Proposals in Regency Society. Anne Herries

Luke frowned and stood up. ‘I shall arrange for the curricle to be brought round. It is warm, but there may be a breeze so you will want your bonnet and a pelisse.’

      ‘I shall fetch them,’ Roxanne said.

      She was thoughtful as she walked upstairs. Luke had not seemed particularly pleased with the news that the earl had placed domestic affairs in her hands. Perhaps he was beginning to regret bringing her here? His idea of a temporary engagement seemed to be getting out of hand.

      Had Roxanne been able to read Luke’s mind she would have discovered that he had mixed feelings and was in something of a turmoil regarding the situation between them. It was surely a good thing that the earl should feel able to place his domestic affairs in Roxanne’s hands. He was uncertain of her true feelings regarding the situation. She had been quite adamant that there would be no wedding, just a fake engagement for a few months, but she seemed to have changed her mind since their arrival at Hartingdon.

      She had been running from a man who was determined to make her his mistress when they met, her future dubious to say the least. It would be tempting for any woman in such difficulty to be seduced by the house and the obvious wealth here. Yet if the ruby truly belonged to Roxanne she had money of her own. Luke did not know exactly how much it would fetch, but he was sure it would be more than a few hundred—perhaps as much as two thousand pounds or more to the right person? With such a sum she could set up her own establishment and live comfortably for the rest of her life or until she found work or married. She did not need to live here at the mercy of a cantankerous old man—or to marry a man she did not love.

      So why had she changed her mind? She was unsure if the ruby was legally hers, but she might have sold it and risked the consequences had she been less than the honest woman he believed her.

      Having placed the ruby in his safe keeping, she had surrendered her independence and shown great trust in him. Luke could not recall anyone else placing that amount of faith in him and his reactions were a mixture of gratification and panic. At the start he had thought the sham engagement might eventually lead to a physical arrangement between them. Luke would have been very ready to become her protector had she chosen a life in the theatre. He had been aroused by Roxanne’s vibrant beauty from the beginning, but did he really wish for marriage? Luke had avoided being caught in what he thought of as a trap for so long, he could not help wondering just what he had got himself into.

      It was to be merely a sham marriage, of course. That was the reason Roxanne had agreed to it when the earl insisted on the three-month engagement. She knew that he would keep his word to let her go once the earl had died.

      Roxanne would give him his freedom once the earl was in his grave. He was certain that she would keep any bargain he made with her, but by the time he was able to ask for his freedom, would he still wish for it?

      Damn the earl for interfering in his life! Hartingdon had no right to dictate terms to him and his threat to restrict his income could be overcome in a court. How could he think of destroying the man who was his only close family? Such a breach would surely kill the old man. Despite the anger and frustration inside him, Luke knew he would never deliberately harm his grandfather. It might be that he would have to make more than a sham marriage and actually give the earl his heir.

      Roxanne would never agree to it—would she? He could not expect her to provide an heir and then simply disappear when the marriage ended. Yet need it necessarily end so finally? There was always the alternative of a marriage of convenience.

      No, he had vowed he would never go down that road. His parents had been so desperately unhappy. He had witnessed his mother’s tears too many times. His father had been a heartless brute who cared only for his own pleasure and Luke suspected he might be the same. To marry under false pretences might cause too much pain in the future.

      The Roxanne who had bound his leg and threatened an intruder at the inn was exciting and amazing, but if she settled into a life of domesticity to please the earl Luke might become bored and begin to stray.

      He knew his own faults only too well and he liked Roxanne too much to want to hurt her. It might be as well to remind her that this relationship was a temporary affair. It would be best to stick to the business arrangement they had made at the start.

      The earl’s estate was vast, much larger than Roxanne had imagined. She had no experience of land husbandry, but from what she could see as Luke drove her about the estate it was in good heart. The people looked prosperous and they smiled and waved, the labourers and farmers doffing their hats to her. Some children ran out of one of the farms and stood waving and giggling as Luke brought the curricle to a halt.

      ‘Mam said to wish you happy, sir,’ one of the boys said. ‘She wants to know if there’s to be a bit of a do for the tenants and all.’

      ‘Yes, I am sure we shall arrange something when the wedding happens, but it is not to be just yet.’ Luke thrust his hand in his pocket and brought out some silver coins, which he tossed to the children before driving away.

      ‘Your tenants seem pleased to see you, Luke.’

      ‘They will be disappointed if there is no wedding,’ Luke remarked. ‘Perhaps we should hold some sort of fête in the park this summer. Grandfather always had a late summer party in the gardens for the tenants and labourers. I suppose an engagement is as good an excuse as any other. I’ll speak to him later.’

      ‘Your grandfather suspects you of trying to fool him, did you know that?’ Roxanne said, keeping her gaze to the front. ‘If we were to break the engagement too soon, he would be certain that he had been right all along.’

      ‘We shall see whether his health improves. We might have to marry to satisfy him, but do not worry, Roxanne. I should give you your freedom afterwards. He can push us into marriage, but even he cannot hurry the arrival of an heir. It should content him to know that I am married—if you are still prepared to go so far?’

      ‘Yes, of course. I know that the last thing you want is a life of domesticity, Luke. You need not fear that I shall cling to you and beg you not to leave me. I will not ask for more than we agreed.’

      ‘No…’ A little pulse flicked at his temple. ‘Well, we shall see how things go, but you must tell me if the situation becomes too difficult for you here. I know Hartingdon is a past master at inflicting wounds.’

      ‘I think he is a lonely, unhappy man. He shut you out when you were younger, perhaps because he was grieving for your mother—but then, when he might have reached out to you, it was too late. You are very like him, you know.’

      ‘Like Hartingdon?’ Luke turned his head to look at her in astonishment. ‘What on earth makes you say that? I do not think I have given you cause to fear me?’

      ‘No, you have not—but neither has the earl. He may be grumpy and harsh at times, but I do not fear him. Indeed, I rather like him. I should not wish to be the source of pain to him.’

      Luke made a face of disbelief. ‘If he appears to reciprocate, beware. He is probably trying to get beneath your guard to discover your secrets.’

      ‘You are unfair,’ Roxanne replied and gave him a look of reproach. ‘Why does neither of you trust the other? You say you wish to make his last months happy—yet you will not allow him to have a heart or a conscience.’

      ‘If he has a softer side, he has given no sign of it in my presence.’

      ‘You are so used to quarrelling with each other that neither of you can see how foolish it is. If you let down your guard, Luke, you might actually enjoy a pleasant relationship with him—become friends or at least respect one another.’

      ‘If I offered affection, he would throw it in my face. My advice to you is to be careful, Roxanne. Allow him to get inside your head and he will hurt you. Do not imagine that anything he has said of late means he is happy to accept you into the family. I have no doubt that from the moment I told him I was engaged, he instructed agents to discover who you are and where you came from.’

      ‘He is unlikely to