Chapter Four

P hillip felt as if she'd pulled the rug out from beneath him. "What did you say?"

"I said that I've changed my mind. You don't have to marry me."

Phillip walked across the room and poured brandy into a glass, then wine into another. He handed her the wine, then sat beside her on the settee. "Would you care to explain why you've changed your mind?"

The lady took a sip of her wine, but didn't immediately offer an explanation.

He took a healthy gulp of his brandy. "Then perhaps you'd allow me to tell you why I think you changed your mind."

"That's not necessary—"

"Oh, but it is, my lady, since it involves me as much as it does you."

She lowered her head and stared at her hands clutched in her lap. He placed his hand over hers.

"It's because of the rude comment one of the men made, isn't it?"

Lady Violet's cheeks turned red.

"You should never experience embarrassment because of what small-minded people say about you. They have faults of their own and point out others' shortcomings to draw attention away from their own inadequacies."

The expression on the lady's face turned from embarrassment to confusion.

"Oh," she said as if she suddenly understood his meaning and found it puzzling, then humorous. She tried to hide her reaction and covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"What?" Phillip asked. "I'm afraid I misunderstood something."

She giggled, and it was the lightest, most endearing sound.

"What?" he asked again.

"It's only that you thought I was embarrassed by what that uncouth man said about my looks, but that wasn't it at all. I have lived with such comments my entire life. I am used to them."

"Then what was it?"

"It was that you heard what he said."

"You thought I would be embarrassed by what he said?"

"Yes. I know you must be embarrassed to be seen with someone who looks like me."

He was puzzled. "How is it that you think you look?"

"It's no secret, my lord, that I am very plain, very ordinary. Not pretty in the least. And with these thick spectacles—well, the fact is that I can hardly see without them. I have spent my entire life being with men who avoid looking at me for fear someone might encourage them to dance with me. Or they refuse to sit in a chair next to me because they will have to speak to me, and their friends will taunt them with jokes that connect the two of us."

Phillip wanted to assure her that such would never be the case with him, but what she described hit too close to actions that he had committed. "We are an ill-mannered, cruel lot, aren't we?"

She smiled. "Not intentionally, my lord. But it's a known fact that the cream always rises to the top. The purpose of each Season is for the highest-ranking males to attract the attention of the females with the most exceptional looks and the fattest dowries. To the females who are thought to be diamonds of the first water."

"How did you achieve such wisdom, my lady?"

"It was not difficult when you live in a house with a sister who is beautiful beyond compare. Who was rumored to become the diamond of the Season. I have always been found lacking when compared to her."

They stayed on the settee for several long moments without speaking. Phillip finished the last of his brandy and set his empty glass on the table nearest to him. "So, my lady, how are we going to resolve our dilemma? Are you still of a mind to rescind your offer of marriage?"

"I feel it is only fair for me to give you the option of searching for a female who can complement your exceptional good looks."

Phillip thought a moment, then spoke. "Perhaps we can list the qualities of the person we are each searching for to see how closely we match what the other person wants. If there are several requests that cannot be fulfilled, we will know we would not be a good match."

"Very well," she answered.

"I will go first, since you already know my main request. I would like enough money to pay all the debts that my father and brother amassed."

"And I have more than enough money to cover your debts. It would be yours to use however you want."

He watched as a thoughtful expression covered her face. He found himself watching her lips, which formed each word carefully.

"My first request is for you to gift me an estate where I can live, and allow me to run it as I desire."

"Which I heartily agree to do. The first thing we will do when we get to the country is tour my estates, and you may choose whichever one you wish as your home. I will then hand over the deed to that property, and it will be yours, free and clear."

Phillip thought for several more moments. He hadn't thought much past simply paying his father's debts. He turned his attention back to Lady Violet. "I have no other requests to make. I will listen to yours and say whether I can comply or agree with them or not."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite."

"Very well. I have several more," she said, and took a paper from her reticule. "As I said, I would like you to provide me with children. Several. I have always wanted a large family and never thought I would have one, but I believe that is now possible."

"That is a reasonable request, and one I heartily agree with. I want an heir or two."

"Is there any number of children you would like?"

He thought for a moment then shrugged. "Whatever we are blessed with."

She nodded her agreement, then looked back down to the list in her hands. "And I would like a yearly income allotted to the estate where I will be living. This will be to pay for my household staff and expenses."

"That is perfectly acceptable. How much would you like per annum?"

"That can be determined at a later date, after I know how much staff I will require."

"You are bringing your staff from Town?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

Phillip shook his head. "No, that is brilliant. It will be much easier, since I have little or no staff left at any of my residences. The people you bring with you will already know your habits and expectations."

"Yes, they are good and loyal servants and are already well trained in running a household."

When she didn't continue immediately, Phillip looked at her encouragingly. "Is there more?" he asked.

"One more item that I already mentioned when we were with Mrs. Dove-Lyon."

"Yes?"

"I always helped Father with his estate books when he worked on them. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to assist you, too, in taking care of the estate books."

Phillip smiled. "I wouldn't mind at all, my lady. In fact, you would be a great help to me. Because of my past experience, I can plot and plan military maneuvers day in and day out, but I have to admit I've had very little experience running an estate, or keeping its books."

"And that is what I helped Father do while Mother and my sister were off attending garden parties and soirees."

"You did not accompany your mother and sister?"

"No, they always preferred I did not accompany them. Mother said my sister attracted many more suitable prospects when I wasn't close by."

Phillip wanted to ignore Lady Violet's comment, but he couldn't. "Your mother did you a great deal of harm, didn't she?"

"Not intentionally, I don't believe. She simply wanted what was best for my sister. She'd put all her hopes and dreams in Pauline and wanted her to have everything she'd always hoped for herself."

"Such as?"

"A grand title—duchess, at least. Her place in Society. Wealth and a husband with extraordinary good looks. Marriage into a family that held a prestigious place in Society. Pauline had all the makings of the perfect duchess."

"I wish I could have seen her," Phillip said. "I've never met anyone so perfect."

Violet stood. "Follow me," she said, walking out of her mother's sitting room and up another flight of stairs to a room devoted solely to paintings. "This was my sister," she said, looking up to a wall of paintings of a girl from infancy to a more recent likeness.

Phillip stared in fascination. Pauline truly was the most remarkably beautiful female he had ever seen. Her hair was the perfect shade of golden blonde, and her eyes the most startling shade of blue. She possessed not one mark or blemish anywhere that he could see, and the smile on her face was remarkably ethereal. No wonder everyone considered her a diamond of the first water. No wonder everyone considered her the catch of the Season—until her brother ruined her family's reputation.

Phillip stared at her a moment longer, then turned to look at Violet. Instead of looking at a portrait of her sister, she was engrossed with a portrait of her family. It was a picture of her father and mother sitting side by side in blue velvet chairs, Violet with her hand on her father's shoulder and her sister standing at her mother's side with a hand on her shoulder. The difference between the two sisters was startling. Where Pauline was perfectly coiffed, and the smile on her face was frozen into place, as if she'd practiced it for hours, Violet held a natural pose with a natural smile that was as sincere as he knew her to be.

But it was her father who drew his attention. The expression on Violet's face when she looked at him nearly broke Phillip's heart. The love that he saw in her eyes tore through him unlike any emotion he'd experienced since he'd mourned the young men he'd lost on the battlefield.

"You loved him immensely, didn't you?"

She swiped at her eyes and nodded her head. "He was an amazing father. The best."

"I wish I had known him," Phillip whispered. "I wish I'd have had a father like him."

"What was your father like?"

"I think more like your mother. I was only the spare, so he devoted all of his time to my older brother—except instead of spending his time teaching him to care for the land and the tenants and the property we owned, he spent his time being his friend and having a good time with him. He taught him to drink, gamble, and chase women."

"And you?"

"Oh, I didn't fit into their lifestyle, so he sent me off to the army."

"Do you miss him?"

"I wish I did, but I don't. Not at all. It's probably the same as you and your mother."

Violet shifted her eyes from the portrait of her mother to lock her gaze with Phillip's. There was little she could say. She didn't wish to disparage her mother, and forming a loving thought was beyond her at the moment. All she could manage was a weak smile before turning to lead him back to the sitting room.

"Are we in agreement now?"

She felt her lower lip quiver. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Are we in agreement now that it is to our mutual benefit to marry and save each other? Have I convinced you that I have no intention of searching for anyone else to marry, and that I'll be perfectly satisfied with you as my wife and helpmeet? That we both desire the same things from our marriage?"

"You know what I require from a marriage," she said softly.

"And you know what I require," he answered.

Her heart beat a wild tattoo in her chest. She would keep her word, and for some insane reason, she knew that this man she had known for a matter of a few hours would too.

"Then it is agreeable," she answered.