Prologue
He had to be in the wrong place.
Noise assaulted his ears until his hands itched with the urge to cup them. Vincent Latrice was quite used to hustle and bustle, accustomed to loud and abrasive men shouting at him to get their businesses done. In his line of work, Vincent assumed that he had interacted with all walks of life. But this? This was unlike anything he had seen before and he wanted to leave.
Only the single sheet of paper in his hand kept him where he was as he stared at the sight before him. Roars erupted into the night sky, which was oddly devoid of light. It seemed both the moon and the stars were hiding from the violent scene below. Only a few paces away from him, two men grappled with each other, one of the men putting the other in a headlock. Onlookers shouted their encouragements, while others stood off to the side placing their bets.
He was at a fighting ring.
Not just any fighting ring, though. The likes of which were often whispered in hush tones among men, the outcomes talked about for days until the next. Vincent couldn’t believe that it was happening at the very same dock he would accept shipment of his goods.
With a quiet sigh, he looked down at the hastily written contract he’d done just before leaving his comfortable manor to come to…this place. The terms were simple, he thought. Yet weighty enough that he wasn’t sure if the other party would be willing to sign.
Vincent looked up when the crowd roared again. One of the men was struggling to get to his feet while the other stood over him with his fists raised. Vincent’s eyes remained on the man standing. He wasn’t nearly as bloody and bruised as his opponent and the size difference between them marked him as the clear winner before the match even began. Those who had placed their bets on the man still attempting to stand shouted lewd things at him, their frustration obvious.
A burly man stepped into the ring just as the struggling fighter collapsed. The crowd erupted, the noise so deafening that it was a wonder they weren’t disrupting the nearby neighborhood. Vincent couldn’t even hear the victor being announced.
He studied the man’s face. He didn’t smile, didn’t even seem to care that he had won his fight. He just sauntered out of the ring, in Vincent’s direction.
“My lord.” Vincent stepped in his path. The man’s eyes flashed with irritation before his entire expression curled with it.
“Do not call me that here,” he hissed. Then he looked Vincent up and down. “Who are you?”
“Should I call you by your given name then?” Vincent asked. All he received were narrowed eyes in response. “Austin then. I have been looking for you.”
Austin didn’t deign to reply. He crossed his arms and waited.
Vincent ignored the tickle of apprehension at the base of his spine. He’d dealt with more dangerous men than him, he reminded himself. Then again, there weren’t many bastards who could say they’d claimed an earldom. Austin Thomas might be more dangerous than Vincent gave him credit for.
“A friend of mine—and I suppose of yours as well—told me where I could find you,” Vincent explained. “I have a proposition for you.”
“I am not interested.”
Austin attempted to walk away but Vincent caught his shoulder. At the look Austin gave him, he quickly let go. “It will be worth your while, I assure you. I have done my research and I know you are in need of money, which I have. All you have to do is—”
“I said, I am not interested.” The ice in his voice could have frozen a volcano but Vincent would not be deterred. Austin was his only hope. If he didn’t want to take him up on his offer, then his sister was doomed.
“Read it first.” Boldly, Vincent shoved the crumpled contract into Austin’s hand and quickly backed away. “My address is stated on that paper. If you would like to take me up on the offer then visit me. If not, you may ignore it.”
“I said I don—”
“Thank you!” Vincent turned and jogged off, not daring to look back. He listened for footsteps behind him and only breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he wasn’t being followed.
That didn’t mean he was going to accept his offer, however. Vincent understood that but he didn’t dare to consider the possibility. He couldn’t. His sister’s future was riding on Austin’s acceptance. Or else she would die a spinster.
Chapter One
Becoming the Earl of Derby might have been a terrible mistake.
Austin was willing to blame the earldom for his current situation and not his refusal to accept what came with it. Dismissing his coachman earlier had sounded like a fine idea at first. He didn’t need someone carrying him around. He’d done well without that luxury before so he had no need for it now.
But with every grueling step he took, he was beginning to wonder if he might have been a little hasty in his dismissal. The sun beat down on him as if it aimed to make him regret what he’d done, sweat running down the back of his neck. The contract he’d tucked into his waistcoat seemed to burn right through his skin. At this point, he wondered if he should just turn around.
Walking would do him some good, he told himself. The megrim pounding in the base of his skull made his eyesight a little splotchy, but at least the fresh air helped a little. And he needed to think about what he was about to do. Needed additional time to back out of his decision.
Still, he pressed on. He had no choice, he thought bitterly. This was the only option he had left.
Latrice Manor came into view the moment he rounded the corner. It was an ornate slab of white brick, taller than the others and sporting a sizeable front yard behind its iron-wrought gate. Opulence dripped from every inch of the manor. Austin gritted his teeth.
This is a mistake, he thought as he headed for the manor. I should turn around right now.
He kept going, even though every bone in his body urged him not to. These were the kind of people he despised. He was about to walk into the home of a rich man who thought he owned the world just because he was deemed upper class.
But would a rich man approach him late at night, at a fighting ring, and all but beg him to sign a contract? A contract that basically sold his sister into marriage?
The poor woman had to be a sorry sight if this was what they had to resort to.
Austin knew he was no better. He might be deemed handsome if he ever cared to wear a more pleasant expression but it was not his lack of physical appeal that rendered him ineligible for matrimony. It was his true status as a bastard. He wouldn’t have cared if it hadn’t been for the fact that, in the position he stood in now, he had to get married.
Even their front gate was overdone. Latrice Manor was interwoven in the metal, the gate so tall that even Austin would not have been able to touch the top without jumping. He stood and stared for a moment, the name giving him pause. It nagged at him since last night, as if he should know it.
And then it hit him. He knew the name Latrice. A man without title but with enough wealth to put him in rooms with earls and dukes. He’d even gotten an audience with the Prince Regent himself. Dubbed the Merchant of Brentwood, the Latrice family sat atop a shipping empire.
A mistake, he thought again as he pushed the gate open and approached the front door. He used the obnoxiously large knocker on the door and listened to the sound echo on the other side.
Only a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a thin-lipped butler with spectacles perched on the very tip of his nose. The butler slid the spectacles just a bit further down to look Austin up and down.
“May I help you?” he asked, his slow drawl so haughty that Austin curled his hands into fists on instinct.
He swallowed the irritation he felt at the butler’s tone and pushed through gritted teeth, “I am here to see the master of this house.”
“Mr. Latrice is not available at the moment.” The butler raised his chin, clasping his hands behind him. “What is your name, sir?”
Austin nearly curled his upper lip in annoyance. He thought such a disdainful demeanor was only reserved for the upper class. “None of your business,” Austin replied. “Now step aside. I do not have time to waste here.”
“Sir.” The butler stepped in Austin’s path, stopping him from crossing over the threshold. It looked as if he was trying his best to hold back his own annoyance. “I understand that you may be eager to learn under Mr. Latrice’s expertise but as I have stated before, he is busy. So he is not available to attend to you at the moment. So if you could please leave—”
“I am the Earl of Derby,” Austin snapped. “And your Mr. Latrice is expecting me. Now step out of the way or else I will remove you myself. And I don’t think you will fancy me doing that.”
Horror flashed across the butler’s face for a split second before he masked it quickly. He took a discreet step backward, clearing his throat. It took everything in Austin not to shove the man aside when he gave him another once-over, as if he was deciding whether or not he should believe him.
His clothes weren’t very fashionable, Austin knew. And the lengthy walk from his townhouse had covered his waistcoat and breeches in a fine layer of dust. So yes, he may not look like a proper earl right now and usually, Austin wouldn’t care about that. But if this butler insisted on standing in his way—and if Austin wanted to keep this civil—then throwing his title in the butler’s face was the only way to get past this door, as much as he hated to do it.
For a moment, he thought he would really have to resort to a less favorable option but then the butler said, “Forgive me, my lord. Please, follow me.”
Stiffly, he turned and walked away. Austin grunted in annoyance and followed behind him. He should just turn around. Everything in him was telling him that this was a bad idea, even if it sounded good on paper. Nothing good would come from involving himself with these people and this odd contract.
But he needed the funds. For his father. For his late stepmother. And for the legacy they left behind.
“But, Vincent, you promised!”
The shrill voice nearly made Austin stop in his tracks. The butler was slowing down and then he halted in front of a door that was slightly ajar. Instead of indicating such, he only bowed to Austin and walked away.
“Lav, you have to understand that I do not have time for this.”
“That is what you always say! But I won’t let you push me aside again. I have been trying to have this conversation with you for days now and I won’t leave this office until you tell me what you have planned.”
A breath of frustration. “Lavender, please.”
“No.” A foot hit the floor, hard. “Tell me, Vincent. Or is it that you haven’t planned anything at all?”
Austin pushed the door aside. The two occupants within didn’t notice him. One of them he recognized as the man who had approached him last night, Mr. Vincent Latrice himself.
The other person was a lady, similar in appearance to Vincent. Her hair was a mousy brown that was pulled back into a chignon, a few tendrils framing her face. She clutched a book to her chest, her slight frame draped in a brown dress that did not complement her well. She didn’t seem to care about that, however.
She looked so…normal. Not exactly what Austin was picturing and yet not surprising either. Had they been in a room full of people, she would have become a wallflower.
“Vincent, you promised!” Despite the plainness of her appearance, her voice was full of life, even though it was frustrated. “Father promised and you promised to uphold it when he died.”
“Lavender, I know.” Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m working on it, all right.”
“How? Just tell me anything and I will leave you alone.” When her words were met with silence, she seized Vincent’s sleeve. “The London Season has begun and yet I have nothing to—”
“If you don’t mind,” Austin cut in, leaning against the door frame. “I would like to get on with my meeting with Mr. Latrice.”
The lady—Lavender—whirled to face him with a gasp. Looking at her full on stole Austin’s breath for a moment. Her chocolate brown eyes were vivid with emotions, surprise and then confusion and then annoyance washing over her face in such clarity that Austin doubted she was capable of hiding her thoughts.
“Who are you?” With that book still clutched to her chest, she approached him, looking him up and down. Unlike the butler, she only looked curious rather than uptight. “How did you get in here?”
Austin tilted his head at her, surprised at himself for nearly responding. Then he met Vincent’s eyes over her head. “Shall we?”
“My lord, I did not expect to hear from you so soon.” The distress that had consumed Vincent before was gone, a smile on his face. “Come, come. Have a seat. Let me pour you a drink.”
“But Vincent—”
“Lavender, we can continue this conversation another time. And I promise you, when that time comes, I shall answer all your questions, all right?” Vincent approached her, ushering her towards the door.
Lavender pouted, looking back and forth between Austin and Vincent. She looked just about ready to argue but then Vincent said, “Not in front of guests, Lav. Or have you forgotten your lessons?”
She thinned her lips at that, narrowing her eyes at Vincent. For a moment, Austin was certain that she would continue to argue. He was oddly looking forward to it.
But then she sighed heavily, sending a scathing look in Austin’s direction. Up close, she was far smaller than him and yet she glared him down as if she were twice his size. “I hope you know that I find it quite rude of you to interrupt another’s conversation in that manner.”
Austin tilted his head to the side, his irritation mounting. This had already gone on for much longer than he cared for. “I do not care what you think.”
“That comes as no surprise to me, considering your propensity for impudence, sir,” she shot back without a second of hesitation, taking Austin by surprise. “But I’ll have you know that the only reason I am leaving is because I have better things to do than waste time in your presence. I have important matters to deal with, like the ending of my book. But I’m sure you would know nothing about that.”
Austin frowned at that. Did she just imply that he could not read?
Before he could think of a reply, Vincent stepped in between them with a sheepish grin. “Please do not mind her. She is quite used to getting what she wants. Lavender, please leave.”
Her cheeks grew red, her shoulders rigid with mounting tension. Vincent grasped both her shoulders and forcefully guided her out the door. She didn’t let up her glare however, burning holes into Austin until the door closed in her face.
Austin let out a breath, raking a hand through his hair. “Let us get this over with, Mr. Latrice. I have come here regarding your…contract. Or whatever you deem this to be.” He pulled out the folded piece of paper and rested it on a mantle nearby. “In it, you state that you wish for me to marry your sister, but surely you cannot be serious.”
Vincent faced him with a gleam in his eye. “It is exactly as it says, my lord. I wish for you to marry my sister, Lavender by the end of the Season.”
Chapter Two
Austin had to sit down. He usually considered himself a strong man, mentally and physically. Capable of handling the toughest situations he found himself in. But Vincent Latrice’s words had a way of bringing home the reality of what he was about to get himself into and he had the uncomfortable notion that the ground was swaying under his feet.
He sank into the armchair next to the hearth, folding his fingers in front of him. Lavender Latrice. Mr. Vincent Latrice, one of the wealthiest men in England, wanted to marry his sister off to a bastard son of the late Earl of Derby. How mirthful.
“Why?” was Austin’s first word after a minute of silent contemplation.
Vincent made his way over to the sideboard and began pouring two glasses of brandy. “It is simple, my lord. Lavender is now ten-and-eight years old. It is time for her to be married.”
“But why me? You approached me in the dead of night at an illegal fighting ring to all but beg me to consider the offer. Why?”
Vincent’s face gave nothing away as he approached. Austin wondered if this was his usual demeanor when working. “Before I answer your question, Lord Derby, I take it you are considering saying yes?”
Austin hesitated, then nodded. “I am. For my own personal reasons. But I need to be certain that I am not walking into a trap.”
“I would have no reason to trap you, my lord.”
“That is what someone who wishes to trap me would like for me to believe.”
Vincent chuckled. He chose the armchair next to Austin, sitting in a familiar manner that instantly made Austin uncomfortable. He took the glass of brandy Vincent offered to him and immediately set it aside.
Vincent raised a brow at that but chose not to comment. Instead, he said, “Firstly, I appreciate your consideration. Considering the fact that your first meeting with my sister did not go as I anticipated, I was almost certain that you would reject me outright.”
“That option is still on the table,” Austin stated.
“Of course, so allow me to be plain. The only thing I request is that you accept Lavender as your betrothed for the duration of the Season and are wed by the end of it. However, you would be expected to perform your duties as her betrothed.”
Austin raised a brow. “Which would be?”
“Escorting her to any event she is invited to. Lavender is quite the socialite, you see. She will expect to attend them all and I think she would fancy having a handsome gentleman as her escort.”
“I’m sure you would have done a fine job yourself. Why do you need me for that?”
“Sadly, I do not have the time to attend to every one of my sister’s wishes, as much as she would want otherwise. This way, you two could get to know each other a bit more, as well. I must also inform you that Lavender will expect a lavish wedding at the end of the Season. She’s always dreamed of it, after all. Our father promised her that she would get it once she was at the age to be married and I took on that promise when he passed away. Lavender, as you could see, will not let me forget it.”
Austin shifted uncomfortably in the chair. “The contract didn’t state any of that.”
“I did not want to scare you away,” Vincent stated, sipping his brandy calmly.
Wise thinking. “Then I want double her dowry,” Austin announced on a whim.
Vincent did not bat an eye. “Deal.”
Austin didn’t dare show his surprise. There was something about Vincent Latrice that put him on edge. As if the man saw more than he let on. “I do not understand you,” Austin confessed. “If rumours are true, you are one of the wealthiest men in England. Why do you and your sister care so much about high society?”
“Do not get me wrong, my lord,” Vincent answered and Austin resisted the urge to tell him to stop calling him that, “I do not care about such things. While I do understand the weight placed on having a title, I find that wealth moves mountains far more than prestige does. Lavender, however, has always dreamed about attending the London Season with the upper echelons of society since she was a little girl. Perhaps it has something to do with the books she reads. I’m not certain, nor do I intend to question it now. But you know how the ton can be, my lord.”
“Do I?” Austin asked dryly, which made the merchant laugh again.
“You are far closer to them than we will ever be. Wealthy we may be, my lord, but we are nobodies. We have no titles. We have nothing that will guarantee us an invite to any of these events. You, on the other hand, will be issued an invite or two to a number of parties, soirees, and balls and I would like for you to bring Lavender with you to each one. As such, if you accept the terms of this agreement, your betrothal would have to be established quickly.”
“You have thought this out quite thoroughly,” Austin observed.
“You see how persistent Lavender can be. I had no choice. Now,” Vincent leaned forward a little, “do we have a deal?”
Austin studied him for a moment. Vincent’s face was perfectly neutral but his words were what gave him away. This was not just to fulfill a promise made by his father. He was going to such lengths because he loved his sister dearly, enough to approach a man like Austin and give him whatever he wanted if it meant his sister would be happy.
A kinder man would accept the terms as they were. A smarter man would capitalize on the small show of affection.
“I want the doubled dowry in full,” Austin stated.
“If you so wish,” Vincent responded without hesitation.
“I also want you to pay for the renovations of my properties out of pocket over the course of the Season. By the end of it, your sister and I shall have proper homes to start our lives in.”
Something moved in Vincent’s expression. Austin didn’t miss that he hesitated for half a beat before saying, “I accept those terms.”
Relief flooded Austin instantly, enough for him to reach a hand out and say, “We have a deal then.”
Finally, a smile stretched across Vincent’s face. “I’m glad to hear it. I shall begin the preparations right away.”
Austin stood. There was no reason to stay here any longer. He’d gotten what he wanted out of this and that was to preserve the legacy his father had left behind, the one his stepmother had loved so much. His neglect of the family manor had gone on for too long but now things would begin to change.
“Just one more thing, my lord,” Vincent said as he began leading Austin back to the door. “Would you happen to know of any titled young ladies looking for a husband?”
Austin blinked at him. A beat of silence went by before Vincent laughed awkwardly.
“I will take that as a no. No worries. I shall continue the search myself.” He opened the door. “Thank you for taking the time to come, Lord Derby. My butler will escort you out.”
Indeed, the butler was already standing on the other side as if he had been waiting for the meeting to be over. Austin instantly felt annoyed at the sight of him. “We’ll be in touch, Mr. Latrice.”
“Vincent, please. We will be family soon.”
Austin only grunted at that, turned, and left.
This Post Has 4 Comments
I loved these two chapters. I knew from Chapter One that I would be ordering this book and make note of the Author. I am greatly impressed and looking forward to enjoying the rest of the book.
Lol. This so funny! It promises to be a lively story!!! Oh my! Between the two of them
I Loved the beginning of a great book! Cannot wait for the rest of the story.
Oh my! I’m hooked already and looking forward to the rest of this story. It should be a roller coaster ride of emotions 🤗â¤ï¸