Page 21 of When the Scoundrel Sins

He gave a faint shake of his head. “You might not have a choice.”

How well she knew that! “At the very least I want a husband who will treat me like an equal partner.” One who would never put her at the mercy of his whims, who would never shout at her or raise a hand to her. Who wouldn’t attempt to take Glenarvon away from her or interfere with how she wanted to run it.

He frowned. “That doesn’t sound like this Sir Harold of yours.”

“He isn’tmine.” And God help her, if she were lucky, he never would be.

“Better set your sights on another husband, then,” he advised, swirling the scotch in the glass. “And quickly.”

“I have,” she replied soberly.

“Oh?” He raised the glass to his lips. “Who?”

“You.”

***

Quinn choked on the scotch.

Coughing to catch his breath, he stared at her incredulously. She seemed like a perfectly normal woman, sitting there calmly, her big honey-hazel eyes watching him guilelessly. And yet…

Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, he sputtered, “Are youmad?”

She sighed patiently. “If you would just hear me out—”

“Wecannotmarry!”

Her calm appearance only worked to send his galloping heart into a furious tattoo, and he resisted the urge to leap to his feet and run. Which was what he usually did whenever any woman discussed marriage in front of him. Andthisone had the spine to actually propose.

“Not only do we irritate the blazes out of each other, but I’m on my way to America—immediately.” He raised his arm and gestured in what he hoped was a westerly direction, too stunned to be certain. “I have land waiting for me. If I don’t leave, and soon, I’ll lose it.”

“I won’t keep you here longer than absolutely necessary, I promise,” she assured him. She leaned slightly toward him, a fresh intensity glowing in her. “But this can help both of us,” she cajoled, a soft desperation coloring her voice, “giving me the estate under my own control and sending you off with more money at your disposal.”

His mouth fell open.Good God…“You’re serious.”

She gave a sober nod. “Very.”

Unable to sit still any longer, he shot to his feet and stood there awkwardly, running a shaking hand through his hair. Half of him wanted to flee and the other half was shamelessly curious about her scheme. After all, he’d come here in the first place for money. But marriage…Sweet Lord.Just pondering it made his blood run cold with panic and his palms turn clammy.

She uncurled her legs from beneath her and sat forward on the edge of the settee, then paused to bite her bottom lip, as if deciding whether to press on. “Besides,” she ventured cautiously, “I’m only in this situation because of you.”

He gaped at her. “How is thismyfault?”

“Because of that fight with Burton Williams,” she answered quietly.

His eyes narrowed sharply as they slid over her. She was skating on thin ice if she thought she could guilt him into marriage. More resourceful women had tried, and it had gotten them nowhere. Just as it would with her…despite the odd pang of unexpected remorse pinching his gut.

Damnation, hehadcaused problems for her that night. But not enough to wed her because of it. “It was ill-conceived, I’ll admit—”

“Immature,” she corrected.

Thatstung more than he wanted to admit. “Misguided,” he clarified, crossing his arms over his chest. “But Williams was insulting you.”

The truth was that the bastard had done a helluva lot more to her than that. In the weeks following that ball, Williams had branded her a poplolly. He’d made certain that all his cronies at Boodle’s had a good laugh over finding Quinn with Lady Ainsley’s companion, all ripped and rumpled—along with several other more salacious adjectives as the story passed through theton.

“I’m an impoverished lady’s companion whose father is a convict,” she said quietly. “Do you think that was the first time I’d ever been insulted by someone like Burton Williams?”

He blew out a hard sigh as the pang of remorse blossomed into full-out guilt. She’d never have been accepted by society, no matter how much his aunt and uncle wanted that for her. But that night certainly hadn’t helped.