Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

" S o, Matthew, you have finally decided to take a wife! I never thought I would live to see the day!"

Matthew spurred his horse on ahead of his companions in response to Seth's comment, but his brother-in-law caught up quickly. Allan was right behind him. It was the habit of the three gentlemen to go out riding on the weekends, leaving the ladies and the children at home, and it was a practice Matthew usually looked forward to with great anticipation. But today was different. He had known that Seth and Allan would have plenty to say about the fact that he had finally chosen to take a wife, and that was a conversation he did not much wish to have—but he also knew that it was utterly unavoidable. At some stage, they would need to talk about it. He would have to satisfy everyone's curiosity.

At least it was happening without his sisters present. When he eventually had to speak to them about his decision to marry, things would be much more complicated. The gentlemen only wanted to tease him a little. The ladies would demand real answers.

"I don't suppose you'll believe me if I say that I was simply captivated with Lady Cressida's beauty," he said.

"Wait a moment," Allan interjected. "What do you mean, Lady Cressida? I thought your plan was to marry the younger of the two sisters. Isn't that Lady Victoria? Have I confused them?"

"No, you're right," Seth chimed in. "I saw the two of them at a ball a few weeks ago—Lady Gunderson pointed them out to me."

"That gossip," Matthew said dismissively. "She irks me. She obviously intended to try to marry her daughter to me, and there was nothing subtle at all about the way she approached me. Truly, you'd be embarrassed if you'd seen it."

"That's all very well, but this isn't about Lady Gunderson," Seth said. "You did say you meant to marry Lady Victoria. What's more, Lady Gunderson said she was the one who was looking for a match, and that her sister wasn't concerned about that sort of thing as far as her own prospects. But you changed your mind? Why? Was it simply Lady Cressida's beauty?"

"Is she uncommonly beautiful?" Allan wanted to know.

"She's lovely," Seth said. "Auburn hair, a fine figure—but no more beautiful than her sister, I think. They are both lovely. I would be surprised to hear that had made the difference. But I can't think what else it could have been."

"Perhaps her father wished his elder daughter to be the one to marry first," Allan suggested. "That would be normal enough. Was that the way of it, Matthew?"

"No," Matthew was forced to admit. "He did not express a preference. I believe he would have permitted me to make arrangements with whichever one I preferred."

"Then you simply preferred Lady Cressida! Surprising, indeed. You must tell us why."

"Do we need to examine all the details of this matter here and now?"

"You must admit it's curious, Matthew," Allan said. "I think you knew that we would want answers. This can't come as a surprise. And I think you must also know that your sisters are going to be much more demanding than either of the two of us will be. I know you're prepared to talk to someone about this eventually."

"That's right," Seth agreed. "You can consider us practice for what you'll eventually say to the ladies—whatever that might be."

Because Matthew had been thinking the very same thing himself, he knew that he couldn't truly argue. "Very well," he said. "But can we get off the horses first so that we can have a proper conversation? I can't even see the two of you."

In seeming agreement with that idea, Seth rode ahead toward the stable. When he arrived, he threw his leg over his horse and dismounted, handing the reins to a groom. Allan followed suit, and a moment, later, so did Matthew.

"Back up to the house, then?" Seth asked.

"No, of course not," Allan said. "Lavinia and Edwina are there, and you know what will happen if they catch on to the fact that such a serious conversation is taking place. They'll want to know all about it. And as soon as that happens, we lose all chance of Matthew telling us anything at all—isn't that right, Matthew?"

Matthew sighed. "It isn't as serious as the two of you seem to believe it to be," he said. "Truly, I decided to marry to protect my business interests."

"How does marrying help you with your business?"

"It lends me respectability. Credibility. Surely you can see how that would be true, Allan. You're married yourself, after all."

"I didn't marry to protect my business interests," Allan countered. "Nor do I think you would have permitted me anywhere near your sister if you'd believed that to be my reason!"

"He very nearly didn't allow you near her anyway," Seth reminded them with a smile. "It wasn't as if Matthew was particularly eager to see you marry Lady Edwina, Allan."

"But he came around to the idea in the end," Allan said. "If he thought for a moment that I was being dishonest about my affection for her, he never would have done that."

"Well, I haven't been dishonest in the least with Lady Cressida," Matthew said. "She knows I'm only looking for a marriage of convenience, and she accepts that."

"I wonder what her reason for accepting it is," Allan mused. "It's not as if she has any particular reason to concern herself with your business affairs, so why should she want to marry you?"

"Unless she doesn't want to," Seth said. "Perhaps the arrangement was made by her father?"

"Yes and no," Matthew said. "As I told you, he offered one of his daughters, but he didn't mind which one. As a matter of fact, it was Lady Cressida herself who approached me and insisted that she ought to be the one."

"Ah," Seth said. "She was upset at the prospect of her younger sister finding a match before she had secured one for herself, then."

"Perhaps," Matthew said. It hadn't seemed that way to him, but then, he hadn't questioned her too hard about it. "It doesn't matter to me what her reason was," he said. "What matters is that I have someone to present as my wife. It will give me what I need in the business world and in the social sphere. And Lady Cressida has proven herself to be quite adept, socially, so I know that she will be the right one for me."

"I wonder why her father would offer up two of his daughters like that," Allan mused. "It doesn't sound as if he even consulted them first."

"Oh, he owed me money," Matthew said dismissively. "I wouldn't have insisted that he pay his debt in that fashion, but when he made the offer, I found I couldn't resist. And since Lady Cressida was happy to marry me, this will work out well for everyone involved." He looked from Seth to Allan. "Does this answer all of your questions? Can we end this conversation now?"

"You do seem awfully reluctant to talk about it," Allan said.

"Yes," Seth agreed. "When I knew that I was going to marry Lavinia, it was all I wished to talk about. I could have sung her name from the rooftops!"

"I felt the same about Edwina," Allan said.

"But the two of you married because you fell in love," Matthew pointed out. "It was very different for each of you than it is now for me. You should think of this arrangement as my having made a business deal, nothing more. And if I had made a business deal, would you truly expect me to want to shout it from the rooftops?"

"I suppose not," Seth allowed. "I don't know. It's just difficult for me to imagine choosing to marry under the conditions you describe, Matthew. I don't think I would have done it. I would have found another way to resolve my business difficulties in your shoes."

"It's different for you," Matthew said. "I have been successful in life, but in order for that to continue, I must have the business success and the reputation to back it up. Without those things, I cannot rely on whatever respect I might receive. And the older I get, the more I come to realize that I must have a wife if I am going to show myself to my best advantage. Well, now that problem is solved—and what's more, Lady Cressida is competent, charming in social situations, and knowledgeable about business affairs. She will be a perfect fit for my needs, and the fact that she has no expectations when it comes to the nature of our marriage suits me perfectly."

"Well, all right," Seth said. "As long as you're happy with the state of things, you know I don't have any complaints." He turned toward the house. "We ought to get inside. If the ladies see us out here talking, they might well come to investigate, and I think that's the last thing any of us wants." He started across the lawn.

But Allan remained behind, waiting until he and Matthew were relatively isolated before he spoke again. "If there's more to it," he said, "if you want to talk about anything, you can tell me. I would listen, and I wouldn't judge you."

It was more than Matthew deserved and he knew it, for he had always been Allan's harshest judge and critic in the days when Allan had been courting his sister. "You're too kind to me," he said.

"Nonsense. I'm not. I know you were hard on me because your sister was involved. This is different. You and I are brothers now, aren't we?"

"We are," Matthew agreed, warm with happiness at Allan's easy acceptance of him.

"Well, that means I'm on your side," Allan said. "Without fail, without question, no matter what, I am on your side. So whatever is going on, no matter how complicated it might seem to you, I'm willing to talk to you about it, and you should know that it won't cause any tension or strife between the two of us."

Matthew nodded. "Thank you," he said. "I appreciate that, genuinely."

He also knew that he wouldn't take Allan up on the offer. The things motivating his decision to marry—and to make the arrangements the way he had—were simply too complicated and too personal, and he wasn't ready to share them. Not with Allan. Not with anyone .

So he started back up toward the house, and after a moment, Allan fell into step alongside him, and the two of them didn't speak any further about it.

Matthew knew he was going to have to come clean about the majority of what was happening with him, of course. He would have to face his sisters next, and it would take a lot of explanation and detail to satisfy them.

But there were certain explanations and details that he knew he would not be providing. Not to anybody, no matter what. And on that, he would not be moved.