Marriage to a Mister (A Daughters of Regency #1) Read Free Page A

they hear. Besides, more than just our room was privy to our drunken antics. The entire club heard."
    Julian snorted. "How would you know? You could not possibly —"
    Charles removed his gloves one at a time, throwing them down on Julian's desk with a slap before sitting. "I know, dear friend, because my wife came into my bedchamber this morning and boxed me about the ears whilst I was still sleeping — a terrible way to wake, mind you — and told me that whilst she'd been out that morning she was congratulated by no fewer than three people asking when the happy occasion was to be held and which of our children were to be married. My wife, being the clever woman she is, escaped without confirming any of the story, only conveying an announcement would be made soon. She instantaneously knew we'd done something foolish and came home to confront me. I confessed to the whole damned thing."
    Julian hung his head and blinked. "This is what young Hamilton was talking about. Why he thought Fleur was betrothed. Good God, you're right. It must be all over London." Julian thought back to his encounter with the boy. His repeated questions on if Fleur was betrothed and to whom. "Charles, no one knows which one of your sons is supposedly marrying one of my daughters? Now that I think about it, Hamilton seemed to be unsure. The boy was almost hysterical."
    "Hamilton? He was here? I assume you refused him."
    Julian nodded, his mouth a grim line as he wondered what they were to do. Two sons and two daughters, none of whom were attached, though two must form a rushed betrothal.
    Julian could not believe his own idiocy. He'd spent years -- years – shooing away men he deemed inappropriate for his daughters — men he knew they did not love — and in one reckless move he sealed one of their fates to be matched in a loveless pairing.
    He closed his eyes and knew within himself that wasn't altogether true. At one time Fleur did love one of the earl's sons, he was sure of it, but that had been many years ago, when she was but a girl.
    The earl had two children, the eldest being Edward Woolf, Viscount Ravenbrook. A very good catch and at the age of thirty, he would make a fine husband for either of his daughters as Charles' heir. He was, by all accounts, Julian's preferred choice in both situation and temperament, but unfortunately, the earl did have one other son.
    Evander Woolf, a standoffish and stubborn man with a name that suited none other so well as he. He was six and twenty, also of good marrying age, but in the duke's eyes he was quite ... unsuitable. Yes, definitely unsuitable. The man was practically a recluse since the days they would visit Blackburn Hall, and Julian had heard he speculated wildly in new, and quite frankly, dangerous and unsound investments.  
    Evander – Evan, as they called him – had been Fleur's playmate as a child. Many summers had they spent at Blackburn Hall only to return again for Christmas, especially after the passing of his own beloved wife. His daughters retreated into the arms of Lady Blackburn in their grief, and Charles was there to comfort and distract him during his own time of sorrow. It was almost as if they never left, only returning home to see to Norfield's needs during the spring and fall.
    He knew during their time together Fleur and Evan had formed an attachment to one another, but he found out too late just how deep it ran. Not until he and Charles pushed the boy by trying to match Fleur with his elder brother did he discover the depth of their feelings. Evan reacted by leaving Blackburn Hall, fleeing back to university, breaking Fleur's heart in one cruel move after a vicious quarrel Julian wished he had never witnessed. She was but sixteen when they parted, and they had not met each other since.  
    She had cried for days, been melancholy for months, and when she finally emerged from her rooms he had sworn to himself he'd not return to Blackburn Hall. He would not put his daughter in