Cora (Virtue & Vice #4)

Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

CORA

C ora’s heart thudded against her ribs.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am dead serious,” Annalise answered. “Gideon Wentworth wants to marry you.”

“Absolutely not.” There had to be another way to save her family from ruin.

“That’s what Eryx told him,” Annalise said. “I argued that it should be your decision, Cora. Eryx wasn’t going to give you the choice. I insisted, and he said that if I felt so strongly, then I should be the one to convey the offer.”

She felt as if she had stepped through a mirror, like Alice into Wonderland. Everything had gone topsy-turvy. Cora’s hands trembled. “When did he make this proposal?”

“Almost two weeks ago. Eryx turned him down immediately, of course. I think you should know that. He laughed Wentworth right out of the club. But as conditions at the bank have deteriorated, we decided that we needed to at least ask you whether you would be willing to agree to such an arrangement.”

“Isn’t there any other solution?”

“Eryx is trying to make a sale, but it’s killing him to know he will walk away with nothing. All of the money from the purchase would go into making the bank whole. It’s essentially valueless at present. Operationally, the bank is sound. Before the run, its balance sheets were performing splendidly. It’s only this ill-timed rumor causing a run on deposits that’s taking us down.”

Cora found herself pacing, though she didn’t recall getting out of her comfortable chair. Titi hopped down from Annalise’s lap and followed her as she ping-ponged around Lysander’s sitting room.

“I don’t expect you to say yes.”

“Good. Because I won’t.”

“I understand.” Annalise’s hand cradled her stomach where a small bulge was beginning to form. Cora swallowed. Oh, lord, she was going to do it, wasn’t she? Marry her worst enemy to save her family?

She turned on her heel and strode randomly, narrowly avoiding furniture.

There had to be another way. There just had to be.

“It’s destitution for us all unless I wed Wentworth, isn’t it?”

“Not for you, Cora. Lysander has assured Eryx that you can remain here indefinitely. Forever. He is a duke, and none of us will go homeless. I have told Eryx that we can rebuild. He did it once. He can do it again.”

“He won’t, though.”

Her brother had used his inheritance and leveraged Lysander’s social connections the first time he built his bank. No one would trust him a second time if he lost all their deposits. It was noble of him to think he could protect her, but he couldn’t.

Annalise projected serenity, but strain showed in the tiny wrinkles around her eyes and the deep shadows beneath. She wouldn’t have brought the choice to Cora if she thought there was any other option.

Cora’s stomach heaved. Every comfort and security she’d taken for granted at the end of 1881 was evaporating with frightening rapidity barely a month into the new year. This was not the fresh start she’d had in mind.

“I won’t say yes,” she said. “But if I were to entertain this mad proposal, solely for the joy of crushing him with a last-minute refusal?—”

“Understandable.”

“—I have a number of terms to which Mr. Wentworth would have to agree.”

“Such as?”

“He doesn’t get my dowry. Ever. It will be held by one of my brothers in trust for me.”

“Very wise. We would have to see whether such an unusual stipulation is legal.”

Cora already knew the law would not be on her side, but it was worth a try. “And we won’t live together.”

“I can’t imagine that will be acceptable to him, but we can ask.”

“Under no circumstances is he to threaten, harm, or so much as glare at my dog.” Titi yipped. “That’s right, you’re a very good girl.” Cora bussed a kiss between her pet’s ears. “We won’t let that scary old banker hurt a single hair on your head, will we, Titi?”

“I shall convey your demands to Eryx,” Annalise said with a knowing smile. She caught Cora’s arm and said, “Thank you.”

“I haven’t agreed to anything.”

“I know. I am simply grateful that you are considering the possibility.” She slid away. “It has been a difficult beginning to the year. For all of us.”

Cora swallowed. “I care so much, and Eryx—” she said haltingly. “You’ve been so kind to me since marrying my brother. I admit I was worried that you were a fortune hunter when he first met you, but it’s so clear how much you love one another. I know he can be obstinate and moody, but it’s always been me and Eryx. Together. I would do anything for him.”

Annalise smiled, and for the first time in weeks, it rose to her eyes. “You are everything I could have wanted in a sister-in-law. I would not ask this of you lightly. Given what you’ve told me, I regret placing this burden on your shoulders.”

“I know we squabble, but I want Lysander’s advice before making a decision.”

“He would be a good sounding board,” Annalise agreed.

“How did the run on deposits start?” Now that the initial shock was wearing off, Cora was beginning to collect her whirling thoughts.

“We’re not sure. An unfortunate rumor started before Christmas. Lord Huntley made a large withdrawal right around the holiday, leaving the bank temporarily short of cash. We haven’t been able to catch up since.”

She filed this information away for a future date. Watching Annalise depart into the dreary afternoon, Cora had a sinking feeling her year was about to get much, much worse.

* * *

Gideon

Gideon read through Miss Wilder’s list of demands with a wolfish grin. She thought she could bring him to heel, did she?

She could. So very easily. She had no idea what power she held over him. He wasn’t about to inform her, either.

One line crumpled his face into a scowl. We shall maintain separate homes at all times.

He crossed that out and wrote, chambers. Let her have her own bed and sitting room if she so chose. Many couples did. They weren’t living apart, and that was final.

The thought of having her close enough to listen to through a door at night flushed him with heated yearning. He wanted to learn her habits. Every little thing she did to keep her skin so gorgeously creamy, her dark hair so thick and shiny, her body so generously curved. He wanted to know how she spent her time when no one was watching.

But he hadn’t gone to all this trouble of ruining her brother’s business just to become a hen-pecked husband. She must understand her place. Become an asset to the Wentworth name. He intended to transform her from a forgotten spinster into the lady she’d been born to be.

It was his way of making amends.

Eleven years ago, he’d been twenty-seven years old and mired in the delicate process of taking over for his father. The elder Mr. Wentworth had been strongly advised to step down from his role, but he loved his work more than his own family and resisted the idea of relinquishing control. Social connections meant everything to his father, who had spent decades cultivating the confidence of a young queen, and later, her prince consort.

One did not simply go ruining that much established trust for the sake of an inexplicable obsession with a duke’s illegitimate daughter. Gideon understood that Cora was not an option for him. Not unless he wanted to give up any chance of his father handing him the reins.

No matter if the sight of her caused his heart to pound as though it might explode. The clubby aristocrats with whom he’d attended Eton had decided that Cora and her brother didn’t belong in polite Society. It didn’t matter how well she played pianoforte, or how flawless her manners—they had deemed her an outcast, and there was nothing her father or anyone else could do to salvage her Season.

It was only a matter of when and where she was publicly humiliated, how deeply, and by whom.

If a part of him regretted not standing up for her, Gideon knew he’d done it for the right reasons. He could not afford to alienate the people who entrusted his father with their fortunes.

Finally, after a years-long purgatory, it was time to rectify the wrong he’d done. Hurriedly, he scratched out a response.

I accede to the lady’s requests with the edits above. I have three demands of my own. Firstly, Miss Wilder shall remain faithful to her wedding vows for the entire duration of our marriage.

Gideon was not going to be cuckolded by his wife. He had heard nothing about his bride’s chastity, positive or ill. Finding out anything about Miss Wilder was maddeningly difficult. She eschewed all social circles typical of their class except for keeping company with Lady Honora Caldwell, a marquess’ daughter widely regarded as a pretty but none-too-intelligent gossip who had been long since relegated to the spinster’s shelf.

Odd, that they should have struck up a friendship.

Secondly, Miss Wilder shall comport herself as befits a lady of her station. She shall be gracious, composed, discerning, and generous in public.

A grim smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He looked forward to her behavior being anything but ladylike—in private.

Thirdly, Miss Wilder’s wedding dress shall be white.