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“I’m aware of that.”Painfully so.
Spinsterhood wasn’t an especially appealing prospect—not only because she’d always dreamed of falling in love, setting up house, and having children—but because with Henry gone, the modest family fortune had passed to a third cousin. Thus far, her cousin had been both sympathetic and generous, but should he change his mind, her financial situation could quickly turn grim.
“And what about your political causes and all those charitable organizations?” he asked. “I know how important they are to you. If you lose your good reputation, you’d lose a good measure of influence, too.”
Yet another blow, and one that struck nearer her heart.
She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Perhaps I’ll have to surrender my membership in the Ladies’ Social Justice Society. The meetings were rather a bore, anyhow.”
“I’ll take care of this,” he said. “Once I have him staring into the end of my pistol, he’ll reconsider. Don’t worry.”
Don’tworry?The only emotion she could feel at the moment was worry. The chances of Giles killing Sebastian in a duel were slim, but they weren’t nonexistent.
“Sebastian, I won’t let you risk your life for me. Not over this.”
“I’dgivemy life for you. Without a moment’s thought.”
Goodness. For once, she was caught without a response. He’d taken her breath away. She’d already lost her father, then her only brother.
Mary couldn’t bear to lose him, too.
“Listen to me. I’m not going to wed Giles. Ever. Even if you found him, reduced him to pleading at gunpoint, and brought him back to this chapel within the next quarter-hour, I would refuse. Do you mean to threaten me with a pistol, too?”
“Of course not,” he grumbled. “I can’t force you to marry him.”
“Well, then. That’s settled. Spinsterhood it shall be.” She steadied herself. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go explain to the curate.”
He caught her by the arm. “No, I will not excuse you. You will not go explain to the curate. You will not be ruined, and you are not going to be a spinster, either. You’re going to marry me.”
Chapter 2
Sebastian didn’t expect that she would take his declaration well.
And he was right.
“What?”she exclaimed.
“You need to marry someone, and if you won’t wed Perry, you will marry me. It’s the only way.”
Her brow crinkled. “It’s not the only way.”
“It’s the only way I’ll allow. I know how small your dowry is. You’re not going to be an impoverished spinster if I can help it. And I can.”
“If it’s the money you’re concerned about, you could settle a few thousand pounds on me. You certainly have it to spare.”
“And make you a target for unscrupulous fortune-hunters? The devil I will.”
“My goodness. What a low opinion you have of my ability to choose suitors.”
He stepped back and made a show of searching the room. “The last man you chose to wed isn’t here.”
He saw her flinch, and he regretted his harsh tone. He didn’t want to hurt her. She deserved to be courted by scores of men and worshipped by the lucky fellow she chose. But the world they lived in wasn’t fair. That damned Perry would go on to have a fine life, and Mary would pay the price—with her prospects, her reputation, her friends, her influence.
She sighed. “I know you see this as your problem to solve, with Henry gone. But Henry cared about you, too. He wouldn’t want you to throw your future away out of misplaced loyalty.”
“My loyalty is not misplaced. In fact, there is nowhere else my loyaltycouldbe placed. I don’t have anyone else.” He forged on, wanting to escape the softness in her eyes. “As for the suggestion that I’d be throwing away my future, I won’t even dignify that with a response.”
“I’m not helpless, Sebastian.”
