Page 16 of Yours Truly, the Duke
Urges he hadn’t expected—but should have. He was a man after all.
Miss Hale cleared her throat. “I’m afraid I’m not the kind of person who can make rash decisions easily, Your Grace. I study through everything quite carefully before coming to a suitable conclusion about any big decision.”
There was something innocently alluring about her courage and the directness with which she approached him on every matter. On another day, for a different reason, he might have welcomed her challenge to proceed. But not this day. And really, who in their right mind would refuse an offer of marriage from a duke and marry another man?
He cleared his throat too. Showing his impatience wouldn’t help. Other than to make him feel better.
“I agree that ordinarily a lady shouldn’t be called upon to make such a hasty judgment. Especially about something as important as marriage. However, in this instance, there is nothing else to be done. You have me standing in front of you and another man down the corridor waiting for your answer.”
With a worried frown and a lingering glance, she offered, “Yes, well, not exactly.”
His eyes narrowed and a throb of tension started at his temples. It flashed through his thoughts that he might have been misinformed by Epworth in some way. “What exactly are you saying, Miss Hale?”
There was a skip in her breaths, and her hands tightened in front of her.
He didn’t like where his thoughts were going. This needed to be settled. “Have you already promised yourself to another?”
“No,” she answered with conviction. “I have not. You see, I don’t actually have an offer of marriage from Mr. Maywaring or anyone else. He’s on the list of gentlemen I’ve been considering for that possibility.”
“You have a list?” She certainly knew how to keep him on his toes.
“Yes, of course,” she stated as if making a list of prospective husbands was a normal thing to do. “What responsible lady wouldn’t have? I couldn’t possibly entertain the idea of marrying just anyone. I have to be selective because of the children. I need to make a match that will be good for them as well as for me.”
No, he thought rather firmly. She needed to make a match withhim.
A lady had never spoken so honestly to him. Women and mistresses would sometimes be plainspoken in conversations. If they were confident in their position. But it was rare for a young lady to do so. He found that most of the time they could be exasperating by only saying what they thought he wanted to hear.
Miss Hale frustrated him by being forthright in the things she said. Things he didn’t want to hear and her seeming not to mind that he didn’t.
All ladies were beautiful to look at dressed in their wispy silk gowns trimmed in delicate laces and flounces, jewels in their hair and pearls around their necks. They were delightful to converse with. Their voices, soft and flowing, were filled with a cadence he enjoyed. He appreciated, accepted, and followed the intricate dance of manners and standards they had to abide by. His mistresses were professional, enjoyable, and satisfying. He had always cherished the fairer sex.
However, the thought of having a wife to honor, protect, and be responsible for her happiness scared the hell out of him. Marrying by the end of the week hadn’t been part of the plans for his life.
Still, he was certain the one standing before him fitall his current and future needs. It was settled as far as he was concerned. She was the one he wanted. The problem was that he hadn’t expected her to put up any resistance. Nor had he considered she might be so strong-willed he’d have to work at talking her into marrying him.
Damnation, he was a duke and in need of nothing from anyone. Except of course, right now he needed a wife. And Epworth had, without any doubt, picked the most pertinent young lady in all of England. Once married, they wouldn’t be living under the same roof, nor would there often be need to have contact.
Not for quite some time anyway, he mused. He had his tournaments for his charities that took most of his time. A wife in London would interfere with that. There were still many men suffering from wounds received during the wars with Napoleon. Wyatt, Rick, and Hurst considered it an honor to play and win money for the hospitals and infirmaries to help treat and care for those who’d risked their lives to fight for king and country. His father had built a similar institution for soldiers coming home after the war with the colonies. And like his father, he would deal with the future when it arrived.
Right now, irritated that Miss Hale didn’t seem to be comprehending the ramifications of his predicament, he took a couple of steps toward her, stopped, and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling a bit resolute himself.
Keeping his gaze tightly on her vivid golden-brown eyes, he said, “It’s not that I would mind vying for your hand and winning you over with all the usual accoutrements a young lady would expect for such an occasion in her life. I don’t have the time to romance you and fall dutifully in line with all the other men on your list. I need an answer.”
Unclasping her hands, she let her arms drop to her sides. Her frown assured him she wasn’t happy with what he’d said.
After a long breath, her features suddenly seemed filled with fortitude. Her shoulders moved back, and she took a more relaxed stance. “Romance is the farthest thing from my mind, Your Grace. I will forget you said that. I have the children to consider. However, if Iwereto consent to a union with you…” She hesitated for another moment or two. “There would be certain conditions you would have to agree to first.”
The seriousness of her expression and tone intrigued him, and her words gave him reason to hope she would acquiesce to his appeal. It was best she not know that, at this point, he would agree to anything to get this marriage behind him.
“Go on,” he encouraged, as he watched conflicting emotions shift across her face.
“I would want you to have papers drawn up in which you disavow any claim to properties, trusts, allowances, or anything else that is currently held in trust for the children on their parents’ behalf.”
Already disgruntled by what he was forced to do, Wyatt stiffened. His jaw clenched tight, and he felt his eyebrows pinch and rise. “Wait just a—” Wyatt quickly bit back the oath that hovered on his lips and what he really wanted to say, muttering the curse only to himself.
Did she truly think he might want to claim a child’s inheritance? If so, she really thought he was as bad as the scandal sheets said he was. By law, of course, he could take control of everything she owned or might ever own. Some men would relish the thought. He never would do that to her or the children, and he didn’t like her thinking he might. But he’d swallow what he wanted to say to herabout that assumption and give an answer more appropriate for a lady.
“I’ll start working on the documents as soon as I get settled at the village inn.”
