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She shrugged. “I can only guess Mamma asked him for assistance in the matter. He did help with Langley. But Tessa deserves some happiness after her previous marriage. Langley was thirty years her senior.”
“What would you have me do?”
Her blue eyes beseeched with him. “Speak to your father. Tell him Tessa deserves a better man than Dereham...a younger man. Mamma listens to him. She respects his opinions...she always has.”
He supposed he could do that. In truth, his father would not care for his opinion on the matter. Mrs. Drake wanted a good match or rather a wealthy match. If not Tessa, then Mrs. Drake would insist Louisa make a good match. His stomach clenched with the idea of her marrying anyone. But perhaps that was what should happen.
“There is another option,” he started slowly, praying she’d had enough brandy to accept him without overthinking the idea as she usually did everything.
“Oh?” Her brows furrowed in thought. “I’ve spent hours thinking of an acceptable solution.”
“Me.”
“You?” Her blue eyes widened. “You want to marry Tessa?”
“No.” He drained his brandy for the strength needed to propose. “We could marry. Our marriage would keep Tessa from having to wed Dereham.”
She stared over at him. Her eyes were wide with surprise as shock etched her face. “You think we should marry? Have you lost your mind?”
“Always a possibility.” His heart sank. There had to be a way to convince her that they would suit.
“I doubt our union would help Tessa,” she continued. “Mamma wants all her girls wed and out of the house. Besides, you’re a rake. Not that most would deny your right to sow your oats while you are young, but there is no guarantee you will reform when the time is right.”
“And that time, according to you, is thirty.”
She rose to pace the room. “Yes. At least.” She turned and faced him. “Besides, I am far too young to marry.”
And yet, she hadn’t completely dismissed the idea. Her only apparent objection focused on their age. “You are correct on our youth. However, I believe our friendship would make a marriage most tolerable, don’t you?”
Her dark brows furrowed in contemplation. “Perhaps. But we do not love each other the way a husband and wife should.”
Don’t we? “We would come to love each other in that manner, Louisa.”
She scowled at him. “There is no guarantee of that. My parents thought they loved each other, but my mother certainly did not properly love my father.”
“I never took you as the romantic sort, Louisa.”
She turned away but not before he noticed the blush staining her cheeks. “I have no romantic tendencies, Harry. But when I wed, I want to be certain the man I marry won’t keep a mistress.”
“And you think I would?” Anger lined his voice.
“Don’t be annoyed. You are young still. I doubt you’re ready to settle down with a wife and children.”
So, they were back to their ages. Louisa wanted him to mature. And perhaps she was right. The difficulty would be to keep her from forming an attachment during that time. “Well, I believe I have a solution.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” He walked to Lord Huntley’s desk and then pulled out a piece of paper. “You say our main impediment is our age. But what if we do not find another person to marry? You don’t want to marry for another four to five years. By then, many men will consider you too old, or believe something is wrong with you for not marrying. And there is always the chance that your mother will attempt to match you as she has Tessa.”
Her face drew pallid. “I hadn’t thought of that. But I would never allow such a thing.”
“Your mother can be most persuasive.” He waited for her nod of acknowledgment before continuing, “I say we make a deal.”
“A deal?” she asked, stepping closer to the desk to see what he was writing.
“Yes.”
“What sort of deal?”
