“You are upset,” Elinor remarked.
Alden tossed his hands up in the air. “Of course I am upset. How am I ever going to get married when the young women you are introducing me to are entirely unacceptable.”
Elinor tilted her head. “Perhaps if you gave me more instruction other than requiring that they are beautiful and desire to get married at once.”
“There must be one normal young woman in this whole village,” Alden declared.
“You haven’t met Maisie Cowen yet,” Elinor attempted. “She is beautiful, well-read and gracious.”
Alden took a step closer to her. “This whole problem could be solved if you agreed to marry me.”
Elinor smirked. “Would I be required to have marital relations with you?” she quipped.
“This is not funny.”
“It is, just a little bit,” Elinor joked. “Perhaps we should finish this conversation in the coach, considering it is rather cold.”
Alden held his hand out towards the coach. “After you,” he said.
Once Elinor was situated in the coach, her lady’s maid sat next to her, and Alden sat across from her.
The coach slowly moved forward and Alden gave her a stern look. “My great-aunt said that you would help me.”
“And I am trying to,” Elinor lied, feeling the familiar guilt that was growing with each passing day. “You will like Maisie Cowen. Trust me.”
“What is wrong with her?” Alden demanded.
“There is nothing wrong with her,” Elinor responded. “Just as there was nothing wrong with Mrs. MacBain and Miss Fraser.”
Alden started tapping his foot, frustration evident on his brow. “I do not have time for games. I need a wife, and quickly.”
Elinor smiled, hoping to disarm him. “And you will get one… in due time.”
“I don’t have time,” he argued. “There must be one agreeable young woman in this entire god-forsaken village.”
Her smile vanished. “You are being rather rude, and I won’t stand for it. This village is made up of good, hard-working, honorable people.”
Leaning forward, Alden asked, “Do you know what happens if I don’t marry?”
“You won’t inherit the horse farm,” Elinor responded.
“Precisely, and I will have nothing,” Alden said.
Elinor clasped her hands in front of her. “You won’t have nothing,” she attempted. “You are still the second son of an earl.”
“Who only has a small inheritance to his name,” Alden stated.
“That is more than some people have.”
Alden’s eyes flickered with determination. “I need to inherit this horse farm so I can sell it and use the money to buy land in England.”
“Why not keep it?” Elinor asked. “That is what your Great-aunt Edith would want.”
“What do you know of my great-aunt’s intentions?” Alden demanded.
Elinor held his gaze. “Apparently, more than you do,” she said. “This was her grandfather’s horse farm and he built it up to what it is today. It means something to her.”
Alden sat back in his seat. “Well, it means nothing to me.”
