AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The man gave a single nod. “I wanted to see your house.”
That was not the answer she expected. Sarah took another step away from him. “My house? Whyever for?”
“Because part ofmycontract with Mrs. Dove-Lyon is that after we marry, I will pay off your loan. Which means that I will own your house. I wanted to see what the property looks like.”
Sarah’s feet felt embedded in the pavement, her chest tight. A harsh memory flashed through her mind. Her father, his office so hot she could barely breathe. Crewood, looking smug, the marriage contract in hand, his graying hair limp with sweat. “So you bought me. Just like my first husband.”
The red in Embleton’s cheeks spread. “That is not how I would put it. No.” He scowled. “What do you mean ‘like your first—’”
“So how would you put it? You approached Mrs. Dove-Lyon in need of a wife. Did you truly think she would offer up someone over whom she had no hold? No leverage? That she would not arrange for a man looking for a wife in the same way she does when a woman comes to her looking for a husband? Do you not know what she does?” She leaned a bit closer. “You speak of this as business. Do you not realize that this is part ofherbusiness?”
“I did not think—” He stopped.
“And that is the first honest thing you have said.”
His neck turned as red as his cheeks, and every muscle stiffened. “I have been straightforward and truthful with you from the very first.”
She glared at him, then turned down the street again, pushing her feet forward. “Right. Well, come on. You have bought yourself a bride. Let’s have a look at what you purchased. Would not want you thinking you picked up a pig-in-a-poke.”
“Now wait one moment.” He fell in step with her, his long legs keeping up with her scurried steps easily. “You were not completely unknown to me. I made inquiries.”
Sarah stopped again, staring up at him. “So I was the only one caught unawares in this arrangement?”
He smeared a hand across his mouth. “Apparently so. I assumed she would have told you.”
That caused her pause. “You thought I knew what was happening in that room?”
He stilled. “Yes.”
She studied him. The set of his shoulders, the placement of his feet. His face had returned to a normal color, and his eyes met hers. Light brown eyes, almost hazel in color. His expression held no deceit. “But you realized that was not true in the midst of that conversation?”
“I began to suspect so. Yes.”
Sarah licked her lower lip. “Well, you see, Mrs. Dove-Lyon is a very wise woman. She knew that if she forewarned me, I would have never set foot in the Lyon’s Den again. I would find another way to pay her debt, even if I had to borrow from someone else to do so. She knew all too well I did not want to ever marry again. I still do not see why she thought I would be a good match for you.”
“I can.”
Sarah blinked. “You can?”
“Because it was the same things that I saw in you. She offered me dossiers on three women. After making inquiries into all three, I selected you. And after meeting you, I am more convinced than before that I made the correct choice. You are intelligent, resourceful, spirited, and have experience running a large estate. You are standing up to me, which means you can manage my mother—who has the sensibility of a charging bear—and my brothers, who can be smart and devious.”
Sarah felt the numbness, the tightness in her begin to ease. She swallowed. “No one has ever said anything like that to me. Ever.”
His voice softened. “Fools be they.” Those green-brown eyes had flecks of gold in them. And they seemed sincere.
Sarah’s shoulders dropped. She had agreed to this. She pointed out her house. “I’m there. Two doors down.”
Embleton looked up, his brows furrowing. “The small three-story?”
She resumed walking “Yes. Ground floor, two uppers. It was what I could afford, even with help. I suppose I could have found something in a less elegant neighborhood—”
“Unwise for a woman alone.”
“—but I was raised here, not far from Spencer House. And this is not the first time I have had to find a place for myself.”
“Your father—” He stopped, as if reluctant to go on.
With a quick laugh, she finished for him. “Lost everything. Everything his father and grandfather had worked so hard to maintain. His title. His properties. His money.”
