Page 49 of Her Royal Houseguest

He dropped his hands to his hips, clearly shocked. ‘Of course there is love! A man loves his children. And some wives are very special. But it is selfish to prevent other women from fulfilling their need to have children. Why give happiness to only one woman when you can support many?’

‘Oh, I see,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry. I had not realised there were so few men in Siam.’

‘What?’

‘If there are only a few men, then I can see how the wealthy should take on many wives. It is not how we do it here. The number of our men and women are equal, or close to it.’

He grunted. ‘And so it is in Siam.’

‘Equal men and women?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then why do you get several wives and others have none?’

He looked at her as if she had no brain at all. ‘Because I can afford them. Other men cannot support themselves. What little coin they have is spent on themselves. Why burden them with expenses they cannot manage?’

‘Don’t they deserve a wife? Children?’

‘No! Not if he cannot feed them. That is suffering for all.’

She could see a kind of cold-blooded logic in that but she still thought it was wrong-headed. ‘Women should be allowed to support themselves,’ she said flatly. ‘And then we can decide if we want children, if we want a husband.’ She lifted her chin. ‘If I could become a barrister or an Oxford don, I would not need any husband to support me.’

‘I do not know what those things are.’

‘Professions. Important jobs that pay well.’

He shook his head. ‘Women are not trained in these things. They must raise the children.’

‘But what if a woman was trained that way?’ she pressed. ‘And not locked in the house with nothing to do.’

‘What about the children?’ he repeated.

‘One woman can watch several children. Families, grandparents, aunts and neighbours—they all help one another.’

‘All so one woman can toil away from her children?’ He shook his head. ‘That is suffering for all.’

She sighed. Perhaps she was wishing on stars. Would she be happier as one of many wives, assuming she had children? Could she share a husband if it meant she had children to cherish?

Or would a child be one more burden for her to fail? Would she forget she had a child like she forgot her projects? Of course not. But would she ignore that child once the novelty wore off? That was not so unusual in the peerage. How many children were raised by nurses, only seeing their parents for a short time once a week?

She longed for a child to love but she did not want one if her curse meant she failed him or her. Better to live out her days as a spinster than fail a child.

Eventually, she turned back to the prince. ‘Your ways are strange to me but I can see that you believe in them.’

‘You do not see the logic?’

She did in terms of a larger society but she was a single woman. ‘I can’t imagine sharing the man I love.’

His brows rose. ‘Do all English dream of such a thing?’

‘Of love? Yes, of course.’

‘So every man and woman love each other? That is necessary for the marriage?’

She flushed. ‘Not exactly. We all hope for it.’

He crossed his arms. ‘If you were not cursed, would you be married now? Your father would have found an alliance for you. For advantage.’