“There’s no reason to drag your heels. Lord knows we’re already concealing too much from your family as it is. I must insist that I court you properly, out in the open.”
She strove to come up with a compromise. One that wouldn’t lock Carlisle into a decision he might later regret. “How about we decide at the end of the house party whether or not you ought to speak to my brother?”
“Why wait? The time for dithering is over.”
“I’m not dithering,” she protested. “This is an important decision, one that affects the rest of our lives. I just want both of us to be certain.”
“I am certain,” he said stubbornly.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve been through this before.”
“Youhave?” Surprise made her halt, but he kept going, dragging her along. “When? I mean, everyone says you’re a confirmed bachelor. There’s no talk of you being attached to any lady.”
“The instances happened in my youth and were not widely known.”
“Instances—as inplural? More than once?”
“That is the generally accepted meaning of plural.” His tone tight, he said, “I won’t go into details, but suffice it to say I believed I had the affections of the young ladies involved. With the first, I was her brother’s friend. I helped squire her through her season and bailed her out of more than a few scrapes. She always expressed her gratitude and showed a certain preference for me—or so I thought. When I declared myself, she said she’d never thought of me in that manner.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.” Vi didn’t know what else to say.
“I don’t want your pity,” he said with disgust. “I’m telling you this so you understand my perspective. The second instance started off similarly to the first. The young lady had given me every indication that she thought I was acceptable to her. When I asked for her hand, she agreed.”
“What happened then?”
“She wanted our engagement to be kept secret for the time being. Said her sister was newly engaged and she didn’t want to steal the other’s thunder.” His expression was stark. “After a month of skulking around, I told her that I wanted our courtship to be out in the open. It was then that she confessed she was in love with another man. She eloped with him a week later.”
Butter and jam.He’d been strung along by ladies not once buttwice. For a man as proud as Carlisle, that must have been difficult to bear. Vi recalled his earlier accusations about her being a flirt—and realized she now knew the origins of his prejudices.
Then another thought occurred to her: in these incidences, had his heart been broken? She found she didn’t like that notionat all.
“Were you very… hurt?” she said cautiously.
“My pride was. I was angry as hell. After that, it was clear to me that I have no talent when it comes to reading females. I don’t understand the hidden signals of your sex.”
Her relief that his heart hadn’t been involved faded at his disgruntled look.
Brows lifted, she said, “Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t understand them either.”
“Given my aversion to flirtation and such games,” he went on grimly, “I avoided the Marriage Mart.”
“What changed your mind with me?” She hoped that he’d say it was her character and charm.
“In the past year, marriage has become a necessity for me. From a financial standpoint.”
Be still my beating heart.
“But I… I’m no heiress.” It occurred to her that she knew very little about his monetary situation and the sort of dowry he might require in a bride. Anxiously, she said, “I’m quite certain Ambrose and my brothers-in-law will throw something in the pot, but—”
Carlisle let out a guffaw.
“What’s so amusing?” she said.
“You talk as if you’re a card game.” He chucked her under the chin. “Throw something in the pot, indeed.”
“But the stakes are high for you, are they not?”
