Page 31 of Against the Wind

“That,” Martin said, staring at the iris flowers blooming on the other side of the window, “is a daunting question. I feel responsible for her, though I do not know exactly why that should be. When first I encountered her at Willow House, I thought to make her my mistress.” When Ormond grunted in protest Martin added, “But of course a dowager baroness would be resistant to the idea. I’ve long reconsidered that thought.”

“You need a wife, Martin,” Ormond emphatically counseled. “And she obviously needs a protector.”

Martin let out a breath without turning. “I had no plans to marry again, you know that. A spy should not. The risk to the woman is too great. Any woman who is my wife would be vulnerable, a target.” Yet even as he said the words, Martin was intrigued. After all, this was his last mission. He felt certain he would never find a woman better suited to making him happy.

“Lady Egerton is already in danger, Martin. Besides, you cannot blame yourself forever for what happened in the past. Kit is a real find, I daresay. Even my wife has remarked it. And that raises another matter. Mary is quite fond of her. In the short time she has been here, the two have become particular friends. She would not be pleased if you failed to do the honorable thing after your…initial interaction.”

Martin turned, frustrated. “If I agree to do the deed you urge, I would only be putting her in further danger.”

“You are also in the best position to protect her, are you not? Do not forget she is a dowager baroness and the daughter of an earl. And a rare beauty. What stands in your way? If you desire her, make her your wife. Certainly you want her?”

“From the first time I saw her. She fascinates me, and I can barely keep my hands off her.” Martin was drawn back to the night he entered the room at Willow House to see the pale rays of moonlight on Kit’s face. He’d never forget her standing in front of that window staring out into the night. Even then he could scarcely believe she was a courtesan. He should have realized immediately that she was no lightskirt. But a wife was a target, and to lose a wife could mean a lifetime of pain. How well he knew.

Avoiding his friend’s eyes, Martin stared into his glass of liquor. “But wanting her does not change anything.”

“While we are happy to have her stay with us, Martin, I suspect you will regret it if you allow her to remain free. Perhaps you failed to note the men at the Claremont ball who eyed her with decided interest. Once this matter with Rutledge is cleared up, even without a dowry, there will be suitors vying for her hand. I went through that with Mary, and I would spare you the unpleasantness.”

Martin was adrift. He wanted Kit. He craved her like a starving man would a feast, and he did not like the idea of another man courting her, another man’s hands upon her. The notion was entirely unacceptable. Then a separate thought occurred: She might be carrying his child.

Damnation, she was his kitten. If he made her his wife, he would have the lovely vixen in his bed every night. Of course, he would have to take her with him to the Midlands. She could not be left in London for more adventures with Lady Ormond, nor could he risk the possibility Rutledge might find her unprotected. Which was another reason to wed her. Perhaps Ormond was right. He could protect her better this way.

He looked up from his drink. “All right.”

“All right what?”

“All right, I will do it. I will marry Lady Egerton.”

Ormond raised a brow. “May I count upon this sudden conversion as one that will not change on the morrow?”

“You may. I will marry the lady. That is, if she will have me. She was born above me. She may refuse my suit.”

“You are one of Prinny’s knights, Martin, a baronet. Your family’s pursuits keep the bank in business, whereas Lady Egerton may have a title but not one coin to rub against another. Given her circumstances, and your prior…acquaintance, I daresay she will have you.”