“You would make him do that?” Mr. Morgan asked. “He has worked his whole life for that title.”
“He has worked his whole life to give his children a better chance than he had.” By this point, enough people were close by that he had to hiss the words under his breath to the Morgans. He extracted his arm from Miss Morgan’s. “And if you speak one more word of this in front of anyone here tonight, I will personally guarantee that whether my father takes his title or not, I will never take mine.”
Miss Morgan’s face scrunched up and went red. How had he ever found her attractive? Her jaw tightened, and she put both her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth to speak, but Mr. Morgan reached for her elbow and stopped her. “Of course, we won’t speak of it tonight. This is your father’s evening. But you may expect us tomorrow at four. We can arrange the engagement then.”
“There will be no engagement,” Patience burst out. Anthony coughed loudly to cover her words from the onlookers who were edging ever closer. “These two have no agreement.”
“We will see about that tomorrow,” Mr. Morgan said. Then he leaned forward and placed his mouth near Anthony’s ear. “My daughter’s honor is my honor. If you do not agree to an engagement tomorrow, I will have no choice but to call you out.”
The Morgans swept away from them.
All the elation of the previous hour had fled. Of all the complications Anthony had foreseen, this wasn’t one of them. Had Mr. Morgan threatened a duel? There was no way he could let this escalate to such proportions. He needed to prove to Mr. Morgan that his daughter was the one to cry off. If he would have known this would be such a danger, he would have begged Harrington to wait to announce anything about his father’s ascension into the peerage until he and Patience were safely wed.
Patience’s hand went back around his arm. “I’m not afraid of a scandal.” Patience didn’t seem the slightest perturbed by what had just happened. “The fact that I have made it this far without one is miraculous.”
“I did pursue her for two years.”
“But you never had an understanding.”
“No, but all of London was waiting for one. I wish I would have seen earlier what she was.” Anthony was careful to keep his voice calm. Who knew what Patience would do if she heard about Mr. Morgan’s not-so-subtle threat? “But at a minimum, I need to meet with her family tomorrow.”
Patience narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you dare agree to marry her.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Promise me. Promise me you won’t agree to marry her.”
“Trust me.”
“That isn’t a promise. I know how half-truths work, Anthony.”
“I’m very good at getting what I want, Patience.” Anthony pulled her deeper into the shadows and slid a ringlet between his finger and thumb. It was all he dared to do, but he wanted to do so much more. “There is a time and place for your bravery and recklessness. I love it. I need it in my life like I need air. I don’t think I was truly living before you barged your way through my hedges and into my world. But right now, calm calculations are what we need. Please trust me on this.” Anthony was almost certain Mr. Morgan was bluffing about a duel, but he would much rather not have to call that bluff.
“I will, but if I find out she or her parents have pressured you into a marriage, I will tell all of London I lived under your roof for the better part of a month, and you will be forced to marry me instead.”
He smiled. Patience wasn’t lying. She never lied, and the recklessness and impropriety of her plan was part of the reason he loved her. But he couldn’t allow her to do such a thing. Not to save him from his own stupidity. He would marry Patience, but not under a cloud of scandal. He had to find that letter.
Chapter 23
Patience paced back and forth in front of the window of their drawing room. Nicholas had gone to see if there was anything he could do to help the situation with Anthony before the Morgans arrived at his home. She should never have allowed him to leave without her. But he had convinced her she shouldn’t be seen in the Woodsworths’ home yet. They still hadn’t figured out what to do about all the servants.
At a quarter to four, she was ready to order a hansom cab and go to the Woodsworths’ home on her own. As she was putting on her coat, she heard a clamor of horses stop in front of their home.
She didn’t wait for Nicholas to come inside but met him as he descended from the carriage. He was alone, and he wasn’t smiling.
“How is he?”
Nicholas didn’t answer.
“He isn’t going to get engaged to that Morgan woman, is he? I won’t allow it.”
“His honor and yours is at stake.”
“We don’t care about that.”
“You don’t care about that. The Woodsworth family has risen from nothing. They have worked very hard for every honor they have.”
“So he is going to marry her?” Patience couldn’t believe it. She thought they had an agreement. He knew he would never be happy with Miss Morgan.
“He is hoping not to.”
“Mr. Woodsworth is going into that room right now with the Morgans only hoping not to engage himself to that woman? He doesn’t have a plan?”
“He had one. It didn’t work out. He has torn apart his whole house looking for a letter.”
“A letter? What letter?”
“Supposedly Miss Morgan wrote to him to relieve him of any obligation to her almost three months ago. His memories of that evening are a bit . . . hazy. I believe it has something to do with you. He never truly answered, but he is certain he didn’t burn it, and yet he didn’t file it away either. He has torn the whole house apart looking for it.”
The world, which had been spinning ever since Miss Morgan had found them in the ballroom, stilled.
“Did he say which day he lost it?”
“No.”
“What made you think I had anything to do with the loss of that letter?”
“He kept saying things like, ‘I was sitting at my desk, and then Patience came in . . .’ and then he would stop.”
Heavens above, that was the evening she had kissed Anthony. Her breath came lighter, and the weight that had settled into her stomach lifted. She knew where that letter was. “What time is it?”
“Five to four.”
“Go get Mama. We are going to the Woodsworths’.”
Nicholas furrowed his eyebrows. “You cannot go there. The servants would recognize you immediately. Why, have you thought of something?”