Her heart thudded when Grainger sat beside her. “Thea.” He smiled, and his long fingers clasped hers, warm and firm. “I know this must come as a surprise.”
Thea sagged on the sofa, deeply ashamed. Grainger had been forced against his will to marry her. His proximity unsettled her as her nervous breaths took in his familiar scent. She fought not to collapse against him and beg his forgiveness. To her bitter shame, she recalled the first time they met when he had watched her climb down the tree in her night attire. He would not want such a wife. He must be dismayed to find himself engaged to her. Hadn’t Grandmama told her Grainger had no plan to marry for years? “No one can expect you to marry me because of such a small slip in propriety,” she gasped out. “It is absurd.”
His shoulder brushed hers as he moved to study her. “You don’t know me if you believe anyone can make me do anything I don’t wish to do.”
She searched his face for signs of the distress she suffered on his behalf. But if he suffered, he hid it well, ever the gentleman, his handsome face revealing no sign of turbulent feelings. He offered her his hand in marriage to save her from Farnborough and to prevent her reputation from becoming irrevocably tarnished. The gesture touched her deeply, but she shook her head. “We cannot marry.”
“Do you object to marrying me, or just the idea of marriage, Thea?”
She liked to hear her family’s shortened name for her on his lips. “It isn’t you, Grainger.” He was the man of her dreams, even though she rather thought of him as a lover and not a husband.
Grainger took hold of her hand. “You must marry, you know. Your father is intent on it. I am confident we will deal well together.”
At his gentle touch, her resistance ebbed away. His deep blue eyes sought her gaze and held it for several breathless minutes. Unfair! How could any girl resist him? He would be the catch of the Season if word hadn’t spread that he had no plan to marry for years. Under his charming assault, with her resistance weakening, she fought for an answer to their predicament. One came to her. Of sorts.
Thea gave a tentative nod. Accepting Grainger would save her from Farnborough and need not lead to marriage. In a few weeks, she and Grainger could come to an amicable agreement to end their engagement. Before she could voice it, he leaned closer, and his clean masculine smell silenced her. His thumb stroked beneath her lip, causing an unsettling frisson of desire and need. “Is that a yes?”
She took a deep breath and made one last attempt to dissuade him. “But Grainger, we are not in love.” She almost choked on the words, for the deep respect and attraction she felt for him might easily be called love. But what sort of marriage would it be with her mooning after a husband who didn’t love her? She feared her heart would break. Hadn’t she been firm in her decision not to marry? This would put an end to her dreams of becoming a writer. Instead, she would be a wife and mother. That would sum up her entire life with only the children and charitable good works to sustain her. Even to share one’s life with a man like Grainger was a bitter sacrifice.
“Can we not remain no more than friends?” She realized how foolish that sounded. Men and women were seldom good friends. It was her experience that men sought their own sex for company, and wives left to their own devices.
“Many marriages begin in this fashion,” he said reasonably. “I shall try to be a good husband, Thea. And keep you safe.”
There it was. He proposed to keep her safe. In response to his noble gesture, Thea feared that if she weren’t so frustrated, she might cry. She drew in a breath to steady herself. She wanted adventure, passion. “Might we discuss it further tomorrow? When we’ve both had time to think about it?”
“I leave for St. Albans in the morning.”
“Your grandfather?” she asked distractedly.
“Yes. I’m anxious to see him.” He paused. “An idea has occurred to me. I could delay a few days if Lady Trentham should agree to you both accompanying me. I know it would please Grandfather greatly to meet you both.” He stood and drew her to her feet. “We must tell your father of our decision, then shall we ask her?”
It was happening too fast. It didn’t seem the right time to discuss releasing Ash from the engagement when it was prudent to do so. Grainger must ultimately see the sense of it.
Something occurred to her. “What about the laird? Isn’t he on his way from Scotland?”
“I have a man on the watch for him and left a letter at his home warning him of the danger. I intend to call at his home tonight to see if he has arrived.”
She nodded. “Well, at least we know where Farnborough is.”
“He will have engaged a criminal to do his dirty work for him.”
Thea gasped. “Oh, no. Can’t you ask Bow Street to arrest him?”
He shook his head as they crossed the floor. “I’m afraid not. I can’t have a lord thrown into jail, especially if the man isn’t seen to have committed a crime.”
“I see.” That surprised Thea. His calm demeanor and quiet strength lulled her into believing Grainger could accomplish anything he set his mind to.
Grainger stood at the door. “Well? Shall we put a seal on this arrangement?”
Thea slipped her hand into his. “Yes.” She smiled up at him shyly. As Grainger’s fiancée, she could become part of this investigation. For a brief moment, it pleased her. Then an alarming thought occurred to her. He had made no move to kiss her. Would it be a marriage with no kissing? She bit her lip as they left the library in search of her father. It strengthened her decision to end the engagement when the time was right.
After speaking to her father and grandmother, Grainger kissed her hand, and capturing her eyes for a moment, perhaps to reassure her, he left the rout.
“I am delighted for you, Thea,” Grandmama said. “You have chosen well. I prefer him to Lord Farnborough.”
“You do, Grandmama? Why?”
“He is the grandson of an earl.”
