Dangerous in Diamonds - Madeline Hunter [106]
Chapter Twenty-two
“No.” Hawkeswell slammed his fist onto the table in the card room at Brooks’s. “I won’t have it.”
He stood to emphasize his rejection of what he had just heard. “You will not marry that woman, Castleford. It is out of the question.”
Summerhays laid a calming hand on his arm and urged him to sit again. “You are being ungracious. Be happy for him, as a friend should be.”
“I’ll be damned first.”
Castleford looked meaningfully at Summerhays. “He has a protective inclination toward her. He expects me to ruin her life if I marry her. It is well-known that always happens when a man heaps jewels, silks, and furs on a woman and makes her a duchess.”
“She is a grown woman, Hawkeswell,” Summerhays said. “Nor is she one not to know her own mind or to need your interference on her behalf.”
“Damnation, she isn’t the one who will be ruined.” Hawkeswell sighed in his annoying way. “Think, man. What are you doing? You were not born for marriage. You were not educated for it either. Hell, you are Castleford . You stand for something. Something important, and it isn’t the domesticated life.”
“Such histrionics, Hawkeswell. Such touching concern for my welfare and reputation too. Have no fear. This does not herald the end of civilization. I will still be me no matter what.”
Hawkeswell laughed bitterly at that. Even Summerhays smiled at the notion.
“You think so?” Hawkeswell said. “Let me tell you, my friend, marriage is only a fit state for a man who finds himself in two situations. Either he must be slavishly in love like I am, or he must be utterly indifferent. Anything in the middle will cause untold annoyance. Tell him, Summerhays. Explain to him how wives are only joys when you are so besotted that you find their little manipulations adorable instead of maddening. Talk some sense into him.”
“It is past time for him to marry, you must admit.”
“For anyone else, true. But not him.” He looked away, frustrated, like a man trying to speak to a stranger who does not know his language. Castleford found his dismay charming.
Hawkeswell shook his head forlornly. “The best last hope of mankind, and it comes to this.” He sighed. “She bewitched you. That is the only explanation. Caught you in your own game.”
“You were right, Castleford,” Summerhays said apologetically. “I was wrong. You should not have told him yet. I should not have pressed you to do so.”
Hawkeswell’s head snapped around. “Yet? Have I been made privy to a secret? That is odd for an engagement that involves a duke.” He peered over severely. “When will you publish the announcement?”
“They are being discreet still. Until it is all settled,” Summerhays explained.
Hawkeswell frowned suspiciously. Dark amusement narrowed his eyes. “Summerhays, you are too good. I think our friend has taken advantage of that. I can think of only one thing that has to be settled before an engagement is announced, and that is whether there is any engagement at all.”
Castleford yawned and allowed his attention to wander. He noticed that Latham was playing cards in the far corner. Latham looked up from his hand just then and nodded his acknowledgment.
“What a cynical person you are, Hawkeswell,” Castleford said. “I would worry that marriage caused it and fear for myself, but it was always a tendency in your character. As for this small change in my life heralding doom the way you say, I assure you that will not be the case. Now, regarding the political crisis that brought us together here—”
“He is trying to change the subject, Summerhays. I am telling you, I am right. There is no engagement.”
“Is he right? Now that I think about it, you did not tell me you were engaged last night. You only said you had decided to marry her.”
“And I will.”
“Did you propose?” Summerhays frowned now too, much the same way Hawkeswell did.
“She knows my intentions. I made them very plain.”
“It is customary to propose,” Summerhays said. “Women like to be asked, not merely informed of a man’s intentions.”
“She won’t have him,” Hawkeswell said. “Trust