Never Courted, Suddenly Wed (Scandalous Seasons #2)(21)

“Stuff it.” Christopher drained the remaining contents of his glass. He set it down upon the table next to him. “I need help. I no more want marriage to Miss Winters than she wants to marry me.” His jaw hardened. He’d be damned if he gave in to his father’s demands. The old marquess could go straight to the devil with his plans for Christopher and Phi.

“You do realize what you’re asking could create much difficulty between myself and my mother and sister?”

Christopher had considered that. “I’m not asking you to spend the entire Season courting her. Just several outings to deter her brother.”

“And deter your father.”

Christopher nodded. “Correct.”

Mallen arched a single brow. “How does he intend to force your hand?”

Christopher shifted in his seat. “He threatened to cut off my allowance if I don’t offer for the lady.” He couldn’t manage to humble himself with all the embarrassing details.

Mallen made a sound of disapproval. “Hardly the thing, trying to force a man’s hand.”

Christopher couldn’t agree more. He used Mallen’s sympathy to press for the other bachelor’s support. “My father, however, can’t lay blame at my feet if Miss Winters rejects my suit.”

Mallen sighed.

“Mallen…”

“I’m considering it, Waxham.”

The duke said nothing for a long while and the longer the stretch of silence grew, the more likely it became that Mallen would say no to Christopher’s outlandish request. It would mean Christopher had failed in his scheming. It would mean that he had to court Sophie who surely wouldn’t be able to rebuff his offer of marriage. It would mean his Athena in the library would be forever lost to him; before he’d even gathered the young lady’s identity. More than that, it would mean that his father had yet again won.

Mallen finally spoke. “Why do I feel there is more to your request, Waxham? That you’ve come to me out of more than your desire to preserve your allowance?”

Again, Athena’s teasing smile surfaced on the fringe of his memory, taunting him. “There isn’t. There isn’t,” he repeated at his friend’s incredulous expression.

“If I didn’t feel this great sense of guilt about Emmaline throwing you over for the Marquess of Drake, I wouldn’t even begin to contemplate this foolhardy scheme.” Mallen set his glass down on his desk. “I must be mad.”

Christopher scrambled forward in his chair. “You’ll do it?”

A frown twisted Mallen’s lips. “Only with the greatest reluctance.”

Relief surged in Christopher’s chest. “I’m indebted to you.”

“Oh, you most certainly are,” Mallen said. He jabbed a finger in Christopher’s direction. “If Miss Winters begins to express feelings where I’m concerned, then this foolishness is at an end. Is that clear?”

Christopher nodded. “Abundantly,” he added when Mallen looked ready to protest.

A beleaguered sigh escaped the duke. “Is there anything I should know about the lady?”

It was on the tip of Christopher’s tongue to say Sophie Winters was nothing less than a termagant who’d tortured him during his boyhood years but that no longer rang true. “She’s a lovely young lady. She’s…” He searched his mind. “Very sweet and docile.”

A snort escaped Mallen. “You forget we’ve been friends since Eton. I remember the time of it Miss Winters gave you over the years.”

“She was just a girl.” Christopher’s protest sounded half-hearted to his own ears. “And you probably know a good deal more about Sophie than I do. She’s been friends with your sister since they made their come out.”

Before Mallen reconsidered, Christopher shoved himself to his feet. “I owe you a good deal. I’ll send around a bottle of my finest brandy.”

“You certainly owe me more than a bottle of brandy,” Mallen muttered.

Christopher grinned. “I’ll return the favor should you ever require it.”

Mallen folded his arms across his chest, looking altogether very ducal in his unyielding posture and presence. “Rest assured, someday I do intend to collect more than a bottle of brandy.”

Christopher inclined his head. “I’m grateful, Mallen.”

Mallen tilted his chin toward the doorway. “Go now, before I change my mind.”

Christopher hurried out of the room, with a greater sense of optimism than he’d felt since his father had issued his decree on Christopher’s marital status.

He whistled his way out the front doors of Mallen’s townhouse. With a lighter heart, he took Intrepid’s reins from the waiting servant and climbed on his horse’s back. He gave a slight nudge to his black mare and they moved into a trot. At this ungodly hour, Hyde Park would be blessedly empty. He could allow Intrepid, to run freely.

Christopher reached Hyde Park. As he guided the mare down a quiet riding path, he considered his meeting with Mallen. Going over to the duke’s, Christopher had been so very confident in his plan. Sophie wanted to wed Christopher even less than he wanted to marry her. Why, a union between them would be a comedy of errors best reserved for the stage. Only now, the reservations voiced by his friend danced around his mind.