started the very kind of gossip that would be almost as bad as the fate I was afraid would await her if she ever got into Lord Wakefield’s clutches. Now we can nip any schemes he might have been hatching in the bud. But...you must understand, time is of the essence. I want a place made ready for her to come to, a place she can feel safe, before her current stepmother marries him.’
‘Which is why our wedding must take place so soon.’
‘That’s it. In fact, I was hoping we could get the knot tied tomorrow, then travel straight down to Mayfield and look the place over.’
‘Mayfield? Why, is there something wrong with it?’
‘I shouldn’t think so. But I do want to just make sure before I tell Julia she can move in. You see, when my father died, I was too young to live there alone, so, as I mentioned, my guardians packed me off to school and let the place out to tenants. Better than letting it stand empty, they reckoned, and renting it out paid for its upkeep.’
‘Oh, dear. Are you going to have to evict the current tenants? It’s so near to Christmas....’
‘And it may very well snow, too.’ He chuckled. ‘No, I’m not going to play the part of an evil landlord, don’t worry about that,’ he said, chucking her chin. ‘Fortunately, a couple of years ago, when it fell vacant, I told the letting agent I didn’t want them to find another tenant. Don’t need the money and have never liked the thought of strangers living there. Good country round about, too. Had some thoughts of doing a bit of entertaining, having some fellows down for the hunting, that sort of thing, though I never got round to it. And just as I told you before, the trustees never bother arguing when they can see I’ve made up my mind. For some reason, they stopped letting out Durant House, too.
‘Oh, hang it! I suppose I shall have to reside there once I’m married and have Julia in tow.’
‘You don’t like the place?’
‘It’s like a cross between a barn and a mausoleum,’ he said gloomily.
‘Can you not make it more comfortable?’
‘I don’t see how.’
‘W-well, I’ve never lived anywhere that cannot be made more...cheerful, by the strategic placement of furniture and a lick of paint.’
‘If you can make Durant House anything like approaching cheerful,’ he said fervently, ‘I will consider myself for ever in your debt.’
‘R-really?’
He pounced on the hopeful note she couldn’t help trembling through her voice.
‘I’ll give you a completely free hand. In fact, I would prefer it if you didn’t bother me with any of the details of the refurbishment at all.’
‘You are willing to give me a totally free hand in the redecoration of your town house?’
‘Mayfield, too, if you think you’d enjoy it. The only stipulation I will make is that I want it to feel like somewhere Julia can really feel at home.’
‘A...a home.’ She pressed her hands to her cheeks. ‘You want me to turn your ancestral seat into a home?’
‘Actually,’ he said, as though it had just occurred to him, ‘it’s traditional for the new bride to make some changes.’
‘Oh,’ she breathed, her hands clasped at her bosom now. She’d asked him for one room to call her own and he was presenting her with two whole houses.
‘You’d really enjoy doing that?’
‘Yes. Very much.’
‘Good. Told you I wanted you to be happy! And if buying new carpets and wallpaper will do it, then so much the better. Though...’ He rubbed his nose with his thumb as though a thought had just struck him. ‘If your taste really runs counter to mine, I might just have to reserve a room or two for myself.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of making you uncomfortable anywhere in your own homes,’ she protested.
‘You won’t,’ he said firmly. ‘This will be a very... That is, I’ve already told you I don’t want us to be in each other’s pockets all the time. You can go your way and I’ll go mine. Within limits.’ He frowned. Then shook his head. ‘No, no, never mind. I trust you to set a good example for Julia to follow. You won’t go creating any sort of scandal, will you?’
‘I...I don’t think I’d know how to,’ she said, a little stung by his warning, even though he had retracted it almost at once.
He smiled at her again. A smile so warm and full of approval that she quite forgave his blunt speaking yet again. It was just the way he was and she was going to have to get used to it.
‘So, you have no objection to marrying tomorrow and heading straight down there, then?’
‘What?’ She wasn’t sure how they’d moved from living separate, but parallel lives, the way she’d heard many tonnish people did, to rushing into the wedding itself.
‘Your aunt tried to make some objection about not having time to get a trousseau together, but do you really need one?’
‘N-no, of course not.’ She hadn’t even thought about it. All that had exercised her mind since the day before had been how to avoid marriage altogether.
He frowned. ‘You do mind. I can tell. Your aunt is right. It is downright selfish of me to deny you all the folderol most brides have. You’ll want a new gown at the least, and shoes.’
‘I...I think I could contrive to get something you won’t be ashamed to see me in, by tomorrow,’ she said.
His face lit up. ‘I’ll pay for it, of course. Send whatever bills you run up to me. Well, I think that’s all settled, then.’
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. Having scanned it swiftly, he thrust it back, his face flushing. ‘You wouldn’t believe how many things a chap has to remember,’ he said, fishing around in another pocket, from which he produced a second list.
‘No wonder most women insist on having several weeks to organise a wedding. Ah. Yes, thought so,’ he said, thrusting the list back into his pocket. ‘There is just one more thing I do need to discuss with you, before we tie the knot.’
He cleared his throat.
‘This may be a businesslike arrangement, but it won’t be a paper marriage.’
‘I don’t follow.’
‘To be blunt, I need an heir. I’ve thought about this a lot, since...well, since I decided on marriage. And I’ve come to the conclusion we should get that side of things started straight away. I can tell you’re quite a bashful sort of girl and that you might think I ought to give you time to become accustomed to the idea of being married, before I make any demands of that nature. But it’s like this...’
He leaned forward and took hold of both her hands in his. ‘At the moment, we both like each other. Don’t we?’
When she nodded, shyly, he smiled. ‘Now, the sad fact is marriages can turn sour remarkably quickly. I’ve seen it time and time again. If we get to the point where we cannot stand even being in the same room as one another...well, let’s just say attempting to get an heir in those conditions won’t be pleasant. Not for either of us. But at the moment, when we kiss...’
He looked at her mouth. Her lips tingled in remembrance of the kisses they’d shared the day before. And then every other part of her began to tingle, as well.
He was probably right. She’d grown up in a house where husband and wife could barely stand to be in the same room as each other. Whereas now...
Well, it really sounded as though he wouldn’t try to suffocate her. He had at least two houses that she knew of. So they needn’t ever be cooped up in a cramped little cottage, resenting the very air that each breathed. And they