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Chapter 8

At least she didn’t faint.

“What?!”

He carefully levered himself up from his chair and came over and sat beside her on the sofa.

“My days of getting down on my knees are long past.”

He reached out and took her hand.

“I am of sound mind, definitely not of sound body, but I have been thinking about this very thing since the day I injured you. I have talked it through with my lawyer and he is in agreement with me. It is a rational and sensible thing to do. You do not need to answer immediately, in fact I would like you to continue to listen.

“I am dying. Not of an illness but of a lifetime of abuse to my body. I am almost certain to not last five years, I could last five months, I could drop dead in five hours. I have no heirs. You heard me explain that we were now at the stage of investigating possible relatives from close to 200 years ago. If I die with no known heir then my title, and the estate that supports it, is defaulted to the Crown. That is the cold hard fact of the matter. My will has the rest of my assets being gradually sold off and the money donated to various charities.

“Do you know when I was falling, in that split second between stumbling and hitting you, I had the momentary thought of ‘what do I care?’, when it came to the disposition of the estate. A day later I was considering the fact that I did care. And nothing has changed over the last three weeks. I want to marry you so that as my widow you are safe and comfortable for the rest of your life.

“Given my age, there will be no relations between us although there will be several moments when you will be mortified. I will explain them to you in due course. But I am offering you the chance to live the life you deserve.”

He knew the tears would flow, he was close to tears himself, and he gently patted her hand while she dealt with the outpouring of emotions. Her burst of tears was not long and eventually she rallied.

“Why me?”

“It is trite and flippant but why not? You saved my life, extended it for sure. You were dealt a terrible hand, suffered through no fault of your own. And, paraphrasing both the good book and the minister of my church, I cannot take it with me. I am depriving no one and frankly, it has made me feel good for the first time in many years. I feel like I am alive rather than just existing. Is it outrageous good fortune for you? Of course it is, yet it is nothing more than balancing the terrible misfortune you have suffered.”

“You are serious, are you not?”

He smiled at her need for certainty.

“I am so serious that in the drawer of my desk in my study there is a draft marriage settlement.”

He watched her close her eyes and when she opened them saw her pinch her own hand.

“This is not a dream.”

He shook his head.

“We are both awake, this is real life.”

He saw her go back over the conversation and when she blushed he knew what the first question would be.

“You have been candid and blunt with me throughout my time here. Which I have come to appreciate as it is so different than how women are normally treated. Tell me please.”

He explained what was going to be necessary, what was going to be the ultimate insurance. Her face was redder than the ripest of tomatoes.

“We are never going to have relations, I am no longer able at my age. You are totally safe there. But we are going to talk about our mythical sex life in great detail.”

“Why?”

“I learned from my wife, all those years ago, that women talk of the marriage bed between themselves. You have suffered under the worst of prurient scrutiny and judgement already, so I do not need to explain what it would be like if these same women asked you questions that you were unable to answer. We are going to have graphic conversations about the relations between a man and a woman so that when I am long gone you are able to answer questions, however personal or intrusive.”

Elizabeth looked at him sharply.

“This really happens between women?”

“My wife returned from many a visit and regaled me with stories of the questions asked of her. And answered by others in the room. She gave me no details but did share the questions asked of her.”

Elizabeth plucked up her courage.