Now, it was Lady Catherine’s turn to look shocked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that he would not need to know. We could simply elope, and then make the announcement whenever we choose to return to the city. Once the papers have been signed and we are united under the eyes of God, he cannot do anything about it either.”
Richard shrugged one shoulder. It was a foolish plan, but one that would work. It would spare him a loveless marriage to a woman that he could not stand. He would have all of the time in the world to get to know Lady Catherine better,andhis father would be furious. All good things in his book.
Lady Catherine’s eyes widened in shock.
“I know that it is an unconventional solution. Truly, I do.” Richard rose from the bench, suddenly filled with an anxious sort of energy. Despite their plans, he still did feel that their marriage would be the swiftest blow to his father. He spoke as he paced, “We would have to marry straight away. There would be no time to give him a chance to hear of the plans.”
Gentle, a voice in his head warned him.Go gently.
He sat back down beside Catherine and took her hand in his once more. She could not seem to tear her unblinking eyes away from him.
It wasabsolutelynot the right moment to mention that he had already started to look into a special license for the pair of them, on the off chance that she did agree to his proposal.
“I am not suggesting that I feel you will be in love with me, Lady Catherine.” Even saying the doubt out loud caused a knot of pain to form in his throat, sudden and unexpected.
“As I said before, our marriage would be the vessel back to restoring your family’s name and reputation. It would secure your mother’s comfort for the rest of her years. I promise that I will see your father’s fortune returned to you. Your mother will have her standing returned with any amount of luck on our part. And, if after a year you still do not care for me, we could part ways amicably. I would still provide for you, of course, in your own estate.”
Separation of any sort, no matter how much time was placed into the bargain, would carry its own scandal. But it would be nothing that she was not presently facing. If she wished to return here to the cottage, he could help that to happen. It was not as if she would not have the choice of their own summer properties that she could choose from should she wish to have something more grand to herself.
“It…it is impractical…” Catherine said, looking anywhere but his eyes. But she did not pull her hands from his. Not right away. “I would be spending one of the years of my precious youth sequestered away instead of looking for the love connection that I deserve.”
That, too, hurt. He supposed that he had brought some of that on himself. He had only said it because she seemed uncomfortable to him earlier. He never would have suggested such a thing otherwise. Oh, to have someone like Catherinelovehim? He could never imagine such a pleasure.
“Why a year? Why that length of time? Would the scandals not only be worse? They would all claim that I have used you for money and status and then divorced you. They will question the reasons for the separation. I will be right back here, right where I started,” Catherine argued.
“Untrue. You would be a great deal more comfortable than you are right now. You would want for nothing. Not ever.”
“And if I want for things now?” Catherine said, offended by the notion.
“That is not—I do not wish for this to be another instance of miscommunication. Lady Catherine, I understand how strange this is and that it is a great deal of information to take in all at once.
I only mean to say that if you are already considering my proposal more seriously, that I can provide other options for your future as well. There are plenty of compromises to be made, if you wish it.” Richard squeezed her hand softly in his own, hoping that the gesture would bring her comfort.
“And of your own reputation? Again, am I just to think that you will be parading women in front of me as you desire? A sham of a marriage will certainly not quell your rakish desires,” Lady Catherine continued.
There was a comment that hewishedto make about finding other ways to satisfy his urges inside of their marriage…but that might spook her away from the conversation entirely. So, he swallowed it back as best as he could.
“Never mind that I do not know you all that well.”
A slow smirk spread over his features. “You are fishing.”
The light pink on her cheeks started to darken. He was correct!
“You are searching for reasons to reject me again! Shall I dismiss your concerns one at a time, or would you like to continue this little game that you have started?”
How tempted he was to pull her closer.
“You cannot deny that there are two sides to you!” Lady Catherine huffed, flustered. “There is the side of you and your deplorable reputation that I have heard so, so much about. Then there is this side. How am I to know which is true and which is false? Is this all just some game that you have concocted to lure me in? How do I know that this is not simply how you treat every woman that you encounter?”
Richard’s smile softened, and his thumb brushed over her knuckles. “I suppose that you will have to take my word for it. Though I am getting the distinct impression that trusting people is not something that is easy for you to do.”
“Can you blame me? I trusted my father, and look how that turned out!”
“I am not one of the men who is going to let you down again, Lady Catherine.” His voice held no ego. He softened, lifting her hand between them so that he might brush a kiss across her knuckles. An action that she tolerated, but something about her seemed to sadden at the same time. “I can promise you that.”
“And I am to just take you at your word?” Lady Catherine pulled her hand from his once more and rose from the bench. She carefully brushed off her dress and shook her head softly. She seemed absolutely determined to look anywhere other than at him. “I cannot make a choice like this hastily. I told you that I am thinking more about it, and I am.”
