She nodded, biting her lip. “Anything else?”
“I know you are waiting to hear the most important one,” he breathed. “As I previously stated,no, you will not have to do wifely duties in the bedroom with me, but we will have to show affection in public… Though, if you do choose, we can explore a little intimacy,” William replied, tucking a lock of hair from her eyes. “However, at no point will I attempt to divest you of your virginity… unless you want it of me.”
Gently extricating herself from his hold and retaking her previous seat, she asked, “Do you honestly think anyone will want to marry me after we separate?”
“Yes,” William replied. “But only if youchooseto marry. I am sure the funds I will give you will suffice to take care of you for the rest of your life.”
“Why was it made that you did not have your inheritance?” Bridget asked.
“My father passed when I was in my first year of Oxford, and I had not reached the age of majority then, so my uncle stepped in as caretaker. When I did get to one-and-twenty, I was given a fifty-thousand-pound allowance, but then I came to find out that my father had left a provision in his will that I would only get my inheritance, a sum of a million pounds and a few businesses, when I marry.”
Briget’s eyes widened to dinner plates upon hearing the sum. A mere fifty pounds was a fortune to her and the thought of a million pounds made gooseflesh burst over her skin.
“W-what happened to the fifty thousand?” Her voice was hushed in shock.
“I blew through it all like it was paper,” he admitted. “Drinking, betting, paying forcompanionship. I was a scoundrel back then.”
“You still are,” she mentioned.
He snorted. “Touché.”
“What about your debts?” she asked.
His eyes sharpened. “I’m taking care of those.”
His tone broke no leeway for her to press the issue, so she changed topics. “What about your mother? Is she present in your life?”
Rubbing his eyes, he said, “Mother is away from my mess, she lives up North, in the countryside of Carlisle as a merryDowager. She writes and visits me once or twice a year, but she is not overbearing or pressuring me to marry.”
“But now you need to,” she affirmed.
“Yes.” The carriage broke free of London’s traffic and was running free to Lady Eleanor’s town home.
They slipped silently and the only sounds were the trundle of the carriage wheels, as she felt his gaze trail over her person. “I feel as if I have crushed a dream of yours, haven’t I? You seem to be the sort of lady who dreamed of her prince, a virtuous man who would shower you with love and affection.”
“Yes,once upon a time,” she picked at her skirts. “But when our lives took a sudden turn and reality came knocking, I realized how fragile wealth and comfort are. I still do hope for love, but I will always choose comfort and ease over the toil of hardship. And isn’t that a horrible thing to say.”
“No, it is practical,” he attested. “Society has always made it clear that the appropriate match has everything to do with proper breeding and money, but then Minerva Press and their novels have added romance and love to the equation, making ladies wanting all four.
“The truth is, only a fraction of those seeking a partner can find all four, and most will have to settle for two. One can either get wealth and comfortability or love and a mediocre life,” William replied. “It is rare that one can have both, though I have heard of a few.”
“One can only hope,” she replied quietly, glancing out of the window to see the townhouse approaching. “But I know the wisdom of being practical instead of holding onto a dream.”
“Most people in the ton have no notion of seeking an alliance based on tender feelings. Their union is one of mutualconvenience, respect, and honor to each other,” William replied. “I should know, my parents had that sort of union.”
Dropping her eyes to her lap, Bridget did not know how tactfully to ask the question brewing in her heart, so she did the best she could. “What would happen if… attraction played into the equation?”
A strange look crossed over William’s face before his expression turned salacious. He leaned in, “Sweetheart, is that your roundabout way of telling me you’re attracted to me?”
Her eyes lowered to half-mast, “I think you already know the answer to that.”
“I do,” he grinned, and the shadows that crossed his face made him look lecherous. “But I would like to hear you say it.”
“You are arrogant, a lothario, insidiously charming, and decided on ruining your life, but yes…” she paused. “I am attracted to you. You might not know this, but that night in the alley… you had taken my first kiss.”
The carriage came to the doorway of the lady’s house, and William descended before her to assist her down, but before handing her over to the waiting footman, kissed her cheek, then murmured in her ear, voice husky, “Let us see how many more firsts we can cross off the list.”
CHAPTER 18
