Dante, the Earl of Huntingdon, stormed through the house, the invitation clutched firmly in his hand. How in the world had he not known what she was up to? He was at his wits’ end with his grandmother. Ever since they emerged from mourning, she had been trying to devise a plan to see him out in society and married with all due haste. When Lord Colt handed him the invitation with laughter, Dante left London immediately to confront his grandmother.
“She has gone too far this time,” he grumbled under his breath. Without knocking, he entered her private sitting room. The bright pink room momentarily blinded him. “Grandmother, I would like a word with you.”
The petite old woman who looked far younger than her three and seventy years put down her book and looked up at Dante. “What on earth are you so upset about?” Her words seemed innocent enough, but the look in her eyes revealed her guilt.
“This.” He waved the crumpled invitation in front of her.
“I cannot see what all the fuss is about with you waving your hand like a madman. Hand it to me.” Grandmother reached out and snatched the letter from Dante. After a quick glance, she tossed the paper aside and announced, “It appears there is to be a house party.”
“Yes, and it is in honor of me. At what point were you going to inform me that”—he paused for a moment and ran his hand through his hair—“hordes of young ladies would be descending on Paradiso in…however many days, all with the assumption that I am in want of a wife.”
“Durante,” his grandmother said with a sly gentleness, using his given name rather than the nickname that his late grandfather had given him. “I am hosting a house party in your honor.” She tilted her head and then with one long diamond-clad finger pointed to the discarded invitation. “And, if you had bothered to read the invite you would have already realized that the guests are due to arrive in two days’ time.” She glanced over at the gilded mantle clock. “Now, if you will excuse me, Lord Tabard is due to arrive within the next hour.”
“No, I will not excuse you.” Dante could not believe what he was hearing. He clenched his teeth in an attempt to control his temper, but the smug victorious look on his grandmother’s face was his breaking point. “How dare you make arrangements without consulting me?” Ever since his Anna had died, he just hadn’t cared what went on in the world around him, and his grandmother had taken full advantage of that grief. It was a problem he intended to rectify beginning with this house party. “I am the Earl of Huntingdon. This is my house, my responsibility now.”
Although his tone was harsh, his grandmother’s features had not changed. “It is a title you were never intended to inherit. As much as I was displeased with the turn of events when your sainted uncle and cousin died in that carriage accident, and as much as I despair saying so, you are far better suited than they were to hold the title.” It was common knowledge throughout the family that Grandmother was fond only of her eldest son and his lone offspring. Despite her deep affection for her now-deceased relatives, she had held genuine concern regarding their ability to run the affairs of the Huntingdon line. Using her position as matriarch of the family allowed her to retain a heavy hand in how the earldom and its holdings were run and how they would be perceived. Nothing was ever done without her approval.
“Your confidence in my abilities is most endearing.” He had not even attempted to hide the sarcasm from his voice. Dante circled about the room, watching his grandmother calculate her next move. She thought him a pawn on her chessboard. He did not trust her, never had.
“Confidence has nothing to do with it. I will not have this family disgraced by my youngest son or his”—she waved one elegant hand looking for the proper insult—“blackguard of a child who was barely born on the correct side of the sheets.”
Dante wanted to defend his cousin but chose to hold his tongue instead. There was no sense in arguing with Grandmother. Many years ago she had declared herself the authority on all topics. Yet, he knew she was plotting something and felt it best to get straight to the point. “What is it that you hope to achieve?”
She stood up and ambled toward him. Although he towered over his grandmother, she was not intimidated by his size. Grandmother had never been intimidated by anyone. “I want you engaged by the end of the week, and married just as soon as all the arrangements could be made.”
“I’m surprised that you have not already made those arrangements,” Dante growled as he crossed his arms.
“What makes you think I haven’t begun? A special license will be easy enough to acquire. All I need is a name.” She stepped in closer and looked up into his eyes. Dante saw the hatred and disdain. She had never held any affection for him and never had tried to hide that fact. “On the last evening there is to be a ball. Your engagement will be announced at that time.”
“And if I refuse?”
She tilted her head and said in a far too sweet voice, “Let’s just say that I can make life extremely uncomfortable for your mother’s sister and her daughter.”
Rage burned from within. Aunt Ursula and cousin Violet had already suffered enough. He had promised that he would protect them both. When Dante’s mother had died when he was just a small child, it was his mother’s twin sister, Ursula, who had nurtured and cared for him. He would do anything to protect them and, shrew that she was, his grandmother knew it.
The weight of the title he inherited was nothing compared to the demands that his grandmother had imposed. “Why are you doing this?”
Dante did not think his grandmother intended to answer when she started to walk away from him. Over her shoulder, in a nonchalant tone she stated, “I married your grandfather for his title. He married me for my dowry.” She turned around. Her casual manner was replaced with fire and brimstone. “I will not see all that we built thrown away on some inconvenience such as love.”
He knew that his grandparents had not been fond of each other, but neither had objected when his father married for love. He started to say as much when the words died and sank into the pit of his stomach as his grandmother’s mocking laughter encircled him.
“You think they married for love?” Her harsh laughter jabbed at his heart. “At most they tolerated each other.”
It looked as if she was going to say more, but thankfully she held her tongue. Dante did not think he could endure any more revelations today. He did not have any recollections of his parents being together when he was a child, but his father had never said anything untoward about Mother.
“It is my future. I intend to have a say in this.”
There was a long thoughtful pause before she answered. “You may choose from any of the women that will be in attendance. I have chosen the guest list carefully. All the women invited have some attribute that would suit the estate and title.” She turned and began to walk away. When she reached the threshold, she looked over her shoulder and said, “Do not defy me Durante, or I will make good on my threat.”
And with that final warning, his grandmother took her leave.
Damn. Risking his aunt’s and cousin’s future was not an option.
It appeared he was about to get himself a wife.