“Why, your marriage to Mr. Corbyn,” Mama replied. “Why, what did you think I meant?”
Hannah found herself completely incapable of forming a reply.
Eight
Marriage.
To Mr. Corbyn.
Hannah tried to speak, but her lips had transformed into useless lumps of meat. Was this another trap? Ithadto be. But Mama seemed perfectly earnest, fixing Hannah with a raised finger and a warning look as she outlined her plans.
“I expect him to make certain assurances to secure your hand. He’ll need to prove to me that he’s really the gentleman you claim. I want to meet himproperly, without any skulking about, and hear him explain how he intends to support a family when he’s lost his livelihood.”
“Um—”
“Anddon’ttell me that he can go back to working at your brother’s club, young lady. That might be all well and good until he gets back on his feet, but it’s not a respectable profession.”
“I wasn’t going to say that.”
Her mother’s plans were so detailed, Hannah scarcely knew what to say. Mama didn’t seem to want her input anyway.
“Do you think he might be persuaded to join the army? Even if he were only an ensign, people would think him perfectly respectable then. Only don’t think for a minute that I’m giving up your dowry to buy the commission. We’ll settle all your money on your children. He’s not getting a penny.”
Children.
Her children. With Mr. Corbyn. The same man she’d begged and cajoled into helping her, who’d likely never expected to see her again.
Hannah was so agitated by this prospect, she nearly confessed the whole plot to Mama right then and there—everything from the money she’d snuck to his lodgings in payment for his kiss to the note she’d sent to summon his help sabotaging her call with Sir Richard. This had gone too far. She couldn’t keep up the act any longer.
Wait!
Hannah bit her lip, though her secrets were burning to escape.
Was this exactly what Mama had planned? She’d been suspicious of Mr. Corbyn from the start, quizzing him on her favorite things and such. Maybe she’d decided to call Hannah’s bluff and was only waiting to see how long it would take her to crack.
And once I do, it will be straight back to Sir Richard with me.She had to hold strong, or all her hard work to escape the match would be undone in an instant.
“I–I thought you were determined to keep us apart.” Best to test the waters first. She would see how her mother reacted if she played along. “What changed your mind?”
Mrs. Williams pressed her lips into a narrow line before replying. “If you’re determined not to listen to me, I don’t see what choice I have. I still think you’ll regret the match, but I don’t wish to keep you cloistered away forever. This might be your only chance to salvage what’s left of your reputation.”
She really seemed to mean it.
No matter what I do, I’m trapped.Hannah couldn’t refuse Mr. Corbyn without exposing herself to an even worse fate. But if she agreed to the marriage, she would have to persuade Mr. Corbyn to play along until she could think of a way to escape with her freedom intact.
Hannah’s heart began to race at the thought of presenting herself at his lodgings once more, this time to break the news that her mother wanted them to marry.You were such a help pretending to be in love with me. Would you mind terribly if we pretended to be engaged too?She couldn’t possibly say such a thing to him. It was so embarrassing; she wanted to hide under her bed until sometime next year.
I have to make Mama abandon this idea of her own accord. But how?
Hannah spoke slowly, praying further inspiration would strike her soon. “What if Mr. Corbyn can’t meet your expectations?”
That should be easy enough. It wasn’t as though Mama even liked the fellow. All he had to do was swear too often or chew with his mouth open, and the whole business might be forgotten. It should come naturally to him. After all, he’d had trouble minding his language at the club during his astonishingly brief stint as a dealer.
“Do you doubt him? You’ve been very quick to argue his merits in the past.”
Careful.Hannah pretended not to see the suspicious look her mother shot her way.
“Of course I don’t doubt him. He’s perfectly wonderful.” She tried to keep her tone light. If a slight tremor crept in, hopefully Mama would take it for excitement rather than abject terror at her current predicament. “But youdoseem to have set very high expectations, asking him to prove that he’s a gentleman and to buy a commission and whatnot. I only hope you won’t scare him away.”
