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As the wine was poured and the courses served, Natalie never had a better time in her life. Lord St. John was funny, charming, thoughtful of her comfort—and everything her husband had not been. She had begun to feel like Cinderella, wishing for midnight never to arrive.
Once Rayne invited the ladies to join her in the drawing room for tea, with the men to remain behind to enjoy their port, St. John immediately stood and announced he would pass on the port.
Disappointed that her fairy tale evening was over, she was pleasantly surprised when he asked her to join him in a stroll around the garden. With the pleasant summer weather waning and the nights becoming cooler, she opted to send Mary to her bedchamber to retrieve her pelisse.
Arm in arm they stepped out onto the patio and down the steps to the garden.
* * *
Alex was tryinghis very best to remain calm as he and the lovely Mrs. Shaw strolled along the garden; the summer flowers were just about gone, but autumn’s offerings were in full bloom. This was his opportunity to get himself out of the dilemma he was soon to face. How this would all end was another problem. Two called-off betrothals would be enough to send his mother into apoplexy. Fixing one problem to create another didn’t make sense, but he would deal with one issue at a time.
He had spoken to Sterling again a few days after their meet-up at the club when he offered the invitation to his home for dinner, and, while nursing a brandy, Alex confessed to the man what he’d done to assuage his mother.
“Short of missing the wedding, for which my cousin, who I have always been very close to, would never forgive me, the only solution I am left with is showing up without the bride-to-be my mother is expecting. If I know her, she has told just about every woman of her acquaintance that an announcement was imminent.” He shook his head. “It was truly a foolish and juvenile thing to do.”
Sterling smiled at him. “Mothers can do that to you, no matter your age.”
“I have racked my brains for a woman who could go with me for the few days of the wedding as my pretend fiancée. I am even willing to pay heavily to get someone to do it. The only women I know who would do this for pay would never pass Mother’s approval. And I’m sure you know precisely what type of woman I am referring to. Nice ladies don’t go off with a stranger for a few days pretending to be his fiancée.”
Sterling sat up straight in his chair. “Natalie.”
“Who?”
“Rayne’s sister, Mrs. Natalie Shaw.”
Alex shook his head. “I am desperate, true, but I won’t take a married woman with me and have her husband chasing me with a well-oiled pistol.”
Sterling shook his head. “No. As I told you, Natalie is a widow. Two years now. She works as Rayne’s nursing assistant and has lived with us ever since her husband passed.”
His heart began to thump. “Do you think she would do it? I mean, is she not fixated on propriety?”
“Now wait a minute, St. John. I am in no way proposing you take my sister-in-law with you and proceed to seduce her. She is a proper, well-brought up woman. With an impressionable daughter.”
Alex waved his hand. “Settle yourself, friend. I would never do that to a woman in your family. I just mean she would be going off for a few days with a man she doesn’t know.”
He shrugged. “Then get to know her. She will be at the dinner next week. Frankly, I believe it is time for her to have some adventure in her life. It might be good for her and would stop my wife from constantly fretting about her future.”
That conversation resulted in him strolling along in Sterling’s garden with this unexpectedly attractive woman by his side. A woman he had never expected to be as enticing as Mrs. Shaw. Being Rayne’s sister, he should have expected her sister to be attractive, but this woman was beautiful. Dark blonde hair, deep hazel eyes, and full, plump lips ready for his kisses.
What? No. If he is going to suggest a pretend engagement then he’d best be getting his mind away from that.
“Do you get much time off from your duties at the infirmary?”
Mrs. Shaw sighed. “Not really. I mean, Rayne and Sterling both have offered to send me and Annalise to Brighton for a short stay, but as much as I would love a holiday, I was never one to enjoy traveling alone.”
“What if you had the opportunity to travel for a few days, but with a companion?”
Bloody hell. He made himself out to be an old lady watching over a young woman’s virtue.
She tilted her head and regarded him with a frown. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
He sighed. “I am not one for dancing around a subject. I prefer to come straight to the point.”
When she didn’t respond—really what was there to respond to—he ploughed ahead. “Let’s sit on the bench over there.”
It would be much better to be able to watch her face for her reaction without knocking himself unconscious by banging into one of the lovely stone statues in the garden.
Once they were settled, he turned toward her. “I find myself in a dilemma, and I need the help of a woman. Before I state my intention, please know that Lord Sterling was the one who proposed this, and, if you agree, has given his approval.”
