to pour two cups of steaming hot tea.
“From what I gather, I owe you a debt of gratitude for finding another suitable bride for Mr. Cooper.”
Regina handed Charlotte her cup. “Think nothing of it. Lady Fiona was getting desperate and as an earl’s daughter, she does make an agreeable option for an untitled foreigner.”
“I hope she and Mr. Cooper will be happy together.”
“I’m sure their expectations shall be met.” Regina smiled. “You’ve chosen well for yourself, you know. Of course there will be those who won’t understand what a gentlewoman can possibly see in a St. Giles ruffian, just like they still cannot fathom how an earl’s daughter could marry a crime lord, even though he may now be a duke. Such people are fools, of course. They only see what’s on the surface while subscribing to what the papers and gossips tell them. For as with my husband, a heart of gold beats beneath Blayne’s coarse exterior, and although he may have the sort of dark past the law would protest, he is honorable and noble in a way few people are.”