Her father looked at her thoughtfully. “Do you like him?”
“Bertram? Yes, of course I do.”
“Enough to marry him?”
“He does not want to marry.”
“Leaving that aside, suppose he came to you and proposed to you in the proper form, like the marquess… would you accept him?”
Bea felt trapped. This was one of those questions, she was sure, where there was no right answer, and whatever she said would be to her detriment. For a long time, therefore, she said nothing.
“Bea?” her father said gently. “You must have an idea whether you wish to marry him or not.”
“Papa… I think I do… I might…ifhe were to offer. But you want me to make you proud, so—”
“Ah, that. I misunderstood you badly, Bea, and that must have made you unhappy. For that I am sorry. I can see now that you know your own mind, at least as far as the marquess is concerned. But Atherton is another matter. If you like him well enough to marry him—”
“But he does not wish it, and I promised him that I would not pursue him, so I cannot even think about it.”
“Are you quite sure he does not wish it? For it seems to me that he likes you very well, and since this betrothal idea was his—”
“No!He has told me so many times that he does not want to marry, and I believe him, Papa. It may be that, if these lessons continue, and I am able to reach a degree of fluency in Latin, that he will look at me differently… perhaps. But I do not… Icannotdepend upon it. And so you see why I feel uncomfortable with any suggestion of a betrothal between us.”
“I understand that, but it was his idea to go along with it, and it did not strike me that there was any reluctance in him. You must know, Bea, that for a man… if he is a gentleman, at least… a betrothal is a matter which cannot honourably be broken. Bertram cannot withdraw, and yet he made no protest — quite the reverse. So do not be too hasty to conclude that he does not wish to marry.”
“You think I should simply go along with it?”
“I do.”
“He said we need never marry… and it would protect us from harassment.”
Papa laughed. “And he is quite right. As the likely heir to an earldom, he is an object to every ambitious mama in Yorkshire, and your fortune has always attracted attention, not always of the right sort. So let this supposed betrothal stand. Your stepmother is very capable of conveying the right degree of vagueness to the business — an understanding, no thought of marriage just yet, his grandmother’s imminent demise and so on — and if it comes to a sticking point, you may end it at any time you choose.”
“Or whenever he wants to be free,” she said thoughtfully.
“Precisely. But do, for pity’s sake, pay more attention in your lessons, or all your good work so far will be undone.”
He smiled at her with such understanding that she could not resist smiling back. “Oh, Papa, I do get into difficulties, sometimes.”
“Of course you do. You are but one and twenty, and still a green girl in many ways. But whatever difficulties you may get into, be assured that I shall always be there to get you out of them… or to deal with the consequences. You are not alone in the world, daughter.”
Impulsively, she jumped up and threw her arms around him. “Thank you! I think you are the best papa in the world.”
“Which just shows how faulty your judgement is,” he said, with a spurt of laughter. “There, now. You get back to your Latin, and I shall try to prevent your stepmother from throwing a grand ball to celebrate your unexpected betrothal.”
***
Bertram left Highwood Place in a mellow frame of mind. He was betrothed to Bea, after a fashion, and if that could be left to run on for a while, there would be time for her to understand how well suited they were and come to feel the same attachment for him that he felt for her. She was not serious in her resolve not to marry, of that he was certain. And if her scruples brought her to attempt to end their betrothal, that would be his opportunity to tell her openly how much he loved her. Surely then they would be betrothed in truth.
His only concern was that he might not, after all, inherit the earldom, and he knew how important that was to her, no matter how much she denied it now. He would have to be honest about that. His mother’s guest, Mrs Vaughn, was there as a potential new wife for Lord Rennington, and although that did not seem to be going well, his mother had other candidates to bring forward. One of them, no doubt, would suit a man as easy-goingas the earl, and then the nursery at Corland Castle would be brought back into use. How strange that would be, to have a new Lady Rennington!
At first, he said nothing of his situation to his family, unsure of whether this odd betrothal was to be acknowledged publicly or not. But he quickly learnt from Bea that Lady Esther was telling all her acquaintances that Bea was shortly to be engaged, so he went to see his father in his study.
“There has been a development with Bea Franklyn,” he said, sitting in the opposite chair to his father’s beside the fireplace, and removing his spectacles to polish them.
His father marked his place in the book he was reading and closed it, removing his own spectacles with a smile. “A champagne development or a large brandy development?”
“I am not quite sure.”
