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re an heir. To provide for his siblings and his mother was to him of greater concern.
“My dear friend the Countess of Masheley mentioned to me very discreetly that you were seen leaving the gardens last night with a young lady.”
He was careful to keep his expression schooled. From the curious look his mother gave him and the calculating gleam in her eyes, she could only refer to Lady Willow.
“I met many young ladies last night,” he responded noncommittally.
Her head bobbed. “Yes, but only one you went into the gardens with.”
At his silence, she huffed an impatient sigh. “Lady Willow comes from an extremely prominent and wealthy family. Her father is a duke, and her grandmother is a formidable Dowager Countess. Lady Willow has an ample dowry and political connections to help you take your place in this new fabric of society. Her circumstances should also make her eager for your attentions.”
“Her circumstances?” he snapped, irritated with his mother. Lady Willow’s lack of sight did not define her.
His mother shrugged indelicately. “Lady Willow is blind, and by all accounts, her parents have been hiding her away at Hadley House. From what I gleaned, she has not even had a season. They will be grateful for you to wed her.”
No season and no wedding. The last time he saw her, she was supposed to leave for London with her mother to purchase her wedding trousseau for her marriage to the Duke of Salop. Could it have been that long? Was that why she was unwed?
“Have you discovered how she came to be blind?” Asking the question revealed too much of Alasdair’s interest, but his gut burned to know.
“No. But that is irrelevant. It only matters her parents will be happy for your attentions and should have no objection to your suit. Lady Willow herself will be grateful. After the nuptials, she could stay in the country, so she is not an embarrassment.”
Hot anger curled through him. “An embarrassment?” he bit out coldly.
His mother at least had the grace to blush. “I did not mean to be so callous. I sympathize with her plight.”
It would be appallingly easy to decide to woo a lady for her money if it would help restore his family. If it would help to provide for his sisters when they would desire a season and a dowry. But could he marry a woman like Lady Willow for such a purpose? Never. She dreamed. He saw it… felt it, he had even tasted it. She yearned for love and passion, to be swept away in the enchanted realm of lust and love. Though he had burned to be inside her last night, it would be a sin to marry her unless he could offer her that.
Alasdair no longer believed in love and the dreams they had once shared, and he wouldn’t succumb to such emotions again. He wanted a simple marriage with none of the emotions and none of the expectations beyond an heir and simple affection. That he would willingly give his wife. Affection, respect, loyalty. But never would he open himself to the hunger, the desperation of loving and needing someone, as he had done with Willow. And if what he heard last night was true, she was no longer an heiress, making her doubly unsuitable.
His lack of fortune was damning. He was responsible for the livelihood of hundreds of people. He had to do all in his power to remain solvent. But Alasdair had hope. He had sold much of the antique silverware, and the unique set of Meissen the family had been so proud of, to invest in a shipping venture. It would bring spices and silks. To improve their fortunes, he had also been gambling, a vice he had sworn to stay away from, after it had destroyed his father, and started the financial ruin they were on. But Alasdair had been winning, and he was careful. He had won twenty acres of prime London property in a game of hazard a few nights ago. He had thought to divest himself of it for quick gains but hesitated. He would pursue every avenue to develop it for profit, regardless of such ventures being viewed as beneath a marquess. Despite what his mother believed, he would not leave only one option open to salvage his family.
“I see you are not aware of the rumors surrounding Lady Willow’s name.”
Predictably, his mother straightened in her chair and tried to affect a disinterested mien. “I do not think you can give credit to any rumor you overhear, Alasdair. From all accounts, she has been living at Hadley House for the past six years and has not sojourned to London. No doubt any gossip would be from the jealous harpies who saw the marked attention you showed her.”
Six years, was that how long she had been without sight? The weak feeling which travelled through him was abhorrent. He affected a casual smile for the benefit of his mother. “I spoke with Lord Bancroft last night. As you know, he is a close acquaintance of the family. Our conversation invariably turned to the beautiful Lady Willow.”
Alasdair watched the wheels turning in his mother’s head, and he swallowed the chuckle as a flush rose in her cheeks.
“Salacious gossip?” she queried, pouring herself a cup of tea from the trolley.
Salacious? He strolled over to sit beside her on the chaise lounge.
“No. Bancroft referred to the fact Lady Willow is without a dowry, and all of London is aware of it.”
Her face whitened. “What utter balderdash! The Duke of Milton is wealthy and certainly not hard up for money. I would have heard of this.”
She searched his expression frantically before closing her eyes. It took a few moments before she composed herself, then she opened her lids. “I can see from your face the rumors are true. If she is really dowerless, Alasdair, please strike a connection with her from your thoughts.”
How easy the tides were turned.
“I never indicated such a desire on my part.” Though now he was undoubtedly interested. But not to marry Willow or even to take the pleasures he had desperately wanted to pursue last night. He had a burning desire to understand the flash of pain that had clouded her gaze, to know how she had been hurt and why. While he would never marry her, they could possibly become friends.
“You could have been forced to marry her if it had been thought you compromised her!” his mother said in a strangled voice. “Why did you take a turn with Lady Willow in the gardens?”
“I do not believe I have to explain myself to you, madam.”
His mother flushed, then narrowed her eyes at him. “You were always the difficult one, and I can see you are shaping up to be so now.”
