“Come and sit down, young man, and you can tell me what you want of me, although I might hazard a guess, eh?”
“You might indeed, sir, since I have made no secret of my intentions. I should very much like your permission to pay my addresses to the Lady Patience.”
“And you have it.” He chuckled at the surprise which Lance could not conceal. “Ah, you thought I would subject you to an interrogation about your prospects, I dare say. No need. I have already sounded out your situation.”
“Have you, sir?” Lance said cautiously.
“Found out you bank at Drake’s, and Sir James is my cousin… by marriage, but still, that counts for something. I asked him to vouch for you, and he told me you were pretty well set up. Done well for yourself, considering you are only four and thirty. Now, let us get down to business. Patience will bring twenty thousand to the marriage, and a house in Gloucestershire for her lifetime. Only three miles from the castle, so she will still be near her family, you see.”
“I do see, sir, and that is exceptionally generous of you, but my work is in town. My father’s house is—”
“No daughter of mine will live in Mount Street,” the marquess said, with a curl of the lip.
“Then I can rent somewhere else, but—”
“London is not a healthy place for females, especially in winter. Patience will be moped to death if she is expected to live here all year round. Her home will be in Gloucestershire, and during the season she will stay in this house, naturally. If your work causes you to be away in town now and then, she will have her family nearby for society.”
Lance said nothing. He could talk to Patience about it later and see what her wishes were. Surely she would want to be wherever he was? That was a wife’s place, was it not?
“Well, are we agreed, Chamberlain? Shall I send Patience in to you?”
“Thank you, sir. I am ready to talk to Lady Patience.”
The marquess chuckled. “Got your speech prepared, eh? The ladies like a bit of oratory on these occasions.”
“Do they, sir?” Lance said politely, not convinced. He had, naturally, prepared a few suitable words, and had even practised a little on Denny, although he was quite prepared to improvise if the occasion demanded it. However, he was not about to launch into a long recitation of Patience’s perfections, or the attractionsof his suit, and if Patience expected such nonsense, she would be disappointed.
The marquess rang the bell for the butler, who appeared so quickly that he must have been loitering outside the door.
“Ask the Lady Patience to step in here, will you?”
Within two minutes, for Lance was watching the clock, she appeared, head demurely lowered, walking dutifully two steps behind her mother. They were very alike, the two women, but whereas Patience’s blonde curls and wide blue eyes gave her an air of innocent fragility, her mother’s hair was faded, and a slight protuberance to her eyes and rather prominent teeth made her look like a fish. He wondered idly if Patience, too, would fade with the years, and grow stout round the middle, her gown struggling to contain the extra flesh.
“Mr Chamberlain, how pleasant to see you,” the marchioness said, although her smile seemed rather forced.
“Lady Pentavon,” he murmured as he made his bow. “Lady Patience.”
“Patience, my dear,” the marquess said, “Mr Chamberlain has something most particular to say to you. Be assured that he has my approval and your mama’s also, but of course you are free to answer as you will.”
She raised her head, and there was an odd flash in her eyes. “Thank you, Papa.”
He frowned a little at this. “I trust you will consider your answer very carefully, daughter. Now we shall leave you two to talk.”
With a soft click of the door, they were gone. Patience watched them disappear, then turned back to Lance, her face blank. She made no move towards him, so he went to her, lifting her hand to his lips and then retaining it, gently stroking her fingers with his thumb.
“Lady Patience, thank you for seeing me. You look wonderful, as always.”
“Thank you, sir.” The eyes dropped again, but she did not withdraw her hand.
“You know, I think, what I am about to say to you. I am sure you were aware of my admiration when I was at Pentavon in the summer. I tried very hard but I could not conceal my feelings entirely, and there were moments when, perhaps, you must have guessed that my heart was engaged. Yet I never dared to hope… and your father was not encouraging. But when I heard you had returned to town, I was immediately drawn back to your side, as the bee is drawn to the sweet nectar of the flower.”
There! That was well judged, he thought, for he had laboured over that particular phrase for some days now. A little florid, perhaps, but one must pay some sort of compliment. She made no response, however, not even lifting her eyes to his.
“Now I can be silent no longer, Patience. I cannot imagine a future without you, for you are all that a man looks for in the woman to accompany him in life. Your beauty, your character, your ability to laugh at my feeble jests…”
That brought her eyes up to meet his, and he saw puzzlement there. Well, that was better than nothing. She must be nervous, that was why this felt like such hard work. Time to get to the point.
“Patience… my dearest Patience… will you make me the happiest man on earth and consent to be my wife?”
