Chapter 7

Of all the reactions that Charles had expected, revulsion certainly wasn't one of them.

"No," Lady Felicity gasped, snatching her hand away, even leaning back a little as if he had tried to bite her. "You are not... you are not serious? There is no way that you are!"

"I assure you, I did not come all this way to make light of a serious situation." He attempted to straighten up, to not look as if her reaction had hurt him... which it had a little, truth be told. "As I said, I have realized that a marriage is in my best interest. And after our conversation last night --"

"Exactly!" she cried. "How on earth could you possibly think that me of all people would suit such a ridiculous request? You were there when we were speaking, were you not? I did not imagine it?"

"Oh, I was there," he grinned.

"So, you realize how insane you must sound. Why..." She shook her head. "The way I spoke to you in the garden last night, I do not think I have ever spoken to another person like that before." She almost sounded ashamed, if that was possible.

"You were rather short with me," Charles agreed lightly. "And brutal, to be fair."

"And today!' she continued, speaking as if to herself rather than to Charles. "I was ready to murder you. If one of those fire pokers --" She waved vaguely toward the hearth. "Was closer, I might have just stabbed you with it."

"But you didn't," Charles pointed out. "So, surely that means something?"

The look she fixed him with was utmost confusion. "Is this a joke to you, Your Grace? Some sort of sick game – another ploy to try and seduce me into your bedroom?"

"I assure you, Lady Felicity, I am being perfectly serious."

"Then act like it!" she cried. "Because nothing you have said since you entered this room has sounded remotely serious. And quite frankly, I am beginning to suspect that I am the butt of some joke to which I have not yet worked out."

She was becoming flustered. And frantic. And highly irate. Was it wrong that Charles found it all rather adorable? Something about the way she flailed about, her cheeks running hot, her chest heaving as her breathing increased such that she looked like she might burst from her dress. It made Charles want to take her by the hands and calm her down. Maybe wrap an arm around her. Maybe put those lips of hers to better use...

He gave his head a shake to dispel such notions. This arrangement he was offering had nothing to do with sexual impulse and he needed to remember that. He'd chosen Lady Felicity for a very specific reason, because she, of all women, seemed best equipped to keep his amorous desires and advances at bay – to keep this marriage convenient only. Why, Charles even found himself shifting away from the pokers near the fire, just in case she made good on her threat.

"As I have already said, I assure you this is no joke."

"Then why?!" she exclaimed. "I should be the last person you approach with an offer such as this."

"You are right, in a way," Charles started calmly. "After the way you spoke to me in the garden, I might have never dreamed I would be sitting here today, asking you to marry me. But you do remember our dance, shortly afterwards? If memory serves me correctly, you were far more civil."

"We had an audience. I had no choice."

He laughed. "Perhaps. I was thinking instead of what we discussed. Your father's insistence that you marry, even if you do not wish it. The fact that he likely will not stop until he sees it is done. You are desperate, Lady Felicity. Do not pretend otherwise."

"Desperate," she scoffed. "The word that every groom wishes to hear of his bride, I am sure."

"But that is the point." He leaned forward and shuffled slightly closer. "I will save you the obvious question now." He looked right at her, meeting her eyes and holding them. "I am not in love with you."

Her face dropped. "Thank you for clarifying."

He grinned. "And you are not in love with me. Nor will you ever be. You wonder how I might want to marry someone who holds me in such low esteem? That is the reason. I need to marry someone for convenience only. Someone who won't risk falling for me, and me for them. And you, having already made your feelings for me perfectly clear, are the perfect candidate. Do you not think so?"

"I don't..." She still looked flustered and confused, but not as much as she had. As if the notion was slowly dawning on her... and the reality of the escape it offered. "But everyone will know why."

"So what?" he shrugged. "You have already demonstrated that you do not care what people think. And you know what this town is like." He gave a dismissive flick of his wrist. "Few marriages are made for love, if any. We marry for social standing and that is all. It is no big secret, so why not play the game? Why not beat them at it?"

"But... you and I... we cannot work!"

"Maybe..." He shrugged. "Maybe not. Personally, I am more than willing to find out."

"I --"

"You do not have to answer me today." He held up a hand to silence her. "For now, all I want to do is let you know my offer. Think about it. Consider it. Wait until your father presents another stuffy lord for you to be courted by," he chuckled. "And then see how you feel. Again, this is not me trying to seduce you, Lady Felicity. On the contrary, I am trying to offer you the one thing you desire above all else." A pause as he held her stare, letting her brow scrunch tight as she tried to understand where he was going. "Freedom."

"Freedom..." she said softly, more to herself than him, as if the word itself unlocked something inside of her.

Sensing the moment was right, Charles reached out and rested a hand on Lady Felicity"s knee, delighted that for once she didn't recoil at his touch. "I will leave you with it. Enough time so you may consider what I think is a rather generous, mutually agreeable offer." He smiled for her as he rose.

She did not smile back. She did not stand to say goodbye. She sat frozen on the couch, staring ahead blankly, her mind fractured into a million little pieces that she was struggling to put together.

But put them together she would. Despite her objections, as Charles left her sitting there alone, he couldn't help but feel rather optimistic about what had just transpired. She didn't reject him entirely, which in itself was a win. And more than that, she even seemed to understand the benefits and the reality of the situation as he saw it. Sure, she didn't jump at the chance, but he'd never expected her to.

A day, he decided. One day for her to have a think and then he would return. By this time tomorrow, he would either be engaged to Lady Felicity or he might have to pay Lady Beatrice a visit. Although the shudder that sent down his body had him praying that it did not come to that.