Loving a Fearless Duchess: A Historical Regency Romance Book(24)

“Well, this is your party. What can I do for you?” Avery said.

“It’s Henry. I have had several run-ins with him the past few weeks. They have been in public, and he has said things I don’t want to hear and you would not want your friends to hear.”

“Go on,” Avery said.

Nash took a long slow breath. “Last night, I, Penelope, Edward and two friends of ours went to Vauxhall. It was crowded, and yet he didn’t feel the need to lower his voice.

“He started by telling Penelope and me that he would break us up, that you would throw her, Edward, and Cecilia out on the street, and that Penelope would end up a chambermaid.

“I asked him to step aside to finish our conversation in a less travelled area. I asked him why he wanted to break us up.I told him to stop bothering us.”

Nash shrugged as Avery looked into his drink and didn’t move for a long time. “And you say he said those things in public?”

“Yes,” Nash answered.

“With no provocation from you?”

Nash scowled. “Of course not.”

“I’ll talk to the boy,” Avery said.

Nash slumped. “And what, may I ask, are you planning to say?”

Avery grimaced. “I’ll leave that between my son and me.”

Nash grimaced. “Fair enough. Except for the parts where he threatens Penelope and me. Tell me, Avery. Does he really believe he can throw Cecilia, Edward, and Penelope out on the street?”

Avery scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. I would make arrangements for her and her children to live a quiet life in the country.”

Nash raised his eyebrows, “You’re joking.”

Avery shook his head, “No, I’m serious. Dead serious. And yes, I can move them, but not on the street. There are no chamber pots in Penelope’s future.”

“What about Henry and his actions? Are you concerned about them? Are you concerned about the things he speaks of in public? Are you concerned he threatens Penelope and me in public?

Avery swallowed the remainder of his drink and put the empty glass on the table. “Look, Nash. I’ll speak to him, but I’m sure you have learned in life that people interpret things in different ways. What to you might sound like a threat may seem like something benign to someone else, even a bystander not familiar with the context of a conversation. Lots can be explained by putting a snippet of a conversation in context.”

Nash rose, followed by Avery. “Thank you for coming. I’m very happy we could have this talk. Things are much clearer to me.”

Avery stuck out his hand for Nash to shake. While they were shaking hands, Avery said, “I’m glad we had this conversation, also. I’m especially glad things are much clearer for you.”

Nash walked Avery out to the foyer. “See you at the ball?”

Avery turned to Nash, “You will.”

Their conversation was officially over.

***

“So help me, Henry … if you don’t get a handle on yourself and them, you are going to ruin it all,” said Avery when Henry strolled into his office.

Henry stopped short and looked at his father, “What?” His arms were near his hips, palms out.

Avery sat. “Nash was here complaining that you were talking at Vauxhall for the entire world to hear about me throwing my own family out on the street. Is that true? Did you threaten them to be homeless?”

Henry sat with an exaggerated thump. What was he supposed to say? He sputtered, “No, of course not. Why would I say such a thing, at Vauxhall no less?”

Avery leaned forward on his desk and gave Henry a deadly stare, “If one of my peers thought for one minute that I would throw my sister and her family on the street, do you have any idea the damage to my reputation that might cause?”

Henry squirmed in his chair and looked out the window. His voice squeaked. “Of course, I do. I would never be so stupid as to say such a thing. I’ve only been trying to break them up, as we agreed.”

Avery crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. “How are you attempting to break them up?”

Henry sat back, trying to appear as if he wasn’t scared to death inside. He and his father never talked about how to break them up. Just to break them up.

“I am with him whenever they are together, getting between them. They aren’t able to enjoy one minute of time alone without me coming to them and sitting there. It’s impossible for them to get to know one another more.

“He’ll get tired of looking at her ugly face and trying to court her. The women that try to get his attention in the ballroom will start looking very attractive to him soon.”

The answer Henry gave seemed to calm Avery down. Henry didn’t open his mouth again, afraid that Avery would jump all over him.

Avery put his elbows on the armrests of his chair to steeple his fingers. “I think it’s time to find a young man for Penelope so I can marry her off. I’ll make the arrangements, and she’ll have to live with them. That will put an end to my worries with Nash.

“I think you are right, Henry. Nash will move on and find an excellent partner from the field of girls who want to be his wife.”

***





Chapter 9


Curiously, Kitty and Isabel hadn’t had any luck finding the right gentleman. When Penelope asked Edward why he thought that might be the case, he said that besides beauty, most gentlemen wanted a woman with substance.