“What do you—?”
“Never mind that! We have very little time. There is the marquess’s carriage coming round now. This mess is all my fault, Bertram. I refused Lord Embleton, of course, and—”
“Why‘of course’?”
“—I made the mistake of saying that I had another interest, and then you walked in and they all assumed we are betrothed.”
“Because you seemed so pleased to see me, I suppose.” He chuckled. “But what are you doing turning down Embleton, Bea? I thought you wanted a title, and you will never be able to improve on his.”
“What does the title matter?” she said crossly. “Who cares about a stupid title, anyway? I meant only that I have discoveredLatin, and that is my great love now, but they have misunderstood everything. I shall have to explain, but—”
“No, wait a moment,” he said, putting the books down so that he could rest his hands on her shoulders. “Why should we not be betrothed?”
“Because you don’t want to!” she spat. “Honestly, Bertram, you have told me a thousand times that you never plan to marry, so stop being silly.”
“Nor do you want to marry, do you? So we are in the same position.”
“There you are, then.”
“There is no need for us to actually marry,” he said, laughing.
She stared at him. “What?”
“If we are presumed to be betrothed, or on the point of it, we can protect each other from unwanted suitors, and leave ourselves free to do what we want, without harassment.”
Without harassment! That sounded so appealing that for a moment she was overwhelmed.
It was just at that moment that her parents returned, to discover them standing only inches apart, his hands on her shoulders, gazing into each other’s eyes. If they had planned the pose as a means of convincing an observer of the existence of an understanding between them, it could not have been bettered.
“Ah, Beatrice! Mr Atherton! This is something of a surprise,” Lady Esther said, her well-modulated voice level, but there wasa hint of a chill behind it. Naturally, she would be disappointed that Bea was not to be a duchess after all.
“You could have given us a hint,” Bea’s father said, but his eyes twinkled at them.
“It was all very sudden,” Bertram said smoothly.
“So it would seem,” Bea’s father said. “When do you anticipate making a formal announcement?”
“It is a shade difficult just at present,” Bertram said.
“I rather thought it might be.”
“The situation at Corland, with my grandmother so ill, and Walter so recently engaged to Winnie Strong… and my own father has barely begun to adapt to his own new position. It is best if we wait a little while.”
“How very proper,” Lady Esther said approvingly, brightening a little.
“Of course, of course,” Bea’s father murmured, but there was a gleam of amusement in his eye, as if he were party to some great joke.
Bea could not see it as a joke, nor could she understand why Bertram was so complacent about the situation. He should run a mile from any kind of entanglement with her!
As soon as an opportunity presented itself, she whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry, I’ll jilt you as soon as I can. I would never hold you to it.”
But he only laughed, picking up his books and holding out his arm for her. “Latin, Miss Franklyn? Shall we begin our lesson?”
It was true that they sat either side of the desk for an hour, and it was also true that some Latin was spoken and written and even discussed. It could not properly be called a lesson, however, for Bea remembered nothing of it afterwards. Bertram made no comment, simply pretending that everything was normal, and Papa sat and read the newspaper, laughing occasionally when she mangled her grammar so spectacularly that even he saw theerror. And then Bertram was gone, and she could not think, could not move, could not possibly find space in her disordered brain for a single word of Latin.
“I must say, Bea,” her father said, folding his newspaper neatly, “you and Atherton are as good as a pantomime. I cannot recall when I was so well entertained. Whose idea was it?”
“If you mean this betrothal, it was his. I was set to tell you that it was all a misunderstanding, but he said it would protect us from harassment and we need not actually get married. Then you came back into the room and it all seemed to be settled. Papa, will you tell him it is all wrong? Because it is, isn’t it?”
