A Rogue to Ruin (The Pretenders #3) - Darcy Burke Page 0,76
his hand down his face and swallowed a frustrated groan. He hadn’t considered Chamberlain before he’d proposed. Hell, he hadn’t considered much of anything. He just knew that she loved him, wanted him, and he wanted her too. She was also potentially the key to gaining what he needed to take down his uncle.
A goddamned tangle indeed.
“I’ll tell her.” Rafe met Colton’s gaze. “You won’t say a word.”
“Do it soon, and tell me when it’s done. I’ll speak to her before the final banns are read. I won’t let her get to her wedding day again only to realize the man she plans to marry isn’t who she thought.”
Put like that, Rafe was no better than Chamberlain. In fact, he was worse. As far as he knew, Chamberlain hadn’t used her for anything like Rafe was planning to do.
No, he wasn’t using her. He cared for her. That their betrothal would benefit him in his quest was simply an added benefit.
“I will protect her,” Colton said firmly. “Family is of the utmost importance to me, and she is my family. And in the absence of her father, I take full responsibility to ensure her well-being.”
“You’re a good brother-in-law,” Rafe said quietly. He exhaled and glanced up at the ceiling. “I became the Vicar to better myself. I’d stopped charging that higher interest rate a few months after you repaid your debt. And I stopped intimidating people who weren’t on time with their payments.” He looked at Colton and felt a bone-deep regret. “I am so sorry about your parents.”
It was a long moment before the viscount responded, and when he did, his voice was low and harsh. “Thank you. I hope you love her. It can save you, you know. It saved me. Without Jane, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”
Rafe didn’t love Anne, though. He wouldn’t.
“With her, you can find the strength to look forward instead of back,” Colton continued. “I imagine that must be hard for you right now after learning who you are.”
“Yes.” He swallowed, trying to keep his throat from constricting. “My entire life was stolen from me. Please don’t come between me and Anne.” In that moment, he knew why he’d asked her to marry him. She’d been the only tether he wanted to hold on to since Eliza and, before that, Selina. People like her didn’t come along very often, and when they did, you clasped them tightly and you never let them go.
Colton nodded solemnly. “I’ll give you time.”
“I am going to write to her father,” Rafe said. “Not for his permission, but because I should. I should, shouldn’t I?”
“Yes.” Colton’s lip curled. “He’s an ass. I hope he doesn’t return to London for the wedding. I’d just as soon not see him after what he put Jane through.”
“Perhaps I’ll tell him the wedding will be in August. You and Lady Colton will be gone by then, yes?”
Colton actually smiled. “Yes. Perhaps you won’t be the world’s worst brother-in-law after all.”
“I will try not to be.” Rafe meant it. He’d never been part of a family, and now he had Selina’s husband’s large extended family, Selina’s pretend sister Beatrix and her new husband and their daughter, and soon he’d have Anne and her sister and the man standing before him. He supposed he also had to include his blood family. No, he’d never call his uncle family. Never.
“Thank you for not calling me out,” Rafe said wryly. “That is what you lords do, isn’t it?”
“We lords, and yes, sometimes.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “And don’t provoke me. I’m still not in favor of this. If Anne gives me any indication she’s not happy, I’ll put a stop to everything.”
“Understood. But you won’t have to. If Anne is unhappy, I’ll let her go.” Somehow, in the span of an afternoon, that thought had become almost unbearable.
Rafe left a few minutes later, and by the time he arrived in Grosvenor Square a short while after that, he was more than ready for a glass of brandy. He stalked into the house as Tim took the cabriolet to the mews.
Glover intercepted him as he walked through the entry hall. “My lord, Lady Selina and Mr. Sheffield are here to see you. They are in the library.” The butler had taken to addressing Rafe as “my lord” and Selina as “lady” since learning of his title. Glover did not care that he wasn’t yet officially the earl. Rafe appreciated the small act of solidarity.