Page 20 of Married to the Earl

“Yes. Ever since the death of her poor mother, he dotes on the girl. She is all he has left in the world. He would never do anything to jeopardize her safety, nor would he give her away cavalierly to a man he didn’t trust.”

Conor felt a little better.I suppose DuBois is right, he thought.Dawson must think I’m worthy of Astrid, or else he would never have made the offer. And ifhethinks I’m worthy, perhaps she will think so too.

There was a rattling noise on the cobblestones outside. “That will be the carriage,” DuBois said. “I wish you luck today, My Lord. We’ll be waiting to hear how it went.”

Conor nodded, feeling lucky, not for the first time, to have such a kind and supportive staff. He had inherited DuBois from his own father. If left to his own devices, he thought, he probably would have been incapable of making such a good hire.

He crossed the foyer and went out into the open air. It was a warm day, and the breeze felt nice on his face. Conor usually enjoyed walking, when he needed to get somewhere—the manor wasn’t too far away from any point of interest in town—but today was an occasion, and it seemed only appropriate to arrive in style.

He settled himself into the carriage and closed his eyes as it sprang to life beneath him, bearing him off toward Tobias and Astrid Dawson and whatever future awaited him. He would use this time to compose himself, to put his thoughts in order so that he would know what he wanted to say when he arrived.

But he couldn’t seem to focus. Images of the beautiful Miss Dawson swam behind his closed lids. Could he possibly be remembering her accurately? Could anybody truly be as lovely as the girl in his imagination? It was hard to believe, and yet Conor didn’t think himself capable of dreaming up such beauty either. He must be remembering her as she was, mustn’t he? He couldn’t possibly have come up with this vision on his own.

So lost was he in his daydream that he failed to notice the passage of time. It was only the sudden stop of the carriage that alerted him to the fact that he had arrived at Dawson’s home.

He exited the carriage and stood looking up at the house. He had been here before, of course, had seen this place, and he had known what to expect on this visit. But he had never really thought about it. He had never thought about what this house said about the people who lived inside.

It was a modest enough home compared with Conor’s own manor, and yet he could see that Dawson and his daughter had never wondered where their next meal was coming from. The building had two stories—that window on the upper floor belonged to Astrid, he knew—and was built of stone. It would have been warm all year long inside.

It must have come as a real shock for Dawson to find himself facing severe financial difficulties,he realized.He’s never had serious money problems in his life before. No wonder he panicked.

He tried again to clear his head. It would do no good to go into this meeting feeling sorry for Dawson. He needed to be firm, to insist on the things he wanted if this marriage was going to work out.

I need to meet Astrid. That’s step one. And if everything people say about this man is true, he’s not going to be eager to expose his daughter to me without an agreement firmly in place.

Well, he would just have to find a way to deal with that. If he wanted Conor to marry Astrid, at some point the two would have to meet.And surely, it’s better that we have our first meeting in Dawson’s presence, before any paperwork has been signed?

Who could say? There was no telling how another man would feel.

He turned to the footman driving his carriage. “Return for me in one hour,” he said. “If I’m not standing here when you get back, you can go on to the manor.”If I need to leave before the hour’s up, I’ll just walk home.

The footman nodded. “Yes, My Lord.” He cracked the whip and drove off, leaving Conor standing in front of Tobias Dawson’s home with his nerves twanging.

Trying to appear as if he were the very soul of composition, Conor strode up the path to the front door and knocked.

There was no answer.

He waited a suitable period of time, then knocked again.

This time, the door opened. There stood Dawson, his hair in disarray and his eyes wide. He looked as though he hadn’t slept a minute since the last time Conor had seen him. For a moment, Conor felt sorry for the man.

That was a habit he really needed to break himself of.

“Lord Middleborough!” Dawson said, his voice practically a gasp. “You’ve come! I was beginning to think—but you’ve come after all. Are you here to give your answer?”

“I’m here to discuss your offer,” Conor said.

“I thought you had planned to send for me,” Dawson said. “I had assumed we would be discussing the matter at The Arc.”

“I decided it made more sense to come to your home,” Conor said, noting that the man had yet to invite him in. “Is that acceptable to you?”

“I…of course, but…”

“But what?”

“My daughter is here,” Dawson said. “And this is a matter best discussed between men, without her presence. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Conor said. “If I am to marry your daughter, I’ll have to meet her.”

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