He tossed his hands up. “You are the daughter of a viscount and come with a dowry.”
“Do you even care for me as you claim?”
“I do.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Pardon me if I don’t believe you.”
Mr. Drew walked over to the dressing table and touched the petals of the roses in a vase there. “You were the answer to all of my problems.”
“How romantic,” she muttered.
“I need a wife who will boost my position in Society, and you need a husband who is willing to overlook your past.”
“Good gracious, I fell off my horse in Hyde Park,” she declared. “It wasn’t as if I did something scandalous.”
“But you never truly looked at me, not with Lord Charles coming around.”
“Lord Charles and I are just friends.”
He gave her a pointed look. “We both know that isn’t true.”
“Regardless, it isn’t any of your business.”
Mr. Drew picked up the vase and held it in his hand. “It will be once we are wed.”
Henrietta huffed. “What part of this conversation gave you any indication that I intend to marry you?”
“You will have no choice.”
“Let me be clear,” she started. “I will never marry you, not now, not ever.”
Mr. Drew smirked. “Once I throw this vase, the household will come running, and you will have no choice but to marry me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare.” Her voice was far more confident than she felt at the moment.
“It would have been preferable if you had been a willing bride, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“I won’t marry you, even if you were the last man alive.”
“We shall see.” He lifted his arm and tossed the vase towards the wall that she shared with Marjorie’s bedchamber. The vase shattered on impact, and the deafening sound filled the quiet manor.
“What have you done?” she breathed.
A look of satisfaction came to his face as he watched her. Within a few moments, Marjorie came running through the door with a panicked look on her face.
“Is everything all right…” Her voice stopped as she caught sight of Mr. Drew. “What are you doing in here?”
“I have been sneaking into Henrietta’s room at night,” Mr. Drew lied.
Henrietta gasped. “That is not true!”
Marjorie glanced over her shoulder before saying, “You have to get out of here, or else my parents will discover you here.”
Mr. Drew smiled over at Henrietta, his smile causing her skin to crawl. “That is precisely what I was hoping for.”
“Why would you wish that?” Marjorie asked.
Before he could answer her question, her mother and father stormed into the room. “What is the meaning of this?” her father demanded.
