Page 106 of Snapdragons
Frustration pushed a sigh from her. “I do not intend to lower myself to extortion.”
“Neither do I,” he said. “But I do have a requirement.”
At that, her uneasiness turned to unabated anxiousness. “What requirement?” The question was almost indiscernible, cold shaking her from deep within.
But footsteps on the terrace stopped whatever response he might have made. They both turned to look.
Niles was walking toward them, holding her red wool cloak.
Liam looked none too pleased. “I believe I told you this was meant to be a private conversation, Mr. Greenberry.”
“It has apparently escaped your notice, Mr. Seymour, that your sister is chilled to her core.” Niles set the cloak on Penelope’s shoulders. “Your demands for a private conversation cannot be allowed to supersede her right to not develop an inflammation of the lungs.”
“I didn’t—” Liam had the decency to look a little ashamed. “I didn’t realize. I should have. I’m sorry.”
Niles fastened the frog closure near her neck.
Penelope pulled the voluminous length of the cloak around her, sighing at the relief it provided from the cold air.
Niles moved to stand beside her. He set an arm around her, another buffer from the chill. “Now, Mr. Seymour, please continue your discussion about the not-extortion condition under which you will sign the marriage contract.”
“This is a private conversation,” Liam insisted.
“As the outcome of it impacts me as well, I believe I ought to be included.”
Liam’s expression grew ever more determined. “My condition is simple, really.” He looked directly at Penelope. “You marry in Dublin. I will be seen to be part of your good fortune, and you will be seen treating me like the competent head of the Seymour family. I don’t mean groveling but a show of respect and confidence in me and enough deference that I won’t be laughed at.”
“I have always respected you, Liam. And I do have confidence in you. That you insist on believing otherwise is frustrating.”
“Society is driven by perceptions,” he said. “I need the people who have influence on my future to believe I am worthy ofhaving one.”
“Showing to all the world that I love you and believe in you is no burden at all,” she said.
“Prove it.” Liam’s expression grew more unyielding. “Theonlyreason you were not going to be married in Ireland was because the Greenberrys asked that the ceremony take place here. I am asserting some authority in that matter now. Agree to marry in Dublin and show society there that I am worthy of respect, and I will sign the marriage agreement.”
That was asking more than he probably realized. All of Niles’s family was in Cornwall, generations of them. They had been married in the local church for centuries. Most of his family would likely not go to Dublin. And the Gents would not necessarily be able to make the journey either.
“You’ll not budge on this?” she asked.
“I cannot. Too much depends upon it.”
To have the future that was now within reach, Niles had to endure more pain. She didn’t want to inflict that on him, but what else could be done? “Niles and I will need to talk about this.”
Liam met her eye with a gleam of triumph in his gaze. “Discuss it between the two of you. I will return inside.”
She watched him walk through the terrace doors. “Do you think I ought to warn him that I now know how to punch like a pugilist?”
“He deserves one just now, I’d say.” Niles pulled her fully into his arms. “Give him a moment to get farther away, then we’ll go inside as well. Even with your cloak on, you are cold.”
Despite her heavy mind and heart, she could smile at that. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“An incomplete rescue, I’m afraid. He is still holding our future hostage with his demands of you.”
“Of both of us.”
They walked together, his arm still around her, through the terrace door. The pace was slow, giving them time to talk before they crossed paths with anyone. The rest of the group would have already begun their meal. Liam had insisted.
“I’ve spent so much time the past weeks castigating myself for being such a selfish and unfeeling sister. But I am beginning to fear thatLiam’s grievances against me are broader and of longer standing than I realize. I am not certain they can be overcome.”
