Page 26 of The Virgin in the Rake's Bed
“Does she now? Then I suppose I will be. Though a lady with a child is not usually chosen for such a thing. My sister, perhaps, would make a good bridesmaid. We shall see,” she said, and Ian wondered if she knew about the deception, or whether, like Nicholas, she was entirely taken in.
“And good for business, too,” Nicholas said, causing Ian to clear his throat and make protest.
“I am certainly not marrying Catherine for my own gain,” he replied, for he knew Nicholas had connections to Catherine’s father, the words of Rickard still ringing in his ears.
“I was not suggesting such a thing, forgive me, but it will certainly be to your advantage to marry the daughter of a man such as Broderick Ferguson. My own father has much to do with him, their business interests are very much aligned,” Nicholas said.
Ian wondered if these words were designed as a warning. He liked Nicholas, but he was not certain he trusted him. In matters of business, it was hard to know who to trust, particularly when ambition and desire could so easily overwhelm the rational faculties. Friendship and business were not natural bedfellows, and though they were friends, Ian maintained a healthy suspicion of Nicholas, always wondering as to his father’s influence on him, an influence which could have drastic repercussions.
“I think it pertinent to keep business and romance as separate as possible. Poor Catherine was to be married to that awful man, the Earl of Westwood. How good that she is saved from such a fate,” Ian said, glancing at Rebecca, who nodded her agreement.
“Oh, I think it is an excellent match, one which has made Catherine very happy,” she said, smiling at Ian with genuine sincerity.
“She told you that?” he asked, and Rebecca nodded.
“She said she was ever so happy at the prospect of marriage, and that she is quite in love with you,” she replied.
Ian blushed. He had not for a moment imagined that Catherine should have such feelings for him, and yet here was one of her closest and most intimate friends revealing that very thing to him. He had thought he gestures an act, her passion part of her attempts at the art of seduction, but now it seemed that all of it was very real.
“I see…” he said, trying to hide his surprise.
“And no doubt you are in love with her?” Nicholas replied, looking at Ian pointedly.
“I… yes, I rather think I am,” he said, and Rebecca laughed.
“You think you are, or you are?” she asked, and Ian felt himself blush.
“I am,” he admitted, voicing feelings which only a few days previously would have been unthinkable.
“A firm basis for a marriage, and I am sure you will be very happy together. We shall all be seeing a great deal more of one another after the auspicious day. Catherine, Rebecca, and Samantha are never away from one another. We husbands must stick together, do you not think?” Nicholas asked, and he laughed as Ian nodded.
“It will be my delight, though we must always lay matters of business aside, I think,” he said, and Nicholas nodded.
“Whatever you say, very good now, a good day to you,” he said, taking Rebecca by the arm and leading her on along the path.
Ian stood for a moment with Plotinus, pondering what Rebecca had said. It seemed quite extraordinary, and Ian was unsure what to do next. “Has she really fallen in love with me, Plotinus?” he said, looking down at the dog, who gazed up at him with loyal affection.
It was certainly a revelation, and as Ian continued his walk that day, he allowed himself to consider the possibility of what such a revelation might mean and if he himself might reciprocate.
* * *
“I am visiting with Rebecca and Samantha this morning,” Catherine said, as she rose from breakfast.
It was two days since she had visited Westwick Manor, enough time, she felt, to make it appear as though her going out that day was entirely natural. Her father looked at her over his periodical.
“I have never understood the propensity of women to visit with one another. It is quite extraordinary. They flit from one salon to another, taking tea and talking about nothing,” he said, shaking his head.
“A man is not meant to understand such a thing, father. Merely to tolerate it,” Catherine replied, rising from the breakfast table.
“She will be visiting Ian,” Rickard said, turning from the sideboard where he had been helping himself to eggs from a large blue and white dish.
“And what business is that of yours, Rickard? I tell you, I am going to see Rebecca and Samantha. You may follow me if you wish, but you would only find yourself terribly bored,” Catherine replied, maintaining her composure despite the anger she felt rising in her.
Rickard had been beastly to her over the previous days, reminding her incessantly of her duty toward the family, and that her marriage to Ian was an affront to the proper order of things – namely the acquisition of a fortune. He had revealed his true colors as a greedy, self-centered, and overly ambitious man, the very image of her father, whose legacy he had evidently inherited.
“It is my business because you are my sister, and by pursuing this betrothal, I believe you are making a terrible mistake,” he replied.
Catherine scowled at him. She would not be told whom she could marry, and if she chose Ian Bennet, then so be it. The Earl of Westwood was still sniffing around, and she knew her father had promised him his prize, come what may. Such knowledge made it even more important that she find a suitable match quickly, and she was eager to continue her lessons with Ian so that she might know better how to seduce a man to her own advantage.
