Geoffrey leaned back against his desk and smiled. “Because in precisely one fortnight you will become Captain Barrett’s wife.”
“His what?” Alex gasped.
“His wife.” Lord Sudsbury regarded his stunned daughter impassively. “Oh, come now, Alexandria. Surely you are not that shocked by the consequence of your adventure.”
“I certainly am.” Twin spots of color burned in her cheeks, as fury and disbelief threatened to envelope her. “Father, I cannot… will not … marry Drake Barrett!”
“Oh, I assure you, my dear, you can and you will.”
“But why? Why? I’ve done nothing to be ashamed of, nothing that could damage my reputation to such a degree that it would drive you to take such a drastic measure.” There was pain in her broken question, pain and hurt.
Geoffrey was unmoved. “This measure is hardly drastic, Alexandria. Drastic is an impetuous young woman stealing away aboard a ship without the permission of her parents or the presence of a proper chaperon and expecting there to be no ramifications of her actions. That is drastic.”
“And so I am to be punished by being married off to the first available man?”
“Not to just any man, Alexandria, to the man who has compromised you.”
“But we’ve done nothing!”
/> Geoffrey shrugged. “That may or may not be so. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the world it matters not whether you are innocent or guilty. The fact that you were with Captain Barrett on his ship for all these weeks is damning enough. To anyone of significance you are indeed a fallen woman.”
“And who is ‘anyone of significance,’ Father?” Alex’s anger was back. “Your precious ton? Those immoral, judgmental, tongue-wagging gossips who have nothing better to do with their time than to discuss the lives of others and determine their acceptability or lack thereof even as they themselves are being similarly dissected by other upstanding members of our class?”
“Enough of your impudence, daughter!” Lord Sudsbury would be pushed just so far. “Despite your low opinion of our peers, they are in a position to destroy you and, ultimately, me. So cease your tirade at once! On the twenty-seventh of June in this very house you will take the vows that bind you to Drake Barrett for good or for ill!”
Both father and daughter had voiced their anger loud enough for anyone on the first floor of the manor to hear. Fortunately the argument was not overheard by the servants, as most of them were occupied elsewhere in the spacious home. Unfortunately, it was overheard by the dark-haired man who stood in the hallway just outside Geoffrey’s study.
Drake had risen early after a fitful sleep and headed to the governor’s home to see Alexandria. He had hoped to soften the blow and ease what he knew would be her furious, shocked reaction to the news of their betrothal. When he arrived, the same unfriendly butler informed him that Lord Sudsbury and Lady Alexandria were “unavailable”, and that Drake would have to wait. Alone in the hallway, Drake heard Alex’s angry voice, and frankly curious, he remained to listen.
Alex’s mind was working frantically. She realized that there might be no way out, that she was trapped. Her father was unyielding in his decision, unaffected by her pleas or her anger. And all because the damned beau monde would blanch over her unseemly conduct. Well, what about their inevitable reaction when they learned that Lord Sudsbury’s only daughter was married to a lowly sea captain?
Alex grasped wildly at her last hope.
“If the opinion of the ton is of such importance, then surely it is necessary for me to make what they consider a suitable match, Father. After all, it wouldn’t do for the only daughter of the Earl of Sudsbury to marry just anybody, now, would it?” Her tone was challenging, her gaze triumphant.
For some reason Geoffrey seemed to find her statement amusing.
“That is quite true, daughter.”
Alex played her trump card. “Then how can you possibly allow me to marry a man who is so far beneath us? A man who can offer me no family name, no great wealth, nothing but poverty and a transient life at sea? Surely a slightly soiled reputation is far better than a lifetime with such a man, is it not, Father?”
For one moment Geoffrey’s eyes glittered with some emotion that Alex could not assess. Then he merely met her stare with his own. “The situation is of your own creation, daughter. And now you must pay the price of your indiscretion. I suggest you begin to make your wedding plans. I will have a dressmaker come to your room to fit you for a suitable gown. A fortnight from this day you will cease to be my responsibility and become your husband’s.” He paused. “I suggest that you attempt to curb your reckless impulsiveness once you are wed. Drake Barrett does not seem to be the sort of man who would tolerate such nonsense from his wife.”
Drake Barrett. The reality of the situation struck her all at once: she was going to be married to Drake Barrett. The man who had unraveled all of her senses, left them raw and unsettled; the man who aroused her, thrilled her, infuriated her, patronized her, and reached deep inside her soul—that same man was going to be her husband.
She suddenly felt giddy.
“How did Captain Barrett take this unexpected piece of news?” she asked carefully.
“Why not ask him yourself, princess?” The familiar, resonant voice came from the doorway behind her, and Alex spun around in surprise. Drake’s face was a mask of non-emotion, but Alex recognized the furious gleam in his eyes. Her heart sank. He was livid.
Geoffrey greeted Drake casually. “Well, good morning, Captain Barrett. Please join us. We were just discussing the plans for your wedding.”
“So I heard.” He moved to where Alex was standing, but did not meet her questioning eyes. His features were carved in granite, his lips tightly set, and the muscle that worked in his jaw bespoke his anger. “Let us make the arrangements and be done with it.” It was an order, coldly issued.
Alex wanted to sink through the floor and die. Not only was she being discarded by her father, she was being given to a man who resented the idea of marriage more than she did. Of course, there was one thing he definitely would not resent having—her body. Well, damn it, if he expected her to meekly submit to his demands without receiving any tenderness in return, he had a big surprise in store for him. Drake Barrett would whistle before she gave herself to him, marriage or not.
Drake noted Alex’s rigid stance and wondered if she was reacting to the idea of becoming his wife or to his cold treatment. He couldn’t forget the scathing words he had just overheard her speak of what marriage to him would mean, or could he overlook the pain that her comments had caused him. And lashing out was the only way he could master the inexplicable feelings she aroused in him, feelings that made him weak.