Janet interrupted his furious reverie. “Father, would you ever permit me to move to London?”
“No, never.”
“Why? You’ve let Gregory stay there all these years.”
“Gregory is a man and you’re not. Your situation is completely different.”
“I have the trust fund I inherited from my grandmother, so I’m not a pauper. I could pay my own expenses. I could just go—whether I have your permission or not.”
“I manage your trust, Janet. Currently, I give you an allowance from it, but I don’t have to do that. I could cut it off. You wouldn’t get very far without it.”
“I could hire a lawyer and replace you as trustee.”
It was such a brash remark that he was amazed he didn’t slap her. “Am I to endure a full-blown insurrection from you two?”
“I simply think it would be fun to reside in town,” Janet said. “I don’t understand why you find the prospect so threatening.”
“Only trollops with loose morals live alone. I’d lock you in a convent before you were able to disgrace yourself like that.”
Janet rolled her eyes, then muttered under her breath, “And you wonder why I’d like to move away.”
“Don’t harass Uncle Samson,” Caroline said to her. “I’ve irritated him to a very high level with my decision about the wedding. It’s unkind of you to nit and pick when he’s in such a foul mood.”
“Caroline is correct about my mood,” he said. “You can’t fathom how angry I am. You shouldn’t push your luck.”
“You never listen to me,” Janet said. “You refuse to see my point of view on any topic.”
“I’ve watched you throw your life away over radical ideas, and I’m sick of it. It’s time you were yanked to your senses. If you had a husband and a few children to keep you busy, you’d be too exhausted to engage in such folderol.”
“You needn’t search for a candidate. For I can guarantee—whoever you might select—I would hate him.”
“Is it your position—both you and Caroline—that I have no authority over you? That I can’t force you into matrimony?”
His tone was very sharp, and Caroline—always the peacemaker —reached over and patted Janet’s hand. “Please cease your taunts. Your father is out of sorts today.”
Janet scoffed and glared at him. “No, Father, I don’t believe you can force us, so quit being so annoying. It’s not the Middle Ages.”
“You’d be surprised by the power I can wield. You cross me at your peril.”
Caroline tried to placate him. “I’m not crossing you, Uncle. I’ve simply realized I can’t behave as you were expecting.”
“Gregory is a disgusting drunkard,” Janet added, “with a horrendous gambling habit. We’ll likely be camping in a ditch after he beggars us. You have to take off your blinders, Father.”
“He is a gentleman reveling in town,” Samson claimed.
He was worried about the same issues with regard to Gregory, but he wouldn’t admit it to them. It would simply supply Caroline with more ammunition to bolster her rebellion.
“He’s so deranged,” Janet said, “that he brought his paramour home with him. Are we to have no opinion about that? He’s shamed Caroline in every conceivable way, yet still—still!—you demand she shackle herself. What is wrong with you?”
He whacked a palm on the table. “I will not debate the subject with you.”
Janet turned to Caroline. “Did you know he kicked out Caleb and Blake Ralston? He was so rude about it that he ordered them to leave immediately.”
Caroline whipped her gaze to him. “You didn’t, Uncle. Really? Why would you?”
His cheeks heated, but he wasn’t about to be scolded over the decision. “Due to your sudden announcement that you won’t marry Gregory, it’s clear that you’ve grown entirely too cordial with Mr. Ralston. He’s filled your head with lies to where you’re acting like a lunatic.”
“They weren’t lies,” Caroline had the temerity to insist.
“I’ve had enough of your sass and disobedience,” he warned her. “I’ve had enough of Mr. Ralston and his interference. He’s departing shortly. In fact, he may already be gone. I fervidly hope—once we’re shed of him—that familial matters will revert to normal.”
She tossed down her napkin and leapt to her feet. Without a word, she marched to the door, and Samson asked, “Where are you going?”
“To see if Mr. Ralston has left.”
“I forbid you to speak with him,” Samson said.
“And I am ignoring you.”
“Caroline!” he shouted. “Let him be away without a fuss.”
“I intend to tell him goodbye, and just so you’re aware, I will be instructing Mrs. Scruggs to inform our guests that the wedding is off and they can begin packing their bags.”
“Then I shall countermand your edict.”
“It will be a waste of breath.”
She hurried out, and Janet smirked with amusement. “I think you might be done bossing her.”
“If you mouth off to me one more time, I swear I’ll take a belt to you.”
“Sticks and stones, Father. Sticks and stones.” She stood too. “Is it still your position that I can’t move to London?”
“Of course it’s my position. Why aggravate me by raising the issue again?”
“I was merely giving you a chance to change your mind.”
“I will never change my mind about it.”
She walked out, and he slumped in his chair, wondering how he’d fostered such insurgents in his own home. How dare they defy him! How dare they assume he had no authority.
Well, he wasn’t without options, as both of them were about to discover.
Caroline hurried down the halls, trying not to run, but she had to find Caleb. How could he ride away without apprising her? If he’d already departed, she’d be crushed.
In his bedchamber, the wardrobe and dresser were empty. She stood in the quiet, listening to her heart beating and wondering if it might not
