Kendall closed his eyes for a long moment, hopefully praying for patience. Allie intended this to be as trying as possible.
He opened his eyes.
“I cannot grant youfreedom”—he leaned mockingly on the word—“as you term it. If you were to live outside my protection, I should fear for your safety, not to mention the irreparable damage to your reputation.”
“My safety and reputation?” Allie scoffed. “You certainly didn’t care about either after tossing me aside six years ago when our mother died.”
“Enough, Lady Allegra.” He sat back with a huff. “I am willing to offer you six months of reprieve.”
“Six months?” Allie frowned. “And . . .reprieve?”
“Yes. Should you decide against Lord Charswood—which I strongly suggest you do not—I will give you six months of respite. Six months in which I will not pursue another marriage for you. Six months in which you may have pin money and enjoy Society to your heart’s content without my constant surveillance. Provided, of course, that you behave with the utmost propriety. Any more incidences like the ones this week with Mr. Penn-Leith, and I will consider our contract void. Most importantly, you will do everything in your power to ensure that no one ever learns of your deplorable behavior in Italy, particularly the link to Mr. Penn-Leith and that ridiculous poem. To that end, you will not converse or interact with the Scot again.”
Allie stared at her brother, mind racing, trying to decide how to approach his ‘offer.’
“So to sum up, in exchange for my impeccable behavior—the adjudication of which you alone will be judge and jury—you offer me a paltry six months of false freedom?” She gave a mirthless laugh. “Why should I accept such a proposal?”
“I will grant you a hundred pounds a month in pin money.”
That brought Allie up short.
She could do much with a hundred pounds a month. It was a significant sum.
Thoughts flitted through her head, ideas and plans—a furtive escape under cover of darkness, an overland journey to Italy, a small cottage in a mountain village . . .
“I want a year of respite and three hundred pounds a month,” she countered, merely to give herself time to think through the ramifications.
How silly that her mind snagged on abandoning Mr. Penn-Leith as the most painful stipulation of her brother’s proposal. She wasn’t even sure shewishedto continue fraternizing with the poet, but it smarted to think of surrendering that possibility entirely.
“I cannot agree to a year, as that would take us partway through next year’s Season. And as we have already discussed, you are a bit long in the tooth. Let us say nine months and”—here Kendall heaved a weary sigh—“twohundred pounds a month. That is my final offer.”
Allie mulled over his words. It was a decent proposition. Eighteen hundred pounds for nine months of proper behavior . . .
She could live for quite a while on such a sum, provided she was frugal. Particularly if she continued to nick things from the estate.
“And what happens at the end of the nine months?” she asked. “Are my chains reinstated?”
“I have faith that by then you will have seen the wisdom of my sensible requests.”
“Sensible?!”
“Yes. I am being excessively indulgent and reasonable here, Lady Allegra.”
Allie snorted in derision. “We haveverydifferent opinions of indulgent and reasonable, Your Gra—”
“What will your answer be, my lady?” Kendall’s voice cracked. “Nine months of peace for myself and freedom with pin money for you, assuming you are not swayed to accept Lord Charswood before then. What say you?”
Was there truly any other answer to give?
She was a realist, after all. Even Ethan Penn-Leith would be sacrificed.
“Very well, Kendall, you have yourself an agreement. I will go to Scotland and meet your earl. I will converse with him and flatter him—I will even dance with him. And when he asks me to be his wife, I will weigh my options,” Allie said, keeping her tone chilly. “But I want all this put into writing.”
“Writing? You do not trust my honor?”
“Oh, I trust your honor, but not your sense of ruthlessness or fair play. I give you six weeks before you begin adding additional requirements or hedging your promises. Write it up precisely as we’ve agreed, and I will sign it. Any adjustments will have to be renegotiated. This is not up for debate.”
Kendall stared at her for a long moment.
