Charswood cleared his throat.
“That is not at all what I anticipated you might say, my lady.”
“Is it not?”
“No,” he said on a short laugh. “I was terrified you would wish for a handsome young husband and a house full of children, two things I absolutely cannot give you.”
At his words, another image of Ethan Penn-Leith rose—a pair of rambunctious children, with her dark hair and his green eyes, scrambling onto his lap and demanding another story.
Honestly, this needed to cease.
“I would very much like us both to receive what we want, Lady Allegra,” Charswood continued. “Therefore, let us explore how we can compromise. I cannot give you back your mines. The saltpeter is too vital to the financial survival of the earldom.”
“But do you need the salt portion?” she asked. “The saltpeter is only found in one small section. It is my understanding that the rest of the mines contain only salt.”
Charswood pondered that for a moment. “You are correct, of course. Let us say that I discover a way to legally separate the salt mines from the saltpeter portion. Then upon our marriage, I could return the salt mines to you. I would also be willing to give half of the additional thirty thousand pounds over to your care. This could all be written into the marriage contracts.”
Allie said nothing, her pulse a rapid thump under her sternum.
The deal he proposed was generous. More so than most other men would offer.
But Charswood was not done. “In addition, I would make no demands upon yourself as a husband. I would not require you to share my bed. In fact, I would only occasionally need your company in London. Aside from that, you would be free to choose one of my many properties as your home during my lifetime. My only requirement would be that you remain faithful to me. I cannot have lurid gossip of my wife’s illicit liaisons dogging our marriage. In all other ways, you would be free to live as you would like. Travel or not. Rusticate or not. You get the idea.”
Allie’s heart stopped in her chest. As in, her lungs hitched and her breathing ceased.
How tightly laced was her corset?
Of everything she had anticipated from a conversation with Charswood, this reality had never crossed her mind. That the old earl would propose something genuinely appealing.
How to reply?
“You make a remarkable offer, my lord,” she began. “But please forgive me for stating the obvious. If we were to marry, you would own me as surely as any horse or dog in your care. I would cease to be a person before the law. Therefore, how can I be sure you will hold to your end of this bargain? You can give me your word, but that is of little comfort when I find myself trading the cage of life with Kendall for the cage of life with yourself.”
Smiling, Charswood shook his head. “You are indomitable, Lady Allegra. I find myself surprised at how much I admire your pluck. In some ways, it is a pity I am not thirty years younger. It is not my intention that you should simply have to rely upon my word, my lady. I will happily instruct my solicitor to put our agreement in writing, therefore ensuring that you have some legal recourse should I renege on my promises. Of course, the same document will ensure that I am protected as well, should you not uphold your end of the bargain.”
They rode on in silence for a while, Allie’s thoughts a whirlwind, fluttering round in her brain.
She had never once expected that she might actually consider Charswood’s offer.
And yet, now . . . in a sense, the earl offered her all that she claimed to want—her mines and her freedom.
Without Ethan, of course. But the poet had been lost to her from the beginning.
At least Charswood’s proposal was an attainable goal.
“And what about my brother?” she asked. “Would he know of this agreement of ours?”
Charswood scratched his chin. “To be very honest, I believe Kendall is the one who proposed the idea in the first place—that I ask what you desire most and then negotiate a solution.”
Allie’s eyes narrowed. She considered that . . . very unlikely.
Moreover, Charswood didn’t seem the type to bow to her brother’s wishes.
“Kendall appreciates control,” she said. “I cannot imagine him ceding it.”
“Insufferable, is he?”
“You haven’t the faintest idea.”
