He resisted the urge to drop her hands, but it was she who pulled away, to brush at the corner of one eye. He reached into his coat to remove his handkerchief and held it out to her in silence.
“I don’t know why I’m going teary,” she said, accepting it and then waving it as if to banish her emotional display. “I was so pleased to learn you wanted to marry me. It made the other situation easier to bear. To forget even. I worried, after what happened with Lord Hobart, that I might be untouchable. Wouldn’t that have been a terrible thing?” She glanced away, frowning. “And perhaps you know that around that same time, June was jilted by your friend Lord Wescott.”
“He’s no friend of mine.” Now he could, at last, tell the truth about something. “When I heard what he’d done to your sister, after raising her expectations, he ceased to have my regard. Gentlemen should not behave so.”
“Yes, June was very hurt.”
“Lord Wescott has a habit of acting selfishly, even if it hurts others. You may be sure I’m not that type.”
Her eyes met his. Amber-gray. Brown. Copper. Whatever they were, they were full of sincere emotion.
“Do you want to hear something amusing?” she asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“When I heard you’d asked for my hand, I feared it was some kind of prank. I thought…” She shook her head. “When your heart is broken once, you fear it will be broken again. How relieved I am to know you’re not the heart-breaking sort.”
He said nothing, caught in a spell of guilt and longing. He wanted to be the fine man she thought he was, not the scheming, uncaring man who’d asked for her hand. Curse it all. He couldn’t go back and change how things had begun between them. He could only move forward.
“I did not propose to you as a prank, Jane,” he said, holding her gaze. “You needn’t worry about your heart being broken anymore.”
She smoothed his handkerchief across her gloved fingers. “Very well. I won’t.” Her smile was bright, sudden, almost tremulous. “Instead, I shall look forward to being your bride.”
“Just as I look forward to becoming your husband,” he replied politely.
She had a way of looking at him, a sort of adulation bordered by fear. It affected him more than he liked.
“Once we’re wed, I’ll believe I’ll take you to Somerton,” he said, leading her back along the path. “It’s my country retreat in Berkshire, very wild and wooded. Considering your devotion to nature, I’m sure you’ll like it there.”
“I can’t wait to see it. It must be a very fine place.”
It was a fine place to get away from town and throw wild parties. As for marriage, that remained to be seen.
“And I’ve a large town house here in London, a place we can call home during the Season. How does that sound?”
“It sounds wonderful, my lord.” She paused a moment. “I’ve been meaning to ask you… I have a few pets which are very special to me. If you don’t mind, I would like to keep them with me after we’re married.”
Of course this nature-loving woman-child would have pets to bring to their marriage. She probably had dogs, cats, rabbits, all the furry, smelly things. Well, he wasn’t a monster. He wouldn’t separate his naturalist from her beloved animals. The busier she kept with her pets, the less she’d bother him.
“Yes, you may bring all your belongings to your new home, Jane, and that includes your pets. If you’ll write out the necessary requirements and measurements for kennels, I’ll send them to my groundskeeper at Somerton so he can get to work.”
“How generous of you, Lord Townsend. I’m so pleased.” She said this with real joy, not the nervousness that had afflicted her up until now.
“Prepare the instructions as soon as you can, so he can have everything ready upon your arrival after our wedding.”
Her eyes shone with a new, fond regard. “Thank you so much, my lord. Truly, thank you. I desperately hoped you would allow me to bring my animals. They mean so much to me.”
“I wish you to be happy.” He held up a finger in warning. “However, I must set a rule. No pets in the house. I prefer a calm, orderly household, and pets can be a nuisance, always getting under your feet.”
“Of course, my lord. As long as they have a secure, warm place to stay, I’m content. Oh…” She placed a finger upon her pointed little chin, tapping it twice. “Have you some dependable mousers at your estate?”
“Mousers?” He modulated the amusement from his voice. “Yes, I believe we’ve three or four excellent mousers at Somerton.”
“Perfect. Then I can leave my cats at my family’s home, where they’re happiest. They’re older, you see, and set in their ways. They’ve always had the run of the estate.”
“That’s settled then. Anything else you require, just add it into the instructions. The Somerton staff is excellent, and I’m sure they’ll be anxious to help you feel at home.”
She turned shy again, just like that, giving him a crooked smile. “Do you want to know something else amusing?”
“Certainly.”
“I was so afraid to meet you today. I saw you only a few times last season, from afar, and you seemed…intimidating.”
Was this, now, an awkward attempt at flirting? “Intimidating?” he repeated.
“I feared you might be a cold-hearted type because you are so handsome. Oh, I don’t know why. I suppose sometimes I expect the worst for no reason at all, maybe so I won’t be disappointed if things go wrong. But you don’t seem cold-hearted. You seem very warm and kind.”
He met her gaze, looked into those eyes that were just like his own. He had cold-heartedly thought of every possible way to escape this engagement, but here he was. “I was raised in a loving home and taught to be a proper gentleman,” he said. “If I’m ever cold-hearted to you, well, then, you must let me know.”
She laughed at that, her eyes curving up just like her lips. “It’s strange to think you’ll be my husband soon, and that we might talk about these sorts of things.”
Yes, it was very strange. Here was this unfathomable woman, soon to take up residence in his home, as well as his bed. He could not imagine making love to her. He still ached for Ophelia in his weaker moments, even though she was married to his damned faithless friend. Perhaps some magic would happen at the altar to make him forget Ophelia and lust for the woman before him. Perhaps not. He had no idea how things might square out between them, but he understood one thing for certain: it was his fault the two of them, two perfect strangers, were getting married this holiday.
She still clutched his handkerchief; by now, it was quite rumpled by her fingers. “I’ll try to be a very good wife to you, Lord Townsend, if only to thank you for rescuing me. I think if you hadn’t come along, I would have had a very sad and lonely life.”
She was making herself so vulnerable to him. He could hardly bear it. He didn’t want it. I worry I will destroy you, poor little Jane, all by accident.
“Come now.” He tilted his head to catch her gaze. “Someone would have come along and swept you up. You’re too charming to live a lonely life, don’t you think?”