Her shoulders relaxed, and he saw that she’d moved her piece forward again. “She might. I do know she would make an excellent stepmother for your daughter. But—” She hesitated as if she didn’t know how to phrase her reservations.
He moved the game piece back where it belonged. “But what?”
She leaned in, dropping her voice low. “What of your needs? Had you considered that you might learn to love someone again?”
He bit back the urge to blurt out a resounding no. “It’s not a requisite for marriage, and I would prefer someone who will content herself with raising a child instead of harboring delusions that I would fall in love with her.”
“Delusions?” Amelia sat back in her chair. “Is that what you think love is?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve been honest about what I want in a future wife. Love cannot be a part of that arrangement.” Once before, he’d had his life ripped asunder because he’d dared to love Katherine. It was better to have a polite companionship instead of a loving marriage. The hole in his life remained, and he doubted if anything could ever fill it.
“Women aren’t like that,” Amelia protested. “A wife wants to know that her husband cares for her. That she is beloved by her spouse.”
“Those are your dreams,” he corrected. “I could name half a dozen women who would be delighted with me if I allowed them to spend my money freely and only spoke to them a few times a year.”
“But is that the kind of woman you want to raise your daughter?”
David let out a slow breath. “I suppose not.” What was best forhimwas not best for Christine. Yet, he didn’t want to wed a young woman with expectations of love or more children. Quite frankly, the thought of consummating the marriage caused him even more reluctance. It had been so long since he’d been with Katherine, it would be hard to push her out of his memory. Not only that, but each year of imposed celibacy had wound him up tighter, until he suspected a woman’s touch would drive him over the edge.
“I will make a promise to you,” Amelia said in a quiet voice, spinning the teetotum. “If you consider courting my sister—or any other woman on the list—I will not wed the viscount until he has paid off every last debt.” She let the spinner fall to the board and added, “And by courting, I mean you should find someone whom you might love again. You don’t have to love her when you wed her. But there should besomethingthere.”
“I would rather not wed at all,” he admitted. “But I agreed to bring back a mother for Christine. And that I will do. She needs someone to help her as she moves into her adolescent years.” Although Miss Grant had certainly helped Christine with her studies, the governess was not at all prepared to help his daughter make her debut into society.
Margaret returned to the game table, and she sat beside him. Her cheeks were flushed, and she appeared out of breath. “I am sorry for being away for so long. Aunt Charlotte wanted me to help the boys in a game of blindman’s buff.” She picked up the teetotum and spun it, preparing to take her turn.
“Our game was nearly over anyway,” David said.
“One of us could still win,” Margaret pointed out. “It isn’t your turn yet.”
“Only if I allow you to cheat.” He passed the teetotum to Amelia.
She moved her tin dog three squares ahead and laughed. “There, see! The triumph is mine.”
Upon the embroidered square, he saw the wordsAdvance to the end.
“That makes no sense at all. You’re only halfway around the board.”
“It’s a very special square. And so, I claim the victory.” Her mouth curved in a wide smile. “Tomorrow, you will accompany Margaret and me to the tailor’s. You’re going to buy waistcoats in several colors. That will be your forfeit.”
He had a sudden vision of being outfitted with a yellow waistcoat. Wincing, he turned his attention to Margaret. “Is that the forfeit you desire, Miss Andrews?”
“Not at all,” she countered. “Instead, I’d rather save my forfeit and claim it at a time when it’s needed.”
“A favor, then.”
She inclined her head. “There may come a time when I need rescuing from a meddling younger sister.”
True enough. Turning back to Amelia, he said, “I will agree to your forfeit. But you must promise to keep your word as well, regarding Viscount Lisford. You may find that he is not the man you thought he was.”
“Or I might find that he is a man in grave need of saving,” she answered softly.
Chapter Four
Margaret stepped outside the servants’ entrance of her family’s town house, glancing around to be certain no one saw her. In her palm, she carried the note that she’d received this morning from Cain Sinclair. The Highlander had asked to meet with her, and he claimed that if she did not agree, he would come to the front door and cause a scene.
She fully believed he would, for Sinclair was a man who cared nothing for appearances. When he wanted something, he let nothing stop him.
Margaret tucked a stray strand of hair into her chignon, her cheeks already warming at the thought. Forshewas something he wanted, and he’d made that clear. He’d stolen a few devastating kisses that had made her knees weak. But besides the fact that he was a wild Scotsman with hardly a house to call his own, he was an arrogant man who never listened to a word she said.
