Something Scandalous. Christie Kelley
of him. Slowly, he looked up at her. “What about you?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What happens to you?”
Elizabeth chewed her lower lip. “It is not my welfare that concerns me.”
“Of course it is,” he said with a smile. “It’s only human nature to be worried about your personal welfare.”
Rage infused her veins. “You think I am only concerned about myself?”
He leaned back against the leather desk chair in a casual manner. “What other reason would you have for interfering with my business?”
She scraped back the chair, stood, and glared at him. “Not because it is my life you are turning upside down. Do you even know how many tenants the estates have? Or how many servants work for this family? Do you realize that every one of them might be turned out if you sell the lands?”
“That is not my concern.”
Elizabeth did her best not to run from the room. She had to stand up to the man—make him grasp the lives he could be ruining.
“Indeed it is your concern. One of the duke’s main responsibilities is the welfare of his tenants.” She placed her hands on her hips, waiting his next rejoinder.
He leaned back further and crossed his arms over his chest. “We both know I am not suited to be the duke. Nor do I wish to play duke. My concerns are only for my family and their well-being. The rest of the world can go hang itself.”
“You are a selfish man. You would turn out innocent women and children so you can have your way.”
Will had taken enough of her waspish mouth for one morning. He rose to his full height, forcing her to look up at him.
“I am selfish? Because I put the interests of seven children first? Because I inherited a title that I had no desire for? Because I was forced to come to this detestable country and settle an estate I know and care nothing about?”
She cringed. “I’m sorry.”
Slowly, she returned to her seat and stared at her hands. “I didn’t think about how much all this must have upset your life.”
“Not just my life. My entire family’s life.”
“True.” She licked her lips. “But…”
“What?” he asked as he returned to his seat.
“This could make their lives so much better,” she replied in a soft voice. “I can only assume you have more money as the duke than you did in Canada.”
His fists instinctively tightened. “Perhaps,” he bit out.
“Staying here would give all the children opportunities they would not have in York, or even in America. As the sister of a duke, the girls are inherently accepted into Society. The boys will be welcomed at Eton. They will all have the ability to make great matches.”
“As you have?” The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He knew nothing about her. She could be a widow, after all. But for some reason, he had to know more about her. He found her strangely intriguing.
She glanced down at her hands. “I could have made any number of matches,” she mumbled.
“Of course,” he said in a disbelieving voice.
She looked up at him with fire in her emerald eyes. “I most certainly could have. I haven’t found a man who suited me yet.”
“Ah, being selective.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
Will shrugged casually. “It really is none of my concern. However, as I understand these books,” he said, looking down at the desk, “this house is not entailed, nor is it leased. I will be selling it as quickly as possible, so you might wish to decide where you will live. Perhaps with a relative?”
He watched the emotions play on her tight face and felt a stab of remorse. He didn’t want to hurt the woman, but she had to understand that this country was not for him. He also knew that his brothers would never be welcomed at Eton, not as the sons of an American.
“I have four sisters, but I am not close to any of them. They are all much older than I.” She clenched her jaw tightly as if attempting to control her emotions. “My aunt is normally here but departed for a visit. She will go live with her sisters.”
“And you?”
“I suppose I could live with a friend of mine.”
He was being completely insensitive to her plight. Her eyes blinked furiously as if she were attempting to hold her tears at bay.
“What about cousins?”
She looked away from him. “Apart from Richard, there is Nicholas, who is unmarried and lives with his young daughter. It might look improper if I moved in with him.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she said, blinking away tears. “After all, you are the duke and you have the final say in all that matters in your house.”
“Elizabeth,” he started as she rose from her seat. “Please don’t leave angry.”
She looked at him, tears filling her eyes. “I am not mad at you, William. Only very disappointed. I thought that you or your father would make a much better duke than my cousin, Richard. I now see I was very wrong on that account. At least Richard would have had respect for the title and the lands.”
She walked slowly toward the door and then turned. “I just need to know one thing.”
“What is that?”
“Why is it so important that you return to America?”
“My future wife is there.”
She frowned but nodded. “I see. And she can’t travel to England?”
“Her father lost his son to the last war with the British, so the last thing he wants is for her to marry an Englishman. Not only an Englishman, but a lord of the realm.”
She shook her head slightly as if confused. “You will always be the duke. If she loved you, it would not matter to her.”
Will closed his eyes against the pain. “She would never disobey her father.”
“If she truly loved you, her father’s wishes would not matter,” she whispered, then left the room.
Chapter 4
Will tried his best to put the frustrating woman out of his mind for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work. The fresh fragrance of her rosewater perfume remained in the room long after she’d departed. But her parting words ate at him.
If she truly loved you, her father’s wishes would not matter.
Abigail loved him. She only hesitated to go against her father due to…
Will blew out a breath. She had to have a good reason. Was it money? Could Abigail be afraid he wouldn’t be able to provide for her and their children? By staying in her father’s good graces, she might be able to persuade him that Will was a good man. If her reasons truly stemmed from money, that issue would be out of the way now. Even if he couldn’t sell off all that he’d wanted, according to Elizabeth, all of this was his. He could do as he pleased with the profits from the estates.
But his mind couldn’t stop wondering if there was something else holding Abigail back. Had he been wrong about her feelings toward him? She was one and twenty now. If she had truly wanted to go with him, they could have married and left for England. Unless she despised England as much as he did. Her grandfather had fought the British for their freedom, and her brother died in the fight for Fort McHenry only three years ago. With a nod,