‘No.’ He sat back in his chair. ‘Glenville said he’d marry you and that will resolve matters nicely, with the minimum of scandal tainting my marriage.’
‘Your marriage? Why should what happened to me taint your marriage?’ she countered.
‘It adds scandal to my wife’s name,’ he said. ‘Your mother and father’s carnal excesses are bad enough. I’ll not tolerate more...’ He shook his head. ‘Stranded in a storm! Hmmph!’
She glared at him. ‘You know it is true, sir.’
He waved her words away. ‘You will marry Glenville and that is the final word.’
Her insides felt shredded, but she made herself lift her chin. ‘What has Mr Glenville to say to this?’
Tinmore’s mouth moved against his gums, an old man’s gesture. ‘Mr Glenville knows his duty. He made the offer.’
‘No.’ Her entire body began to shake. ‘He does not wish to marry me. I cannot marry a man who does not wish to marry me.’
‘He may not wish it.’ Lord Tinmore smirked. ‘But he’ll do it. As will you.’
‘You cannot force this marriage on him. Or on me!’ she cried.
‘Glenville made the offer. It is up to you to accept or not.’ He leaned forward. ‘But understand this. For you there will be no dowry, no Season.’
His words were a blow.
She swallowed the pain. And loss.
She lifted her chin. ‘If you choose to break your bargain with my sister, it is no concern of mine.’
He worked his mouth as if unable to form words.
He finally spoke. ‘If you do not marry Mr Glenville, I will also withdraw all funds and support from your sister Genna and your by-blow of a brother. Your sister will not have a dowry and your brother will not see a penny of mine.’
She felt the blood drain from her face. ‘You would not be so cruel.’
He stared her directly in the eye. ‘You will marry Mr Glenville after all, will you not?’
She fixed her gaze on Lord Tinmore and would not allow her voice to show her utter defeat. ‘For my sisters’ and brother’s sakes, I have no choice. I will marry Mr Glenville.’
‘Excellent!’ Lord Tinmore clapped. ‘Tomorrow I will send you with him to London in my carriage.’
‘Tomorrow!’
‘I want you out of sight of my guests. Once they know you are to be married, the talk will disappear. By the time I bring my wife and your younger sister to London, all will be forgotten.’
He was sending her away. She’d already lost so much. Her mother. Her father. Her home. Now she was to lose her sisters, as well.
And to be married to a man who would undoubtedly resent her and detest having been trapped into marriage with her.
* * *
As soon as Tess left Tinmore, she hurried to the morning room, but Mr Glenville was not there. If only she could speak with him. There must be some way out of this.
She waited there an hour, pacing back and forth. Finally a footman opened the door and told her Lord Tinmore wished her to return to her room. She was not to come to dinner with her sisters and the house-party guests. She was expected to remain in her room.
And she was forbidden to seek out Mr Glenville.
The next morning, Tess walked through the cavernous house, her sisters at her side. They made their way to the front door where Lord Tinmore’s carriage and Mr Glenville would await her. One of the Tinmore maids, whom she did not know, was to accompany her to London, but return with the carriage.
Lorene had been scolding her every step of the way. ‘I gave you the chance to choose who to marry and look what you do.’
Perhaps it was too much to hope that her sister would take her part against her husband.
Tess was beyond defending herself, in any event. She was sick with grief and trepidation. This was the very worst way to be married. Not out of love. Not even for status or financial gain. Mr Glenville was forced to marry her because he’d rescued her in the rain and taken her to a cabin to keep warm and dry.
If only she had been able to talk with him. Why had he not waited for her in the morning room?
Tess could not believe she would walk through Tinmore Hall’s great door into a new life among people she did not know, in a place she’d never been before.
Genna had been in tears the whole morning. ‘Why do you have to leave now?’ She sniffed. ‘Why can you not come to London when we go there?’
‘It is better this way.’ Tess was determined that her sisters not know how devastated she felt. ‘Besides, I will see you in London in just a few weeks.’ Although she had no assurances that Lord Tinmore would allow it. He might forbid her to call. Her sisters might be totally lost to her, as well.
Lorene had been so wrong about the reclusive earl. He was not reasonable. Nor benevolent. He went back on promises and wielded his power in the cruellest possible way. He had better not treat Lorene with cruelty or Tess would—
What could she do?
Nothing.
‘You were supposed to marry happily,’ Lorene went on. ‘Now what was the use of my—my—’ She could not say the words, but Tess knew—they all knew—what she meant.
They reached the hall. The arsenal of swords and pikes and other weapons hung on the wall surrounding the door seemed like a harbinger of pain and destruction.
She turned to Lorene. ‘I will do very well, Lorene. I will be a viscountess some day. How grand will that be?’
‘You will become like Mama,’ Lorene rasped through her tears. ‘You will be unhappy.’
She hugged Lorene. ‘Do not concern yourself about me.’
Lorene held on to her. ‘I meant something so different for you. A London Season. A chance to meet many fine young men, a chance to find your own true love.’
‘I will still be there for the Season, will I not?’ She pasted on a smile. ‘Genna will have more fine young men to fall in love with her this way.’
‘Do not look to me.’ Genna wiped her eyes. ‘I wanted nothing to do with this.’ She turned to Lorene. ‘This is your fault, you know. None of this would have happened if you had not married, Lorene.’
‘I did it for you.’ Lorene burst into tears. ‘For both of you.’
‘Stop. Stop.’ Tess could not bear this. ‘We must not fight and, for heaven’s sake, do not cry. I will be fine. Mr Glenville is not a bad man. He rescued me, did he not? His proposal of marriage was honourable, was it not? I will do very well, I am sure.’
She hoped she convinced them, because she was having a great deal of difficulty convincing herself that all would be well.
The huge front door opened and a footman stepped in. ‘The carriage is awaiting you, miss.’
Tess’s heart jumped into her throat. ‘I must leave.’
Her sisters followed her outside.
Tess looked past the carriage to the man on horseback—Mr Glenville astride his horse. Apollo.
‘Is that him?’ Genna asked.