A Too Convenient Marriage

‘I see.’ The older man tapped the side of his glass. ‘Then allow me to propose an offer, one, as a man of business, you’re sure to appreciate.’

Justin took a deep drink, savouring the rich liquor, then set the glass aside. ‘I’m listening.’

‘As you might know from gossip, Miss Lambert is not my legitimate daughter.’

Justin hadn’t known, nor did he care. Half the people he dealt with were born without the vicar’s blessing. It didn’t matter to him.

‘Before her mother died, I promised to give Susanna a thousand-pound dowry if she married a gentleman I approved of,’ Lord Rockland explained.

‘How very generous of you.’ And worrying. He was starting to wonder what exactly Lord Rockland intended to offer him.

‘I’m a man who takes responsibility for my mistakes.’ He enjoyed another sip before continuing. ‘Susanna, as you might have noticed, is a headstrong woman who often acts before she thinks. It’s made finding her a respectable husband difficult, even with the promise of her dowry. She nearly threw away the money last night with her impulsive behaviour and now I must hurry to rectify the situation before all is lost.’

‘For you, or for her?’ Justin asked, suspecting it wasn’t the young lady Lord Rockland was worried about as much as the taint her escapade might leave on his family.

‘For both of us, and you. I’m prepared to give you Miss Lambert’s thousand-pound dowry if you agree to marry her.’

Justin stopped the glass halfway to his lips and stared at the man from across the aromatic brandy. ‘You want me to marry your daughter?’

‘Assuming you’re not already married.’

‘I’m not.’ Justin frowned, the memory of Helena’s rejection stinging as much as his knuckles after the beating he’d given Lord Sutton last night. Justin took a long drink, barely tasting it as it burned past his tongue. It was her loss, not his.

‘Good. As a man of business, I’m sure you won’t dismiss such a tempting offer so lightly and will keep the details of last night private. I possess grave concerns about Lord Howsham’s ability to remain silent on the matter.’ Lord Rockland sighed as though they were discussing a troublesome horse which wouldn’t trot properly and not a young woman and her future. ‘It’s only a matter of time before Susanna’s reputation is called into question and all chances of her making a more advantageous match are gone.’

Justin opened his fingers over the glass, then closed them, one by one, trying to ignore Lord Rockland’s unintended insult. Justin was no nobleman’s son, only the common son of a man who’d served Philip’s father the same way Justin served Philip. Despite the way Justin’s father and Helena derided him for wanting to be more, he wasn’t about to make something of himself off the back of some young lady. ‘She doesn’t need a husband. She needs a better chaperon.’

Lord Rockland’s chiselled cheek twitched. ‘I don’t think you clearly understand what I’m offering you.’

‘I understand exactly. Money and a connection to the Rockland family. I know what these things are worth. I also understand the price your daughter would pay for me to obtain them. I won’t ask it of any woman.’

Lord Rockland gaped at Justin as though it’d never occurred to him Justin might refuse what he considered a magnanimous gesture. ‘I assure you, she’s quite amenable to the idea.’

‘You don’t know me, she doesn’t know me and neither of you know what kind of man I am.’ Although Justin was coming to understand clearly what kind of family this was.

‘From what I’ve seen, you’re a man of honour and integrity who’ll treat my daughter as well as any man is expected to treat his wife.’

Lord Rockland’s love and concern for his child was enough to make Justin sick. ‘No.’

‘Perhaps if you were to speak to her, you might see how much you have in common?’ Lord Rockland rose and strode to the door leading to an adjoining room and pulled it open. ‘Susanna, please join us.’

‘I’m afraid you’re mistaken.’ Justin stood. He had better things to do than sit here and humour this ridiculous idea.

Then, in a swish of silk skirts the young woman appeared and whatever it was he needed to do today was forgotten.

If Miss Lambert’s eyes had captivated him in the dim light of the lanterns hanging from the trees above Vauxhall Gardens, in the sunlight, they blazed with a green which nearly knocked him out of his boots. She strode closer, sparing not a glance for her father, but focusing entirely on Justin. The rich chestnut hair framing her face bounced a touch with each step, making the soft ringlets graze the long line of her neck and high cheeks. He envied the curls, especially the one resting over the swell of her breast. The creaminess of her skin was just visible beneath the fine netting of her fichu while the rest of her supple roundness was covered by a brown-silk gown in a tone to match her hair. It heightened the colour of her skin with a warmth he longed to bury his face in and inhale.

Despite the allure of her full curves, it was her eyes which continued to command him. They were intelligent, quick, hiding her thoughts, but telling him they existed, and not one was concerned with the frippery of dresses or gossip. She was playing the demure, dutiful daughter for her father’s sake, but Justin caught the steely resolve beneath the polished manners. It was the will of a woman with a plan she was as eager to implement as Justin was to establish his wine business. She’d been foolish last night, but Justin sensed it was a momentary weakness, like his proposal to Helena or the five pounds he’d spent on a bottle of wine last week, or what he was very near to agreeing to do.

He settled his shoulders, determined to resist the fleeting temptation of an attractive woman, confident she couldn’t change his mind about this match, even if the part of him low down wanted her to win him over.

‘I’ll leave you two to discuss the matter,’ Lord Rockland offered.

The duke’s words broke the spell cast by Miss Lambert’s eyes.

‘And then cry foul once the two of us are left alone. No, thank you,’ Justin protested.

It wasn’t the first time a father had tried to get him alone with his daughter in an attempt to snare her a husband.

‘I won’t cry foul. She’s been compromised enough already,’ Lord Rockland flung off as he slid the doors closed behind him.

‘Quite a charming father you have there,’ Justin remarked.

Miss Lambert dropped her hands from where she’d been demurely holding them in front of her and rolled her pretty eyes. ‘He’s the envy of the ton.’

She walked over to the small selection of drinks and picked up the brandy. She splashed a tiny drop into a glass, then tossed back the contents, shivering as it went down.

If this was meant to shock Justin it did, but there was something in the confidence of her movement, the surety with which she was executing what he felt was a clear plan, he had to admire.

‘Shall I pour you some more?’ she asked.

‘No.’ He needed a clear head for this encounter. ‘I gather you’re in favour of your father’s suggestion.’

She set the glass down with a clunk. ‘How very intuitive of you.’

‘It’s part of my job to guess what people will do before even they know. It helps me to avoid trouble.’

Her full lips turned down at the corners. ‘I’m not the trouble my father has made me out to be if that’s what’s worrying you.’

‘I’m not worried about anything, since I have no intention of marrying you.’

‘But you will.’ She crossed her arms under her breasts and the slight rise of the full mounds was distracting.

‘I assure you, I won’t.’ Justin forced himself to focus, surprised by the ease with which Miss Lambert affected him.

‘I don’t think you fully comprehend the benefits of the agreement.’ She rolled one graceful hand in the air between them, her nails short and neatly buffed.

‘Oh, Miss Lambert, trust me, I understand very well the benefits.’ He caressed her lithe body with his eyes, following the faint trace of a small waist and rounded hips beneath the flowing dress. He took the last fortifying sip of brandy to ease the heat rising inside him. He needed to reason with his brain, not his member.

She squared herself at him, sure in herself and her goal. Her confidence was currently her most appealing and annoying trait. ‘I heard most of the conversation between you and my father. I know you think I don’t want this marriage, but I do.’

‘You don’t even know me. For all you know I could be a drunk who likes to beat women.’

‘You aren’t such a man. You have too much integrity. If you didn’t, you’d have accepted my father’s offer without bothering to talk to me, set a date for the wedding and rushed through to the bedding as fast as possible.’

Justin tipped his empty glass to her. She was flattering him, a somewhat effective tactic. ‘Perhaps, but even with you standing here demanding we wed I won’t take you.’

‘What if I could be of use to you?’