“Provided I behave,” she said.
“I must also consider them. They need a mother, but she must be a very special woman to love them as they deserve.”
“And to teach them proper etiquette?”
“Of course.”
“Which I do not know.”
He snorted. “You are too smart tonotknow, Miss Allen. You disregard the rules because you think you can.” He faced her directly. “You cannot. This Lady Vengeance thing will end badly for you.”
He thought her expression shifted then. Was there a flash of rueful acceptance? If so, it was quickly covered.
“So I am a bad choice to be the mother of your two daughters.”
He winced, but it was the truth. “Miss Allen—”
“I agree,” she abruptly said. “If you want quiet, docile girls who obey men without question, then I would be a terrible person to have in their lives.”
He stiffened. “My daughters will be stronger than that. They have me to guide them.”
“And you know all. You know how young girls think, what they need, and how to get them to obey. You are an impressive man.”
He huffed rather than answer her directly. She had, of course, hit the nail on the head. There were things he could not teach his children. Female things. Which is why he was looking for a bride.
“I shall speak plainly. I do not believe you and I suit, but there are plenty of others who will find you exciting.” Were he younger and without children, he would be one of them.
She chuckled, and he realized that she had been testing him.
“I agree, Lord Heath. We do not suit. Nevertheless, I commend you for thinking your girls need a mother, and I can see you are well on your way to making them very English.”
She sounded as if that were a bad thing. He might have been annoyed, but she was right. He found her too Scottish in her belief that she could live outside the normal rules.
So he laughed, and the amused sound surprised them both. “I see we understand each other,” he said.
“I suppose we do,” she said. “Who takes care of the girls now?”
“I do,” he said. “I have a sister who loves to give advice, but she lives far north, almost in Scotland. I employ a nurse who is with them now. But a hired woman is no substitute for a mother.” He looked to the left where the strains of music could be heard from someone’s ballroom. “I intended to find a wife this Season but have been unimpressed with the current crop.”
“I am insulted on behalf of several of this year’s girls.”
He cast her a sideways glance. Truth be told, of every woman on the market, she was the one who intrigued him most. “I do implore you, Miss Allen. Stop being Lady Vengeance.”
“Not until Lady Liddican and her daughter are safe.”
He nodded. “You need not worry about Eddie anymore. I shall see—”
“I do not trust the word of any man, Lord Heath. Even yours.”
He should be grateful that she added those last two words. It wasn’t exactly respect, but she’d put him in a better category than Liddican.
“We are not all villains.”
“But how am I, a sad, feeble-minded woman, to tell the one from the other?”
She was mocking him, but he would have none of it. “You are not feeble-minded, and it serves no point to pretend with me.” His words were sharp, but before she could react to his tone, he modified his statement. “Nevertheless, you have a point. You have no way to trust that I will do as I promise.”
“On the contrary,” she said. “Your reputation is well known to me.”
