Page 14 of The Wedding Challenge

“And then I will be under my husband’s control!” Callie tossed back hotly.

“Now you sound like Irene Wyngate.”

“There is nothing wrong with Irene,” Callie replied. “I would be glad to be like Irene. At least she has a spine, unlike most of the women I know.”

“Grandmother, please…” Rochford said, knowing full well that the duchess was not helping his case with Callie.

“At any rate, it does not matter, as I will never be married as long as my brother treats my suitors like criminals,” Callie went on angrily.

Rochford let out a humorless bark of laughter. “Bromwell will never be your suitor.”

“I am sure not,” Callie responded, “now that you have humiliated me in front of him.”

“Bromwell?” The duchess asked, looking startled. “The Earl of Bromwell?”

“Yes.”

Their grandmother’s eyes lit with interest, but before she could speak, Callie went on, “What is wrong with Lord Bromwell? Why is it so terrible that I was with him?”

“You should not be on the terrace alone with any man,” Rochford answered.

“But why did you say that he would never be my suitor?” Callie pursued. “Why did you say, ‘You!’ the way you did when you saw him? Why is he so particularly unsuitable?”

Rochford said nothing for a long moment, then shrugged. “The man is not a friend to me.”

“What?” Callie’s brows sailed upward. “He is not your friend? I cannot marry someone unless he is your friend? Who would you have me marry? One of your stuffy old scholarly friends? Mr. Strethwick, perhaps? Or maybe Sir Oliver?”

“Blast it, Callie, you know that is not what I meant,” Rochford ground out. “You do not have to marry one of my friends. You know that.”

“No, I don’t know!” she shot back. “Right now, I feel as if I hardly know you at all. I would never have thought you could be so domineering, so careless of my wishes or feelings.”

“Careless?” he repeated in an astounded voice. “It is precisely because I do care for you.”

“Why? What makes the man unsuitable?” Callie asked. “Is his family not good enough? His rank not high enough?”

“No, of course not. He is an earl.”

“Then is he a fortune hunter? Is he after my money?”

“No. He is quite wealthy, as far as I have heard.” Rochford’s mouth tightened in irritation.

“The Earl of Bromwell is considered quite a catch,” the duchess put in. “Of course, he is not a duke, but there are so few of them, after all. And one could not want you to marry one of the royals. An earl would do quite well for you, really, and the family is an old and distinguished one.” She turned toward her grandson. “Are they not related to Lady Odelia somehow?”

“Yes, distantly,” Rochford agreed. “The problem is not his pedigree.”

“Then what is the problem?” Callie persisted.

The duke looked from his sister to his grandmother. Finally he said, “It is an old matter. And that is not the point.” He set his jaw. “I was acting in your best interests, Callie, when I warned him off.”

“You actually warned him off?” Callie asked in a horrified tone.

He nodded shortly.

“How could you?” she demanded. She felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her. “I cannot believe that you would humiliate me in that way! To tell him that I could not see him, as if I were a child or—or deficient in understanding. As if I had no will of my own or any ability to make judgments.”

“I did not say that!” he exclaimed.

“You did not have to,” Callie retorted. “It is implicit in saying who I can or cannot associate with.” Tears sprang into her eyes again, and she angrily blinked them away.