Ainsley’s eyes filled with tears and she whispered, “I think I love him. I think I love him a lot.”
Cecelia patted her hand. “I know you do.”
***
Marcus entered his father’s study, surprised to see Lord Phineas, the Duke of Robinsworth, and Allen all in the same room. “What did I miss?” Marcus asked as he walked in and sat down.
“We have a bit of a problem,” the duke said.
“It’s not a problem. I’m going to marry her,” Marcus rushed to say. “As soon as her father will let me.”
The duke raised his brow and smirked. “We weren’t referring to your love life, though if you’d like to discuss that, I suppose we could.”
“Oh.” Marcus wanted to bite his tongue. “Then to what are we referring?”
“The Earl of Mayden is back in Town,” the duke said.
Marcus had met the earl the prior year, in a violent altercation with Lord Phineas, and the man was dangerous. And he was determined to hurt someone. He should have been stopped back then, but no one had been able to find him for more than a year.
“He’s in London?” Marcus asked.
“He has been here for more than a month,” Lord Phineas said. “All that time we were in the land of the fae, he was right here.”
A shiver crawled up Marcus’s spine. The earl could have harmed any one of their loved ones. “Why hasn’t he made his presence known? Perhaps he has turned over a new leaf?”
The duke snorted. “He was courting someone and has recently married. She’s a young American chit who just came over from Boston. Her father is incredibly wealthy and wanted her to marry a title. He didn’t particularly care how impoverished it was.”
“Or how corrupt it was?” Lord Phineas asked.
“This American he married, she’s innocent in all of this,” Marcus reminded them.
“Mayden can be charming when he chooses to be,” the duke said. “He’s slippery, too. And now he’s back, has adequate funds, and has been seen at White’s and at the track. He’s spending money hand over fist. And he’s also taken a mistress in Town.”
“And his wife hasn’t killed him yet?”
“They don’t do it that way here, Marcus,” his father reminded him. “It’s not uncommon for a man to take a mistress, even after he’s married.”
Marcus couldn’t imagine ever wanting anyone but Cecelia.
“His wife, and her father, for that matter, were charmed by his title. They don’t know what they’re dealing with. We’re the only ones who know,” his father reminded him.
“So he has restored his place in society now.”
“He’s respectable in every sense of the word,” Allen said.
“So, what do we do?”
“What do you all want to do?” his father asked. “Do we wait for him to strike? Or do we try to force his hand?”
“I vote that we invite him and his new wife to the wedding celebration,” Lord Phineas suggested. “There’s no easier way to tell if he’s turned over a new leaf. He’ll show up and pretend nothing has happened, or he’ll show up with demands about the fae, or he’ll not show up at all.”
“He has something to hold over all our heads.”
“Who would believe him?” the duke scoffed. “The idea that winged people live and work among the ton? It’s ridiculous.”
“He doesn’t know about wings. Or faeries. All he knows is that Claire was somehow able to shove him into a painting. But he was more than a bit mad that day. He may not even remember it.” Lord Phineas shook his head. “You should have seen the look on his face. Before he tried to shoot Claire, his eyes were empty.”
“So, what will we do?” Marcus asked.