Standing near the fireplace, his gloves slapping his thigh on an impatient matter, Lucas Spencer Junior, Marquess of Clydon, had come to pay a call on his betrothed. The fact that she clearly kept him waiting was starting to annoy him. She was probably still mad after he told her that he would not be the one to break their betrothal, a binding contract made on the day of her birth by Lucas Spencer Senior, Duke of Ashbury, and Jeff Webber, Earl of Kenneth. Never had two people less suit, but since Jeff Webber had died a year ago, the betrothal contract could not be annulled, only broken, which Lucas Junior was not ready to do. His honor was at stake. Besides, he had promised his father that he would honor the contract made in good faith, binding him to the Duke's friend's daughter.
The problem was, Lucas had promised his father before he even met his betrothed. The girl was a vain and spiteful young woman, and Lucas really could not picture her as the future Duchess of Ashbury. The couple had hated each other on sight, but neither of them was ready to be the one to break their respective father's word by walking away from the betrothal. As the future Duke, Lucas knew that every eyes in all England were on him, and now, on Elizabeth, too.
"My Lady said she would only be a minute, my lord," Elizabeth's butler said as he walked into the room.
"Tell your lady that I give her 30 seconds to get down, or I'm leaving without her," Lucas snapped at the old man. "I have been waiting for half an hour for no reason, since she knew I was coming this morning."
"You don't have to take your anger on Penrose, my lord," Elizabeth said as she finally walked into the room, "he was just the messenger."
"Leave us!" Lucas told the man and watched him hastily retreat out in the hall. "It's so nice of you to finally join me, my lady," Lucas said, using her title in a sarcastic tone. "Especially since you knew since yesterday at what time I would be here and more especially since I asked you to be on time!"
"The gown I had chosen to dazzle you with had an imperfection," Elizabeth said with a sweet smile and Lucas couldn't help but think of a snake trying to charm its prey. "I had to change not to embarrass you."
"Very well," Lucas sighed and offered her his arm, trying not to flinch in disgust as her hand rested on his forearm.
Lucas took his betrothed to his carriage and helped her get in and settled. He ordered his coachman to take a stroll around the park. He turned to the lady by his side and smiled, hoping she wouldn't see how much his face was strained from the effort. He decided to turn his charm to her, knowing it worked on every other women he had tried it on. He had to try and make this work. After all, they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, and if he didn't want to be miserable for all the years remaining in his life, Lucas had to make this work.
All Lucas wanted was to have a marriage like his parents had had. Lucas Senior had been forced to marry his wife, and he had decided to defy the old Duke and not marry. The morning of his wedding, wearing riding breeches and an old shirt, Lucas Senior had nothing more than the clothes on his back and his saddle bag when had jumped on his horse with every intention to get lost until the woman he was supposed to marry decided to pledge herself to another man. Nothing would have force Lucas Senior to marry the spiteful and hateful woman, not even the controlling old Duke. Lucas Senior had thought wrong, though, because his father had been waiting for him out of the stable with a pistol. The message was clear. Either marry the girl, or die.
Lucas Senior, namely Luke by all of his friends, had try to plead with his father, saying that the girl had promised Luke --- not just threatened, but promised him-- that he would never be sure if his children, namely his Heir, would be legitimate because she would never be faithful to him. She had been in love with someone else, a mere footman. Laura Webber had told her betrothed that, as soon as she had had her wedding night, she had every intention to go to her lover and finally be with him in every sense of the word. She had told Luke that he would never be able to keep her away from 'Scotty'. Luke had tried to talk her out of it, promising her that she would be able to be with Baldwin with his blessing, as soon as she gave him his Heir. She had refused, boldly defying him. THAT was why he absolutely refused to marry this deceitful bitch.
To prevent Laura to go to her lover, Luke had taken her to one of his estates, as far away from London as he could. He had told his wife that he would keep moving her as long as she wouldn't be pregnant with their first-- and probably only-- child. He had promised his wife that his Heir would be legitimate. If she didn't have a son for their first born, her seclusion would be longer because he was not going to be the talk of the town by having his son, his Heir, look like another man.
They had come close to killing each other, being alone all the time, but finally, their hatred had turned into passion, and passion into love. By the time Lucas Junior was born, Luke and Laura were the most popular couple of the ton, for it was not fashionable for a husband to spend so much time with his wife, and all Luke ever did was to be with Laura. He stood by her at balls and parties, leaving her only shortly for a game of cards and a cigar with the other men. He was never gone long, though, because he openly admitted that he missed his wife when she was not by his side.
Lucas Junior sighed and turned his attention to the world outside his carriage. He had tried to coax Elizabeth into polite talk, but she wasn't cooperating. If only his arranged marriage could turn out as well as his father's had, but he wasn't holding his breath. Rarely did married couple develop more than a tender for one another, and, if they were lucky, a lasting friendship came from these alliances.
Lucas chuckled at his thoughts. He had been 'lucky' since birth.
His name had been supposed to be Richard, after Laura's stepfather. The day of his birth, though, everything had changed. He had been born with the cord around his neck, and the more the midwife pulled to free Laura of him, the more he suffocated. The results had been a blue baby, barely breathing. Laura had started screaming that she wanted her baby, and Luke, downstairs, had panicked and had bursted into the room. The midwife, the doctor, the maids and Laura had been shocked to see him there. After all, it wasn't done, but Luke hadn't cared. He had taken his son and forced him to breathe. No one knew how, though, for Luke had his back turned to everyone. After a couple of seconds in Luke's arms, Laura had heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by the really angry cries of a really angry baby.
Laura had refused to name her baby Richard. She had always say that the best way to thank a savior was to name one's child after him. That's what she did. Even though Luke had thundered and stormed against it, saying that no Heir was named Junior, but Laura hadn't cared. Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Junior had been a beautiful and healthy baby. His close call, though, had earned him the nickname Lucky.
"What are you chuckling about?" Elizabeth asked her traveling companion, her delicate eyebrow raised in confusion.
"I was just deep in my thoughts," Lucky answered with a sincere smile. He still smiled every time Luke told this story. Lesley Lu, Lucky's younger sister, had always asked to hear that story again and again, along with the story on how she came to have Lu as a second name. Luke had told the little girl that, while her mother was pregnant with her, they had been forced to pose as villagers to be able to uncover a highway robber. Laura's false name had been Lulu then, and when she realized that the baby she just had had been a girl, she had insisted that she bore her mother's given name, along with the name of a woman her mother had come to love during the weeks they had tried to stop the robber. Lulu, Lucky's little sister's nickname, loved to hear those stories again and again.
"What thoughts can be so funny?" Elizabeth asked again. Not that she wanted to appear interested, but the silence had started to get to her. She wasn't one to be silent for any length of time, and she had been starting to regret letting the Marquess know she wasn't interested in any conversation with him.
"I was thinking about my little sister," Lucky provided with a smile.
"Your sister is adorable," Elizabeth answered with a smile. "Unlike my own."
"Sarah is nice, why don't you like her?" Lucky asked in surprised.
"It's a long story, my lord. One I do not care to tell anyone," Elizabeth said stiffly, mad that yet another gentleman thought Sarah 'nice' while, it was pretty obvious, he thought Elizabeth to be a dead bore.
"Very well," Lucky said with a sigh, letting go. Why try to have a civil conversation with her, when it was obvious that the concept was too complicated for her to grab?
"I feel a headache coming on, my lord. Would it be too much trouble to bring me home?" Elizabeth asked, tired of having to use 'my lord' when speaking to him, but he had yet to give her permission to use his given name.
"Not at all," Lucky answered, happy to see that his ordeal would be over sooner than he had thought. He ordered his coachman back to the Webber estate, trying to hide the smile he had. The sooner he was free of Elizabeth, the sooner he was free to go to his mistress.
Lucky helped Elizabeth out of the carriage and walked her to her doorstep. "It was a lovely afternoon, my lady, thank you for granting me with your lovely presence," Lucky lied with a sincere smile, "I shall call upon you Saturday at 8 to escort you to the Corinthos' ball."
"I shall do my best to be ready in time, my lord," Elizabeth said before she curtsied to him. Lucky watched her walk inside and he sighed. His life was going to be really long and painful, indeed.