“I wish to add something,” she said, squaring her shoulders. She didn’t dare look at Matthew, fearing she would lose her nerve.
“Add something?” Chance motioned for her to sit, then seated himself as well.
“Whatever it is, give it to her.” Matthew lowered himself into the chair next to her.
Chance glanced to the right at Serendipity and ratcheted both brows higher.
She shook her head and shrugged.
“Seri has no idea, Chance. This request came to me on the way down here.” Fortuity folded her hands in her lap. “I wish for this union, this marriage of convenience, to be in name only. We may reside under the same roof to keep up appearances, but that is all.”
“In name only?” Matthew repeated, appearing dumbfounded.
“Yes, as inunconsummated, my lord. A business agreement between two like-minded parties. And you will also see that my stories are published, as you previously promised.” She angled her chin higher. “After all, you stand to benefit from my generous dowry and personal holdings. It is only fair that I benefit as well from this wicked trap set by your cousin Eleanor.”
Thankfully, her voice hadn’t quivered, even though her throat ached with the need to sob. She didn’t want a marriage like this. She wanted love, happiness, and babies, and wanted all of it with Matthew. But she refused toforcehim, knowing he would eventually resent and grow to hate her. That would be more than she could bear.
She cleared her throat. “You may satisfy your”—she fluttered a hand, struggling for the genteel wording—“manlyrequirements elsewhere. I merely ask that you be discreet so the gossips do not shred me any more than they already have.”
He stared at her, the hurt in his eyes threatening to make her crumble. “Why, Fortuity?” he asked softly as if they were the only two in the room. “Why are you doing this?”
She tightened her hands into fists, forcing herself to remain calm. She could shatter to bits later. “You made it quite clear you never wished to marry and could never offer me anything more than friendship. My addition to the agreement ensures your wishes are met while protecting my interests as well. We shall live together as friends, nothing more. Just as you wanted.”
He reached over and cupped her jaw, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. His touch threatened to break her. “What if I want more?” he asked.
“As I said…” She closed her eyes, cursing herself for the weak quiver in her voice. “You may satisfy yourwantselsewhere. All I ask is discretion, my lord.” She risked opening her eyes and meeting his gaze. “I have been hurt enough by your family,” she whispered. “Please bring no further harm or humiliation upon me.”
“I wish you to be my wife. Utterly. Completely.” His stare hardened to a piercing glare. “I have sworn to protect you because I care about you and your family.”
“You prove my point, my lord. This offer of marriage is out of duty, not love. I am merely defining your duty and making it less odious to you so we might remain friends.”
Matthew scrubbed his jaw. With a low, throaty growl, he bared his teeth. “Everyone out. I wish to speak to my future wife alone.”
“I am not comfortable with that, Ravenglass. Not in your current frame of mind.” Chance glanced at the trio of sisterslined up on the settee against the wall, then curtly nodded at the door. “I shall remain. Sisters, you may leave.”
Serendipity, Grace, and Merry quickly filed out and softly closed the door behind them.
Fortuity forced herself to stare straight ahead, focusing on the cluttered bookcase behind Chance’s desk. It needed dusting. Did he never let the maids in here? Maybe if she concentrated on such ridiculous things, the pounding of her heart would calm and the sickening weight in her stomach would lighten.
“Are you afraid to speak to me alone, Fortuity?” Matthew asked.
She refused to look at him. Instead, she pulled in a deep breath and held it to a count of five before releasing it and answering. “I am not afraid to speak to him, Chance. Lord Ravenglass would never physically harm me.” He would break her heart and shatter her dreams, but she knew he would never lift a hand to strike her. “You may wait in the hall with the others while he says whatever he has to say to me.”
“You are dismissing me from my own library?” Her brother snorted in disbelief.
“According to our esteemed solicitor, Mr. Sutherland the elder, until you marry us all off for love and come into the entirety of your inheritance, this library belongs to the estate, not to you or any one of us.”
“God help you,” Chance told Matthew before he pushed up from his desk, charged out of the room, and thumped the door shut behind him.
“Why are you doing this?” Matthew asked with such heartfelt quietness that she flinched.
“I already answered that question once, my lord,” she said without looking at him, reminding herself that she had to be strong. “I daresay my answer has not changed since a few moments ago.”
“What if I told you I wished to marry you because…”
His voice trailed off, making her huff a mirthless laugh. She shifted in her seat and faced him. “You cannot finish that thought, can you?” Her poor Matthew was honest to a fault. She doubted the man could lie if his life depended on it. “Finish your sentence, Lord Ravenglass.”
“Fortuity, I wish to marry you because Ineedto marry you.”
