“I wished to speak to you,” he said shortly.
“To me? Really?” If sarcasm could drip from words, she’d have flooded the library. “I’d never have guessed given the way you were scowling at me through supper.”
“Me, scowling atyou? How would you even notice when you scarcely looked my way?”
“Why would I look at someone who blatantly disapproves of me?” She stepped right up to him, toe to toe, her stance fearless. “Who thinks I’m a no-good hoyden?”
He fought to hold onto his temper. “I never said you were no good. I said you were no goodfor Wick.He needs a wife who can manage him.”
“For the last dashed time, Wick is myfriend. Get it through your thick skull: I have no designs on your brother whatsoever. In fact, I don’t want to get marriedat all.”
“That’s inconvenient, isn’t it,” he said acidly, “since I’m offering for you.”
A heartbeat passed.
She glared at him. “That is not amusing, Carlisle.”
“I don’t think so either. Unfortunately, it must be done, given what happened between us in the Priest Hole.” He managed to adopt a pragmatic tone, despite the fact that his heart was beating like a fist against his ribs. “I am not in the habit of seducing innocents, Miss Kent, and my honor demands that I answer for my mistake.”
“Your…mistake?”
Her incredulity made his neck heat, yet he blundered on. “Obviously, I wasn’t in my right mind. If I had been, I wouldn’t have gone near you. You’re obviously not the type of female who would suit a man of my temperament.”
“Idon’t suityou?”
“Well, yes,” he said impatiently. “It’s obvious that we are opposites in nature. As you yourself have said, I respect tradition. I envision a calm, orderly sort of life, one centered on my duty to my title and estate. Ideally, my wife would share my goals and views on marriage.” Finally, he was on stable ground; he could talk for days about duty. “She would understand the importance of abiding by rules of convention and propriety. She would not be prone to flights of fancy or the silliness which plagues most of your sex. Rather, she would strive to live up to the honor which I would bestow upon her.”
“What lottery did she enter to be so lucky?”
Ignoring the interjection, he said, “You, on the other hand, are a modern female, which means… well, I don’t know what it means exactly, other than you’re prone to scrapes, flirtations, and generally wreaking havoc wherever you go. In sum, you are nothing like the sort of wife I had imagined for myself. Nevertheless,” he said, holding up a hand when she made to speak, “I am willing to overlook those differences between us because of the weakness of a moment. It happened, there’s no going back, and thus, I must do the honorable thing. So will you?”
She was staring at him. “Will I… what?”
“Marry me,” he said.
~~~
Violet was not a girl prone to romantic delusions. Growing up, she hadn’t been one to dream of a knight in shining armor sweeping her off her feet because she’d wanted to be the oneridingthe steed—and not side saddle either. Knights, to her mind, received the better end of the bargain: they got to ride off on exciting quests while their poor wives were left to slave away in some drafty old castle.
So, no, she wasn’t a particularly sentimental girl. But that didn’t mean she expected her first and only marriage proposal to be slung at her like mud. Anger blasted through her.
“I’d sooner… eat a horse than marry you!” Her voice shook. “And Iadorehorses.”
She had the satisfaction of seeing Carlisle’s expression harden. “So your answer is no.”
“You have a screw loose if you think I’d say yes to such a proposal!”
Emotion smoldered in his eyes; it was quickly banked. “Then my duty is done.”
“I wouldn’t marry you if you were thelast man on earth.”
“Spare me the clichés,” he clipped out. “Your answer has been duly noted, and, I might add, with no little relief.”
Relief?Her fury found fresh legs. “Your relief could not be possibly greater than mine. As wrong as I may be for you, you areinfinitelymore wrong for me. You’re nothing like the sort of manIwould wish to marry.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Your behavior in the Priest Hole would suggest otherwise.”
Heat scalded her cheeks. “It was dark. A moment of weakness.”
