“Why what?”
She grabbed hold of the railing and hauled herself upright. “Why I will not marry you.”
“Because your family approves?” He hovered beside her, ready to catch her if she fell again. She didn’t. Indeed, her feet seemed to be firmly planted on the ground. “Lady Clara, pray try to make sense.”
“I don’t care what arrangement you’ve made with my mother, I will not marry you.”
“Your mother? What does she—”
“She’s the only one who approves in my family. Which means I do not.”
He blinked. Damn it, he’d erred here, but there was still time to recover. “My apologies, Lady Clara. I have never spoken to your mother. I know nothing about her.”
The lady frowned at him, then sniffed hard. “My mother and I do not get along.”
Obviously. He raised his brows and attempted aScottishwink. “Leave it to me. I’ll charm her too.”
Wrong tact. Her expression tightened. “You said we were going to marry.”
He smiled, scrambling to find a way to make her smile. “I was flirting. With you.”
“But you also meant it.”
True hit. He did intend to marry her.
“No,” she said.
“Lady Clara—” he tried, but she cut him off.
“It’s not because you’re Scottish. It’s because youlivein Scotland! And in a castle no less!” Then she threw up her hands in disgust. “I told you that on the very first day we met.”
“Whatever are you talking about?”
“Castles are drafty, miserable places. My home is not.” She pointed to the house behind her. “Scotland is far away. London is not.” She pointed again at his chest. “I don’t care that you’re Scottish. I care that you’recharming.” She spit out the word like bad meat. “And I’m not marrying anyone, no matter what my family has said to you or anyone else!”
He thought she would go inside then. Indeed, the butler was standing in the doorway with his jaw slack as he watched the entire encounter. But instead of running inside, she looked hard past Liam’s shoulder. “Good day, Lord Loughton. There is a lecture on beekeeping that I am most anxious to attend.”
“Lady Clara!” the butler called in a nasally tone. “Shouldn’t I call a maid for you?”
The woman rolled her eyes. “No. It’s embarrassing when she falls asleep.”
She stomped down the remaining steps, her head lifted high enough that the hard slash of her nose seemed to cut the air around her. Such magnificence. She’d make a fine bride.
Unfortunately, that was encounter number five, and he’d exhausted the breadth of his charm. He didn’t want to think of his father’s plan, but he really had to consider it now.
Abduction.
