Page 38 of The Work of Art

“Because of your dogs. You’ve been insulted and threatened, but my task as a gentleman is to tend to your dogs.”

“You won’t do it?”

“Of course I’ll do it. Your dogs will at least be safe.” Captain Heywood’s hand tightened on his cane. “What about you, Miss Satterthwaite? Who will keep you safe?”

“You needn’t worry about me, sir. I know everything will come right. I’m not too proud to work for a living and haven’t the least qualm about seeking employment. Perhaps I may even find a place somewhere in the country?”

“Moreland will never leave you alone, do you realize that? It makes no difference whether you run away from Townsend’s. If he wants you, he’ll find a way to have you. As a governess or a companion, you’ll be even more vulnerable to him than you are now.”

A chill ran through her. What he said was true. Moreland had told her as much himself yesterday in the library. “You sound as if you think my situation is hopeless, sir, and it may well be, but what else do you propose I do? Simply give up my plan and consent to marry the duke?”

“Three years ago, I would have proposed that I put a bullet in him,” Captain Heywood said brutally. “Now I can offer you no such assistance in that regard. In truth, Miss Satterthwaite, the only thing I have left to offer you, as worthless as it is and as undesirable as it may be to you, is my name.”

Philly stared at him. His face betrayed no emotion and he was still looking off into the distance. She didn’t understand him at all. “I beg your pardon?”

“There’s only one way you’ll ever be out of Moreland’s reach and that’s if you marry another. If you’re truly desperate, perhaps you will consider marrying me.”

“Marry you?” Philly was stunned.

“It would be a marriage in name only, of course.” He ground out the words. “A way to protect you; to keep you safe from Moreland.”

Everything about his demeanor confused her. There was no sympathy in his eyes, or in his tone. Instead, he managed to sound almost angry. And why would he not look at her? Had she done something wrong?

He said nothing else, and Philly was speechless for what seemed an interminable amount of time.

Had it been a real proposal—had he fallen in love with her and wanted her as his wife, she’d have known how to answer. But a marriage in name only? What would such a thing even be like? Would she live with him in Somersetshire as if she were a distant relation he’d taken in? Would she run his household just as she’d once run Satterthwaite Court for her grandfather?

It was a dispassionate offer, and one that spoke more of the role of housekeeper than wife. She supposed she should be insulted. And yet…

The more she thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her. To live with Captain Heywood and no longer be constrained every time she wished to talk to him or be near him? To have the run of a home of her very own? To be once again in the countryside with all her walks and rambles? Philly had never dared hope for such a happy solution. Indeed, she’d never even imagined such a one existed.

But even as her excitement over the prospect grew, a leaden feeling in her stomach told her that it could not be. There was one thing that would be intolerable about the situation, for him, as well as for her. “Captain Heywood,” she began.

He flinched slightly, but still didn’t look at her. His hand was gripping the handle of his cane so tightly it seemed as if he would break it into splinters.

“I thank you for your kind offer, sir,” she said. “But I cannot accept it.”

He closed his eyes briefly against her words.

“I couldn’t allow you to make such a sacrifice. It would be cruel to you and dreadfully unfair. No matter what else I may feel or how desperate my own circumstances, I could never come between a gentleman and the lady he is most devotedly in love with.”

“What the devil are you talking about?” Captain Heywood turned to face her at last.

Philly was so taken aback by the intensity of his expression, it was all she could do to stop herself from instinctively drawing back from him. “Why, about Lady Eliot, sir. It’s well known that you’re in love with her.”

His eyes fairly blazed. “Is it?”

“Yes,” she said, more hesitant now. “My cousins told me the day we all met in the park. They said that…when you came back from the war, she’d broken your engagement and married another, but that you’ve remained steadfast to her, and now she is widowed—”

“Miss Satterthwaite, when I came back from the war, the last thing on my mind was Caroline Battersby. My engagement to her was the thoughtless act of a young man with poor judgment and no sense. When she broke it and married another, I considered it a blessed release. I didn’t love her before the war, and I don’t even think about her now.”

He spoke with unwavering conviction. Philly had no doubt but that he was telling the truth. She had now only to wonder how she could have ever believed her cousins in the first place.

He was watching her reaction carefully. “I’d hoped that you, of all people, would realize that my desire for solitude has little to do with pining away for the love of some society lady. The truth is, Miss Satterthwaite, you’re the only person in quite a long while whose company I can tolerate.”

Her heart thumped. “Captain Heywood, I…”

“I wouldn’t like to see you married to the duke any more than you would like it. You’re right, he’s a cruel man and bound to make your life a misery. I dearly wish I’d some greater assistance I could offer you in the matter, but at present I can barely walk across a room unaided. And, though I can do a creditable job of carving your mutton, my left hand isn’t capable of holding a pistol steady any longer.”