The Bad Luck Bride (The Brides of St. Ives #1)(38)
“I am. He is Patricia Flemings’s brother.” The very same Patricia Flemings Lord Northrup was purported to be in love with. For a brief moment, Alice drew her brows together. She’d thought Northrup had run away and married Patricia. Obviously, she was wrong on that account.
“Porter approached me with some information about Suzy.” He closed his eyes as if speaking of this information was painful to discuss. Northrup adored his younger sister and Alice knew he would move mountains in an effort to please her. Suzy was a spoiled little thing whose every whim Northrup indulged. “Our families have been close, so I had no reason to doubt him and later found what he told me was the truth. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that the information Porter had would have ruined Suzy’s life.” He pressed his lips together, clearly distressed. “He threatened to expose Suzy unless I agreed to marry his sister, Patricia, who had troubles of her own.”
“What sort of troubles?”
“The sort that require a husband,” Northrup said darkly. “At any rate, I agreed. Stupidly, I know. Porter made me swear not to say a word. He wanted everyone to believe I was in love with Patricia and forbade me to warn you about our elopement.”
Even though Alice was livid, hearing those words caused the blood to drain from her head. “So you did marry her,” she said softly.
“No, I did not.”
“I don’t understand.”
Lord Northrup moved over to where she sat and knelt beside her, taking one cold hand in his. “You know I would do anything to protect Suzy. She’s my sister. I was half mad knowing what you were going through and unable to do anything to stop it. You must understand, Suzy’s life would have been ruined, any hope she had of marrying would have been completely eliminated. I could not let that happen. I had to choose, darling. I had to and it was the most difficult decision of my entire life.”
Alice hated that she understood, for she would have done the same if Christina’s life had hung in the balance. Still, it had been weeks since their planned wedding and she hadn’t had a single word from him.
“Why are you here now? What happened?”
Tears filled Northrup’s eyes, and despite herself, Alice felt pity for him. She had been fond of him, after all, and it wasn’t easy to see him so distraught.
“It was all for nothing. You see, Porter was going to expose Suzy’s affair with the piano master. I don’t know how he found out, but Suzy didn’t deny it.” He closed his eyes briefly, forcing the tears down his cheek. “She ran off and married him. Suzy eloped with the bloody piano master.”
“Oh my goodness, my lord, no.” It was terrible news indeed, and despite everything, Alice knew how tragic such an event would be to his family. “When?”
“The day you and I were to be married. I found out that night, thankfully before I hied off to Scotland with Miss Flemings. You cannot know what I’ve gone through since the day Lord Porter came to see me. It was torture.”
No wonder Northrup had acted so strangely the night before their planned wedding. “And it’s taken you all this time to come forward?”
Northrup dipped his head. “I was horrified by it all. My parents wanted to keep what Suzy had done a secret for as long as possible. All her friends believe she is visiting our aunt in Brighton. My father forbade me to tell anyone until we were certain the wedding had taken place. He went after them, but it was too late. It’s destroyed him, our entire family. I still cannot believe Suzy would be so foolish. I know you must hate me and I know I have no right to ask your forgiveness.”
“But you are here to ask it anyway, aren’t you?” Alice said, her tone softer.
He lifted his head and looked at her beseechingly. “I have only the smallest of hopes that you will forgive me. Dear Alice, I have missed you.”
“I don’t hate you,” Alice said, gazing at their still-entwined hands.
“Then dare I hope that you can forgive me? That perhaps we can start anew?”
Alice looked at the man she’d planned to marry and felt nothing. Not even that small admiration and affection she’d once held for him. But her father was correct. Lord Northrup’s story was terrible and believable and she sincerely trusted that he regretted what had happened. It had only been three weeks since she’d stood at the church in her wedding gown, her stomach all aflutter, looking forward to a life with this man. Could she throw away the only future she had?
Unbidden, thoughts of Henderson, his kiss, made Alice even more uncertain. But Henderson hadn’t pledged his love or devotion. He really hadn’t done anything other than kiss her and make her feel things she’d never felt before in her life. Certainly, he hadn’t asked to marry her or requested an audience with her father. And he’d said more than once that kissing her was a mistake. A very stupid and silly mistake, Alice thought, hating that even now, even at this moment when Harvey was kneeling before her with tears falling down his cheeks, all she could think about was Henderson.
Alice forced a small smile. “Perhaps we can.”
“Perhaps you can what?” Henderson stood at the entrance to the library, looking very much like a man on the verge of violence.
*
Henderson had been on his way back to Tregrennar when he’d seen a carriage drive past him, a liver-spotted springer spaniel, tongue lolling happily, hanging out the small window. It could only be Cleo, Richard Hubbard’s constant companion, which meant Lord Hubbard was on his way home.