"I said I needed time to deliberate."
Something flickered across Sebastian's face…relief, maybe, or something more complicated. "That's... wise."
"Is it? I'm not sure anything about this situation is wise." Harriet laughed, a hollow sound. "He's offering to clear all our debts. Every single one. Not just his, but the others as well. In exchange for my hand."
"That's generous of him."
"Is it? Or is it simply the price he's calculated I'm worth?"
Sebastian didn't answer. He was watching her with an expression she couldn't read, his grey eyes dark in the dim corridor.
"He was very honest about what he wants," Harriet continued.
"A wife who understands the realities of matrimony. Who won't expect fidelity or romance. Who will give him an heir and then leave him to his amusements." She heard the bitterness in her own voice and couldn't quite suppress it.
"It's a practical arrangement. Everyone wins."
"Do they?"
"Don't I?" Harriet pushed away from the wall, her voice rising.
"My family keeps our home. I become a wealthy countess. Lord Davies gets a suitable wife. What's not to win?"
"What about love?" Sebastian's voice was very quiet. "What about happiness?"
"Love is a luxury. I believe you told me that yourself, once."
"I never…" Sebastian stopped, shaking his head. "I would never tell you that."
"Perhaps not in so many words. But you refused to wed me when you had the chance, didn't you? Because I would be entering out of desperation rather than desire. Because you didn't want a wife who had no other choice."
"That's not the same thing."
"Isn't it? Lord Davies has no such qualms. He sees a transaction and he's willing to make it. Maybe that's more honest than all your noble refusals."
"Honest?" Sebastian's voice cracked. "You think it's honest to purchase a wife like livestock at auction?"
"I think it's no different from any other social matrimony. At least Davies isn't pretending there's anything romantic about it."
"And that's what you want? A matrimony with no pretense of feeling? A husband who will abandon you the moment you've served your purpose?"
"What I want is irrelevant." Harriet could feel tears prickling at her eyes and blinked them back furiously.
"What matters is what I can provide for my family. And Lord Davies is offering to provide everything."
"Harriet…"
"Don't." She held up a hand. "Don't tell me I deserve better. Don't tell me there are other options. I've heard it all before, and it doesn't change anything."
"You're not actually considering this." Sebastian's voice was rough. "Tell me you're not actually considering entering into matrimony with that man."
"Why shouldn't I? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't accept his offer."
The challenge hung in the air between them. Harriet could see Sebastian struggling with something, his hands clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with tension.
"Because you would be miserable," he said finally. "Because you deserve a husband who sees you as more than a convenient arrangement. Because…"
"Because what?"
