“That is not progress at all! And your ridiculous pursuit of me will only end in disappointment.”
His smile widened into a grin. “I assure you, Lady Clara, no lady has claimed disappointment with me.”
“Then you have surrounded yourself with witless women.”
He nodded. “True enough. It’s why you appeal so greatly.”
She opened her mouth to argue with him further, but he held up his hand in a gesture of surrender.
“My lady, I assure you that Scottish brides are not servants. Our land can be harsh, and I would work alongside my bride.”
“So says everycharmingman, but it is a lie. The Scotsmen control the purse, the home, and the product of their wives’ work. Just as it is in England, France, and every other country you are likely to name. It is the way of the world.”
“Why do you despise it so if it is the natural way?”
She snorted. “You have just attended a naturalist lecture. Do you know of any animal who subjugates the female as thoroughly as man? I submit that it is a perversion of the natural order of things created for man’s convenience, and not a woman’s.”
“You are making a false comparison, my lady. Do you see animals building castles?”
“Nests. Dens. Burrows.”
“Do they farm crops or husband cattle?”
“Both sexes forage.”
“Unless the female is busy caring for the young. In which case, the male—”
“I do not care about that, as I have no intention of having young.”
He arched a brow. “A sad life that might be.”
“There are plenty of children available if I have the urge to mother.”
“I wasn’t referring to the children,” he quipped, his eyebrows waggling.
How like a man to think of sex first. “This is a waste of time and that is something I abhor.” She nodded to him in dismissal and was about to say,Good day.But he spoke faster than she and—worse—he piqued her curiosity with his words.
“On the contrary, this has been the best use of my time since arriving in London.”
“Because you are considering the plight of a female for the first time in your life?”
He chuckled. “Because I have now learned your conditions for marriage.”
“Hardly that.”
“You care not about children nor the entertainments in bed. Your time must be valued, and your labors set into your hands for your control.” He spread his arms such that his entire body was on display. “I can offer you thatandthe pleasures of the bedroom as well!”
She would not be alive if she didn’t notice the muscles that shaped his torso and strengthened his legs. He had muscles that built out his large frame. Though he was lanky, like her, there was no denying that he had callouses on his hands, muscles that no doubt crisscrossed his body like a Greek statue’s, and legs that supported him well as they covered vast distances.
He was a man built for the wilds of Scotland, she supposed. He would look magnificent in a kilt. He looked quite spectacular in English attire. If it weren’t for his roguish smile and that arrogant twinkle in his eyes, she might find him attractive. Instead, she thought him much too impressed with himself for her to be interested.
“Good day, Lord Loughton. I hope you find a woman to meet your needs.”
“I have found her,” he said to her back. “We’re just negotiating the terms of surrender.”
She stopped walking. She knew he was teasing her. That he was beingcharming, and damned if it didn’t work on her a little. She was smiling, after all. And her heart was pumping in an excited state. But it wouldn’t work. Boyish charm meant that the lady would end up marrying a boy. And she could barely tolerate a man.
She turned back to him. “I will not marry. Look elsewhere.”
