Sir Reginald waved a hand in the air. “Makes no difference to me. In fact, I’ve reason to believe that’s why the family’s interested. No doubt I’d be looking at a much older bride if a hefty dowry was my aim. I already have more money than I know what to do with.” The knight had the audacity to wink. Lucas quelled the urge to punch him in the jaw.
“You’re certain she’s interested?” Lucas asked, narrowing his eyes on the older man. He shouldn’t have asked that question either, but he couldn’t stop himself once more.
“I don’t see how she couldn’t be,” Sir Reginald said, coughing into a handkerchief he’d pulled from his lace-covered sleeve. “The chit doesn’t have many options.”
The grin the knight gave him revealed crooked, yellowed teeth. Lucas shuddered for Frances’s sake. No wonder Frances thought all the men of the ton were pompous, boring asses. This man was sitting here talking about her future as if she had no say in it.
“I see,” Lucas replied woodenly. He had to change the subject before he knocked the man unconscious. He shook his head. “At any rate, the reason I asked you here was to—”
“Allow me to guess.” The knight gave him an obsequious smile. “You want to discuss the Employment Bill.”
Lucas grinned at him and took a swig of brandy. “However did you guess, Sir Reginald?”
The knight sighed and waved his hand in the air again. “Seems that’s all you want to discuss with anyone these days, Kendall. You’re garnering quite the reputation for being preoccupied with that law.”
“My apologies if my conversation has turned monotonous.” Lucas gave the knight a tight smile. He had to tread carefully with the man. One rude word from him could send Sir Reginald and the entire group of Royalists who’d yet to declare their intentions as to the vote scattering to the opposition. “Have you had any more thoughts on the matter since the last time we spoke?”
Sir Reginald settled into his chair and ventured another sip of brandy. “Honestly, I have not. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.”
Lucas nodded. “Fair enough. If you haven’t yet made up your mind, I am happy to discuss the finer points of the law.”
“I know you are, Kendall, and that’s the problem,” Sir Reginald said with an impatient sigh.
Lucas furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re more interested in the bloody details of the law, while I’m more interested in the—” he waved his hand in a circle, “—details of, say, what’s in it for me if I vote the way you’d like me to.” Sir Reginald’s obsequious smile returned.
Lucas clenched his jaw. He was not naïve enough to believe these types of discussions didn’t happen when it came to politics, but it still made his stomach turn when he encountered it.
“One would hope you’d vote according to your conscience,” he replied, doing his best to keep his temper under check. “As I said, I’m happy to discuss the points—”
“One would hope, wouldn’t one, Kendall?” Sir Reginald turned up his nose. “But I’m telling you that I’d be more interested in some sort of a bargain.”
“What were you thinking, Sir Reginald?” Lucas asked, merely to have the pleasure of knowing what exactly the man wanted from him. “You’ve already said you have more money than you know what to do with.”
“I don’t want money, Kendall.” A dark gleam shined in the knight’s eye. “I want something much more elusive.”
“And that is?” Lucas prodded.
The knight rolled his eyes. “Power, of course.”
Lucas frowned. “Power? What could I possibly do to—?”
The knight plucked at his sleeve. “Everyone knows you’re thick as thieves with the Duke of Worthington.”
Lucas forced himself to keep his temper in check. He clenched his jaw more tightly and blew out a deep breath instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was to explode from his chair with equal parts disgust and affront. “You’re thick as thieves with the Prince Regent,” he managed to ground out.
Sir Reginald tossed a hand in the air and chuckled. “Georgie doesn’t have any power. Everyone knows that. He’s a regent for Christ’s sake. We pat him on the head and tell him he’s a good boy and he plans another dinner party and builds another palace. No. I want to be the Chancellor of the Duchy and I’ll need the vote of every duke in Parliament if I’m to win.”
Lucas stared at the man as if he’d lost his mind. Powerful didn’t begin to describe the position. The Chancellor of the Duchy administered the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster, which was essentially a great deal of the Sovereign’s income. The Chancellor of the Duchy was one of the most senior positions in Parliament.
Lucas finally found his voice. “You want to be the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster?”
“Precisely.”
It was all Lucas could do to keep from standing up and striding out of the room without a backward glance at Sir Reginald. But he needed more information first. “What if I’m unable to convince Worthington to vote for you?”
The knight pursed his lips unpleasantly. “Then I will be unable to vote for the Employment Bill. And more importantly, I’ll be unable to convince my friends to vote for it.”
So this was why Sir Reginald had refused to pick a side all these months. He’d been holding out for the perfect opportunity to spring this trap on Lucas.
“I see.” Lucas stood. He needed to get away from the man immediately. “I plan to be here two more nights. I’ll give you my answer before I leave.”
“Excellent,” Sir Reginald replied. “I look forward to hearing your decision.”
Lucas made his way back to his bedchamber on the second floor with ground-devouring strides. Every few paces he was tempted to stop and punch his fist through a wall. His regard for Clayton and the well-being of his home was
