Well, that hardly mattered, did it? He didn’t require the future Duchess of Caversham to like him. Only to look beautiful and host impressive parties and, perhaps, just occasionally, make him weak at the knees with a flash of her eyes. That would be enough. That much, he could still salvage.
“It’s Selina, isn’t it,” he said. He hadn’t meant to speak so roughly. Louis glanced at him in surprise, concern breaking through his temper tantrum. “Of course it’s Selina. They respect her the way they do a duke.”
“Not quite,” said Sir Roderick. “But her influence, combined with Forrester’s performance in the courts, at the rallies, at that dinner you hosted…”
“Yes, yes. You don’t need to explain it anymore. We all know you’re no match for a legal genius, Roddy.” Malcolm sighed, giving in at last and draining the brandy in a single swallow. “All the same, I won’t stoop to bribery. Wining and dining the voters is one thing. What you’ve done is a step too far. We must plan to lose Twynham and regroup.” The memory of Selina’s face as he bid her goodbye cut through the warmth of the brandy as though he’d taken an icicle to the heart. “Blast you, Roddy! If you hadn’t shown up when you did, this cursed election wouldn’t even matter! When I marry Lady Selina, it won’t matter who sits in the Commons. He’ll be my man either way.”
“You and Lady Selina are engaged?” Louis clasped his hands together. “Why, Caversham!”
Malcolm cut off his raptures with a sharp shake of his head. “Not yet,” he growled. Not ever, whispered a treacherous voice at the back of his mind. He ignored it. “I was close to it, I know it, until Roddy turned up and ruined everything.”
Or you could have told her the truth, the voice suggested. Malcolm’s fist clenched around his empty glass. You could have been honest with her all along.
“But marrying the Balfour woman would do nothing to help me,” Sir Roderick whined.
“At this point, Roddy, I am not inclined to help you ever again.” Malcolm’s head was beginning to ache. “If you lose the election, so be it. I wash my hands of you.”
“You must be very certain of the lady’s affections, Caversham,” said Sir Roderick, a malicious light shining in his eyes. Malcolm let out a bitter laugh.
“Affection doesn’t enter into it. Selina has political ambitions, just as I do. She cannot fail to see that the match is too advantageous to pass up.” He wished he believed what he was saying. One moment of hope was all he asked for.
“Caversham,” said Louis, his voice soft with disappointment.
“Because if you are not certain,” Roddy continued doggedly, “then by losing the election you are also losing power.”
“Unlike you, Roddy, I’m not interested in grasping at power by foul means.” Malcolm rocked his neck from side to side, easing out the tension of the carriage ride.
Sir Roderick took a step forwards, eyes glittering, reddened nostrils flaring. “Do you think the Lion Duke earned his name by doing the moral thing, boy?”
Silence descended upon them, the way it did the moment after something precious was shattered on a marble floor.
Malcolm turned his head slowly to Sir Roderick and set his empty glass down on the cabinet.
“Get out.”
“I acted for your own good!” Sir Roderick whined, stumbling backwards from the fire in Malcolm’s eyes. “For you, I swear, as much as for myself!”
“Get. Out.”
“I want you to be the duke your father was, Caversham! I want that for you!”
Malcolm took a single step towards him. The older man quivered.
“Get out,” he said, every word dropping like a lead weight. “Or I will throw you out.”
Sir Roderick forgot that his handkerchief was already damp with mucus and used it to dab at his sweating forehead. “You are upset,” he said, hoarse voice trembling. “I will call again tomorrow. I am still your man, Caversham. Just as I was your father’s.” He reached the door, grasping blindly behind him for the handle, and bobbed his head like a nervous bird. “Goodnight. Goodnight.”
When he was gone, Malcolm went to the window. Disgust tightened his throat too much to speak.
He did not know who had disappointed him most. Roderick, or himself.
“I lied to Selina to protect that man,” he said, when he trusted himself not to make a show of it. “Can you believe that, Louis?”
“Sir Roderick has been your friend for many years,” said Louis. His meaty hand landed on Malcolm’s shoulder. “If the lady has a heart, she’ll understand.”
“I think not.” Malcolm smiled, despite everything, and gave Louis a gentle punch in the arm. “At least I’ve chosen one friend wisely.”
“I am afraid you will not remain my friend much longer,” said Louis. “I will not expose Sir Roderick publicly, out of respect to you. But I must do something. I will stand with Mr Forrester and Lady Selina at Twynham when the day comes.” He smiled nervously. “I know I have no great influence, but I feel I must do what I can.”
“And I will not condemn you for it.” Malcolm sighed. “Perhaps if I had been born a younger son, like you, I might have been free to follow my nobler instincts. Such as they are.”
“A duke can certainly be noble!” Louis protested. Malcolm shook his head.
“Not when nobility comes at the expense of power. I think it is you who will be disappointed in me in the end, Louis. I don’t have your good heart. Only the same terrible hunger that my father had.” He set his jaw. “I will win this election. If I must win Selina to do it, so be it.”
Louis winced, but said nothing. He clasped Malcolm’s shoulder again and left him alone at the window.
Malcolm watched his friend step down onto the street and turn up
