“Thank you.”
Charswood was not wrong. Alliewasrational.
Sensible, however? That might remain to be seen.
“So in that vein,” he continued, “let me tell you what I wish from our potential union, and I would then ask you to do the same.”
She didn’t want to like Charswood in any whit, but she begrudgingly acknowledged that she appreciated his straight-forward manner.
“Very well,” she replied.
Allie’s mount paused again, this time distracted by a patch of particularly green grass. She permitted the animal to chomp a few bites.
Charswood halted his own mount at her side. “As we are both aware, I am old enough to be your grandfather. In fact, I have grandchildren not far off your age. I have an heir and spare and even more in the wings. I do not need or want more children. Moreover, my countess and the love of my life passed on three years ago.”
“I am sorry for your loss.”
“As am I. Clara was the best of women.”
“Then why pursue a second marriage at all?” Allie had to ask the question.
“Ah, I intuited you were clever, too,” he smiled, faint and soft. “Again, if we are to make a match of things, I would have us be completely open with one another. In that vein, I shall be honest with you, though it hurts my pride to do so.” Charswood took a long breath, eyes darting over the landscape. “Though I have managed my lands and wealth to the best of my ability, the turmoil of the past several years has taken a toll on my finances. I am considering remarriage because I require the influx of cash your dowry will bring.”
“The Salzi Mine,” Allie said flatly.
“Precisely. The saltpeter discovery is a phenomenal boon and would see my son and grandson well-settled long after I am gone. Generously, Kendall has also attached thirty thousand pounds to your dowry, in addition to the mines.”
Madonna mia.Trust Kendall to do nothing by halves.
No wonder the earl was willing to forgo his distaste for remarriage and take a wife again. He would receive a king’s ransom in return. Allie herself was merely a nuisance to tolerate in the deal.
Her heart sank. Given everything at stake, Charswood would be dogged in his pursuit of her.
“There,” the earl continued, “I have laid out why I wish for an alliance between us. Now, it is your turn. What do you, Lady Allegra, want from life? What do you wish for more than anything?”
Freedom.
Allie knew her answer.
But what reply did Charswood expect from her? And how much of this conversation would be parroted back to Kendall?
Tugging on her reins and touching the mare’s flank with her riding crop, Allie urged the horse into a walk again. Charswood followed at her side.
“I can practically hear the gears turning in your mind, my lady,” the earl said quietly. “Please know that I will keep your confidence. Your brother will not learn of this discussion. You have my word as a gentleman.”
She believed him. He would keep her secrets.
Drat.
This conversation was not going at all as she had expected.
Charswood did appear an admirable sort of man.
“Please,” he repeated. “I would know your wishes.”
“Being most truthful, my lord,” Allie replied, keeping her voice measured. “I wish for my freedom. The Salzi Mine was my mother’s and was always meant to be my own, for me to use during my lifetime and pass along to my first-born daughter, as has been done for hundreds of years in our family. So when you ask what I want, I want my mine returned to me and the liberty to live my life as I wish. To perhaps eventually marry where I choose, should I desire it.” She swallowed, refusing to envision Ethan as the other half of that marriage. “Please forgive my bluntness, but I currently do not wish another to command my days. I want the freedom to be my own person and direct my own course.”
A long silence met her speech.
