“Er, yes.”
He beamed. “Excellent, excellent.” They stood in front of the fountain. Lucy frowned. How had they ended up here? He must have manoeuvred her outside somehow. Blackmore advanced, and she retreated until she bumped against the stone façade of the fountain.
He emitted a slightly sickly sweet smell, mingled with sweat. Lucy backed sideways and rubbed her nose.
“Er, if you excuse me but, what did I just agree to? My mind has been wandering, you see.”
“That is understandable. Nerves, yes?” He chuckled. “I have been saying that a young lady like you would be the perfect mother for my children. Robust enough to raise the bunch and young enough to bear some of her own.”
God’s teeth. Had he proposed marriage, and she’d missed it? She stared at him, speechless.
“Well, then?” He looked at her expectantly. “Can we announce our engagement?”
Lucy jumped. “Certainly not!”
“But Miss Bell. You as good as agreed to my proposal!”
“I did not!”
“Balderdash. Of course you did. Do I need to make myself clearer?” He grabbed her by the shoulders and smacked a kiss at the edge of her mouth. His breath smelled of cabbage.
A second later his head whipped back, he stumbled backwards over a root and crashed to the ground.
“The devil.” Blackmore lay on the ground, stunned.
Lucy looked at the skinned knuckles of her fist. She unclenched her fist and rubbed her aching hand.
“That was a remarkably precise hit,” said a voice with some hauteur. “I intended to come to the rescue, but I see that is unnecessary. You were not lying when you said you had a mean fist. Where did you learn how to hit like that?”
“At the Seminary, of course.” She’d asked an errand boy to teach her.
“Of course. Why did I even ask?”
“Ashmore.” Blackmore scrambled up. “I—she—we.”
“There is no we. He tried to manhandle me, and I wouldn’t let him.” Lucy flexed her hand.
“Nonsense,” Blackmore spluttered. “I merely tried to propose, and this is the answer I get.”
“It is an unmistakeably clear answer, Blackmore. Take it as a man.”
“But Ashmore—”
“Are you hurt?”
“Yes,” Blackmore replied. “My chin smarts.”
“I wasn’t asking you.” Ashmore’s voice could have frozen over the water in the fountain behind them.
Lucy shook her head. “I’m fine. I just didn’t expect him to propose in this violent way. It was unexpected.”
“Blackmore?” He whipped to attention. “Do you have anything to say to the lady?”
“What? Oh. Er. I wouldn’t know what you mean.”
“Think carefully, man, lest you find yourself with another planter, this time by me.”
Blackmore goggled at the duke.
