Scandal in Spring (Wallflowers #4)(69)

As soon as Matthew approached the morning room, a maid offered to bring him a breakfast tray out to the back terrace if he so desired. Since it promised to be a beautiful day, Matthew accepted the offer readily.

Sitting at one of the outside tables, he watched the progress of a small brown hare hopping along the carefully tended grounds.

His quiet contemplation was interrupted by the sound of the french doors opening. Glancing up expectantly, Matthew saw that instead of the maid with the breakfast tray, it was the considerably less welcome sight of Lillian Bowman. He groaned inwardly, knowing at once that Westcliff had told her about his betrothal to Daisy.

However, it seemed the earl must have exerted some calming influence on his wife. Not that Lillian looked happy, of course…but Matthew took it as a good sign that she wasn’t approaching him with an ax in hand.Yet.

Lillian made a motion for him to remain in his chair as she approached. He stood anyway.

Lillian’s face was set and her voice was controlled as she said, “There’s no need to look at me as if I were a descending plague of Egypt. I am capable of rational discourse on occasion. May I have a word with you?”

She sat before he could help her with the chair.

Regarding her warily, Matthew reoccupied his own chair and waited for her to speak. Despite the tension-fraught atmosphere, he almost smiled as he reflected he had often seen the same expression on Thomas Bowman’s face. Lillian was bullishly determined to have her way, yet she was mindful of the fact that a shouting match, no matter how satisfying, would accomplish nothing.

“You and I are both aware,” Lillian said with forced composure, “that even though I can’t stop this blighted marriage from happening, I can make the proceedings quite unpleasant for everyone. Especially you.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Matthew’s response was completely free of sarcasm. Whatever else he thought of Lillian, he knew her love for Daisy was unimpeachable.

“Then I want to dispense with the cat-footing,” Lillian said, “and have a man-to-man conversation.”

Matthew sternly bit back a smile. “Good,” he replied in an equally businesslike manner. “So do I.” He thought he could possibly come to like Lillian. If nothing else, one always knew where one stood with her.

“The only reason I’m willing to tolerate the idea of you as a brother-in-law,” Lillian continued, “is because my husband seems to think well of you. And I’m willing to take his opinion into consideration. Although he is not infallible.”

“That may be the first time I’ve heard anyone make such a remark about the earl.”

“Yes, well…” Lillian surprised him with a faint smile. “It’s why Westcliff married me. My willingness to regard him as a mere mortal is something of a relief after all the incessant worship.” Her dark eyes, rounder and less exotic than Daisy’s, met his in a searching gaze. “Westcliff asked me to try and be impartial. That’s not easy when my sister’s future hangs in the balance.”

“My lady,” Matthew said earnestly, “if I can give you any assurance that might set your mind at ease—”

“No. Wait. Let me set out my opinion of you first.”

Matthew remained politely silent.

“You have always embodied the worst of my father,” Lillian said. “The coldness, the ambition, the self-centeredness. Except you’re worse because you’re able to disguise it far more adeptly than he does. You’re what my father would have been if he’d been blessed with good looks and a little sophistication. I think that in winning you Daisy must somehow feel she has finally succeeded with Father.” Her brows came together as she continued. “My sister has always compelled to love unlovable creatures…the strays, the misfits. Once she loves someone, no matter how many times they betray or disappoint her, she will take them back with open arms. But you won’t appreciate that any more than Father does. You’ll take what you want, and give her very little in return. And when you inevitably hurt her, I will be the first in a line of people waiting to slaughter you. By the time I finish with you, there won’t be enough left for the others to pick over.”

“So much for impartiality,” Matthew said. He respected her brutal honesty even though he was smarting from it. “May I respond with the same frankness you’ve just shown me?”

“I hope you will.”

“My lady, you don’t know me well enough to assess how much like your father I may or may not be. It’s no crime to be ambitious, particularly when you’ve started with nothing. And I’m not cold, I’m from Boston. Which means I’m not prone to displaying my emotions for all and sundry to see. As far as being self-centered, you have no way of knowing how much I’ve done, if anything, for other people. But I’ll be damned if I recite a list of my past good deeds in hopes of winning your approval.” He leveled a cool stare at her. “Regardless of your opinions, the marriage is going to happen, because both Daisy and I want it. So I have no reason to lie to you. I could say I don’t give a damn about Daisy, and I would still get what I want. But the fact is, I’m in love with her. I have been for a long time.”

“You’ve been secretly in love with my sister for years?” Lillian asked with blistering skepticism. “How convenient.”