Torrington angled his chin. “I can see you working through the advantages and disadvantages of such a match, so let me add that I do believe marriage the optimal decision, not only for Britain, but for us as well. I have two nearly grown daughters at eighteen and sixteen who are in need of a woman to guide them, and more practically, a chaperone to escort them to balls and parties and whatnot.”
His tone eased, the rugged confidence returning to his face. He possessed a rather attractive grin and used it to his advantage. “Who better to do so than my wife? I’ve never been a solitary creature, and with my eldest daughter engaged to be married and my youngest in all likelihood not far behind, I daresay it would be to my benefit to have a person with a well-informed mind residing in my house.”
The thought of me inducing what he considered intelligent conversation drew a smile. “I am not a bluestocking, my lord.”
“That is not what I intended to imply nor what I desire.” His eyes flashed. “Perhaps what I should have said was a refined woman.”
So he meant to remind me of my six and twenty years. I was well aware of my age. What he and the rest of the world couldn’t possibly understand was that all I really craved was simplicity and solitude.
Silence settled between us, and I was left suddenly aware of my own heartbeat. He rested his arm on the eiderdown, and for a whirling second I imagined what it would feel like to be held by such a man.
I shook myself back to the present. What would he say when he learned of Isaac’s parentage? If he learned of it. If the gossips were to be believed, Brook had stayed away from Middlecrest Abbey for years.
I cast a sideways glance, the outrageous offer swaying like a pendulum in my mind. What if I agreed?
I forced the questions circling my mind at bay, allowing myself the freedom to fully consider how my life would change—what it would feel like to be near this man daily—to be intimate with him. Though he said it would be a convenient marriage, we would still be thrown together a great deal. He was handsome to be sure and a well-practiced flirt. I’d allowed myself to fall into Brook’s arms so easily. A girl in the throes of her first love, I’d believed all of Brook’s impassioned declarations. But I was older and wiser now, and Torrington was offering me the exact opposite of what his brother had two years before—security without love.
He didn’t bother pretending not to notice me staring at him. He knew quite well I was measuring his worth. He leaned forward, a knowing edge to his voice. “Well?”
With the ghost of a laugh, I turned away, quick to squelch any misplaced attraction. Torrington was not to be trusted, and I was hardly myself at present. It was the late hour, the dipping candlelight, the emotive stillness . . . and my prior relationship with Brook. I suppose some sort of love for him still resided deep within, buried somewhere in the recesses of my mind. I was merely transferring the feelings to his brother. How alike they were, but at the same time so different.
Torrington also seemed determined to shake off the moment. He was all business now, a solicitor enacting a deposition. “Do you think you can manage a decision? Unfortunately, we haven’t much time to quibble.”
Quibble, indeed. I knit my brow as all kinds of questions popped into my mind. How old was Torrington? I could see the laugh lines branching about his eyes, a cultivated jawline that could only be gained with experience. He rode his horse exceptionally well, his seat as good as any I’d ever seen. He had years on Brook, that I knew, but how many with two nearly grown daughters at home? I cleared my throat. “If I may, what is your age, my lord?”
He eyed me for a moment. “I am not in my dotage, if that is what you think.”
“The number, please.”
He chuckled. “Will it affect your decision?”
“Possibly.”
“Seven and thirty.” He seemed to be choosing his next words carefully. “I was married and widowed quite young.”
Very young.
“Do not distress yourself.” Diversion crept into his words. “I fully intend to provide you with a jointure if in fact you do end up wearing the widow’s weeds as you seem to think likely.”
I shot a look up at the ceiling. “I didn’t mean to imply you were near death.”
“No?” He adjusted the ruffle on the dressing gown he’d borrowed as a newfound reticence entered his voice. “Though I do feel I’ve lived a long time in many ways.”
“As have I.”
He searched my eyes before looking away. “Then all that is left, my dear, is for you to agree to marry me by special license and pretend to the world that you were swept off your feet by my allure.”
I pursed my lips, a curt refusal aching to slip out.
He laughed. “I said pretend, not to actually fall in love with me.” He checked himself. “In fact, I am beginning to wonder if you possess such an ability at all after I’ve tried quite deliberately so far to draw you in.”
“Is that what that was?” I dipped my chin. “And yet I am unmoved.”
“All I ask is for you to feign affection in public, my dear, and we shall get on quite well with one another. Think of our marriage as a rather pleasant masquerade.”
I nearly laughed aloud. “But I will still have to live with you.”
“Ah, the one drawback to my little scheme.”
“And a big one it is.”
He grinned to himself. “I daresay you are correct. My habits may not be to your liking.” As if it was entirely natural, his fingers found mine once again. “I enjoy my country estate as well as my girls, so I fear you may see much of me about the house. I love music and dancing and riding . . .” He brushed his thumb across my wrist. “I prefer to find my way home most nights for supper, and I entertain often in the neighborhood. You, of course, would be expected to play hostess. So the question is, my dear, will you jump? Is this a life you might find tolerable?”
A sudden warmth flashed across my cheeks. Could I believe him? The Radcliffs were awfully good at persuasion, the kind that got under one’s skin. I daresay Torrington with his easy manner and enticing smile could get anyone to do anything. In all likelihood, he had taken one look at me and assumed where my desires might lie. How little he knew the woman who had grown out of Brook’s abandonment. “You ask me to make a life-changing decision at a moment’s notice.”
“Marriage is life changing. And a decision not to be made lightly. However, it is imperative that you do so quickly, as I have.”
I sucked in a breath. “Then you are completely decided—to marry me, just like that?”
“I assure you, any vow I make, I take seriously.” His confidence was intoxicating, but he pulled away. “Perhaps it is best if I leave you overnight to come to a decision on your own. I’ll return first thing in the morning with the special license.”
The wretch. He already knew my answer. “You are awfully confident of what I will decide.”
He shot me a wink. “Merely prepared.” He crossed the room, but his wide stride ceased at the door as he rested his palm against the doorframe. A laugh emerged.
“What is it now?”
He whirled around to face me, then rested his shoulder against the door. “I cannot leave.”