“And what is it that her parents accuse her of?” asked Jon Stoker.
Joseph glared. “Tessa is blameless in this. Her parents will accuseme, which I’m sure you realize.”
“Accuse you of what?” asked the Earl of Cassin. “You’re a rich shipping merchant with an even richer future. Your manners are above reproach, you dress like a courtier, and aspire to run for bloody Parliament. I’d marry you myself if I could.”
Joseph made a face but Cassin continued, “Best of all, you’ve made no secret of falling madly, adoringly in love with their daughter. In record time, no less. And let’s not forget that you’ve saved her from any other rotter who might answer the advert.”
“First of all,” sighed Joseph, “I don’t dress like a courtier, I dress like a gentleman. If you’d begun life polishing someone’s boots instead of wearing them, perhaps you would value the pleasure of your own fine pair.”
“But don’t you meanpairs?” Stoker cut in. “How many in your collection at the moment? Three? Four?”
“Second,” continued Joseph, “her parents are blissfully unaware of the advert, as you well know. And there’s no credit for being the best of the worst, if that’s what you mean.”
“What Imean,” said Cassin, “is Tessa St. Croix and her esteemed parents should be grateful to have you.” He raised his glass. “And I’ve no doubt that their joyful permission will come down from on high any hour. My concern was always that Miss St. Croix and her lot deserve you.”
“Deserve me?” said Joseph. “A man who could be laying her supper instead of eating it beside her?”
Cassin said, “You’re preoccupied with your past life in service.”
“Says the man in possession of an ancient earldom,” Joseph shot back.
“What did her parents say when you explained about your previous lifebelow stairs?” Cassin took a drink.
“She’s asked me not to elaborate on it.”
Cassin’s tankard froze, halfway to his mouth. “Define elaborate?”
Joseph sighed. “It would take too much time to convince them to endorse the marriage if they knew I was not...”
“...A rich shipping merchant who may one day be prime minister?” provided Cassin.
“...if they know we are not of the same class,” Joseph finished.
“You know what I think?” said Stoker. “I think youlikeit that she is so very haute and modish, and she has set her cap for you.”
“You’re full of shite.”
“Stoker makes an excellent point,” said Cassin. “Are you certain the mad love into which you’ve fallen is tied to the girl and not her place in society?
“Wealthy gentlemen’s daughters abound,” Cassin went on. “Despite your so-called ‘humble beginnings,’ you could have your pick of fine ladies... assuming fine ladies are what you want.”
“And you’ve borne witness to my long history pursuing society misses, have you?” Joseph asked.
His friends considered this, sharing a look. He’d won the point, and they knew it. He’d never courted anyone as wealthy or esteemed as Tessa St. Croix.
“All we’re asking,” said Stoker, “is whythisgirl? You’ve only known her for a bloody week.”
“And yet I knew the first day,” said Joseph carefully. He pushed up from his chair and threw a handful of chestnut shells into the fire. His friends were merely trying to protect him, he knew this, but their suspicions grated. He was a grown man, well in touch with reality. He was familiar with the notion of class envy. He was not shallow—orenvious for that matter. It was Tessa he wanted, not her place in the haute ton.
“You knewwhatthe first day?” asked Stoker.
Joseph turned away from the fire. “That I was changed.”
“That you were randy, more like,” guessed Stoker.
“Careful, Stoker,” Joseph warned, shoving off the mantel. A brawl in the stable yard would bring a satisfying end to this conversation, and Joseph suddenly wanted that very much. Stoker merely rolled his eyes.
“Was I drawn to her at first sight?” asked Joseph. “Yes. Do I desire her? More than any woman I’ve known. But it is more than desire. And it’s more than her bloody family and their bloody money. She is... buoyant in a way that holds me up. She is so clever. Her wit makes mine funnier. She is wholly confident and capable, and yet I find myself wanting to provide for her. She is alive in a way that makes my own life seem a little less livable without her in it.”
