She looked at him. “You don’t really believe that’s a good idea, do you?”
“I wouldn’t have come here if I wasn’t interested.”
“It’s madness.”
“It was your idea.”
“It wasn’t my idea to actuallydoit. I never thought you’d hear about it and wantthat.”
“Let this be a lesson to you, then, that you shouldn’t go around claiming that you’re going to marry people when you have no intention of doing so.”
“I don’t know what it is you want,” Miss Isabella said, her eyes narrowing. “But I know that it isn’t me. You don’t even know me. And you don’t want me to be your wife.”
“Lots of gentlemen marry ladies they don’t know yet.”
“Yes, because those ladies are great beauties—which I am not—or because their fathers are high ranking members of society. My father is a viscount, and you’re a duke. And you know who my mother was, I think.”
“Your mother was a commoner.”
“A maid. Many would say I don’t belong in society at all.”
“Many have said things about me as well,” Arthur said. “I’m no stranger to the opinions of gossips. I don’t care who your mother was. I was told that you were interested in marrying me. That’s what’s brought me here today.”
“Well…I’m not interested in marrying you,” she said, looking up at him rather defiantly. “Forgive me for lying, Your Grace—or don’t, I suppose. There’s no reason you should have to offer me your forgiveness. But itwasa lie. You know that it was. And if you’ve come here hoping to make it the truth, I can’t help you.”
“Then you reject my proposal of marriage?”
“I suppose I do.”
“I’ll want it in writing.”
She squinted at him. “Truly, in writing?”
“Write me a letter of rejection explaining that you refuse me as your husband,” he said. “I’ll give you one week, and if I haven’t received your rejection by then, I will assume you’ve changed your mind and come back to collect on the marriage I’ve been promised. I feel sure your father will allow it, even if he would prefer to see your sister married to me. After all, this would be a very beneficial match for him, and it would be a most unusualthing for a man of his rank to pass it up for his daughter, even if she doesn’t happen to be his favorite.”
“I…” Miss Isabella swallowed. “I don’t know why you want this.”
“Let it be enough for you to know that I do.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What if there’s something I want in return?”
“I thought that the thing you wanted was a marriage to me. Isn’t that why you lied and told people we were engaged?”
“No,” she replied, “I’ve no interest in a marriage to you. But there is something you can do for me.”
“Now you’re bargaining?”
“If I have something you want and you have nothing I want, I would be foolish not to bargain. I assume you don’t want to marry a fool.” She shrugged. “Or maybe you do. Maybe all you want is something pretty on your arm. If that’s the case, though, there are many ladies who would do. There’s no reason you would have to seek me out.”
“Tell me what you want.”
“I want a future for my sister,” Isabella said evenly. “If I marry you, will you help my sister? Help me arrange a good match for her?”
“For Miss Rosalind?”
“No. Miss Rosalind is my half-sister. I mean my other sister, Miss Felicity. If you promise me that you can help me guarantee her the future she deserves, I’ll do anything.”
Arthur nodded. “I can help you make arrangements for Miss Felicity,” he said.
