Page 36 of Her Sort of Scoundrel
She looped an arm around Fiona’s and led her toward the stairs.
“Goodnight, brother. We’ll see you bright and early? The children want to take a walk, and I hoped you’d join us.”
“Of course.”
“Goodnight,” Fiona said with a wink.
They hadn’t discussed it, but Dash felt certain that neither of them intended to spend their first evening as an affianced couple alone.
After watching the ladies ascend the stairs and bidding his brother-in-law good evening, Dash all but sprinted to his own guest room. He washed, undressed down to his trousers and shirt, and paced, wondering how long he should wait for the household to fall asleep before seeking out Fiona’s room.
He tried sitting for all of two minutes and was soon up and pacing again, shooting glances at the clock, willing the hands to move faster.
A knock on his door brought a wide smile to his face.
His bride-to-be had sought him out.
“I thought you might still be awake,” Caro said when he swung the door open. “May I come in and speak to you for a moment?”
“Of course.” Dash tried to keep the disappointment from his expression. His sister had that pinched brow look that meant something was troubling her, and he was always willing to listen and help.
“I take it you agreed to her provisions,” she said once she’d taken a seat near the fire.
“Of course, I did.” Dash sat on the chair across from her, but he didn’t settle back. He couldn’t seem to tame the wild beat of his heart or the eager energy zinging through him.
“And you listened carefully to what she said? You know there may be difficulties.”
Dash thought back to that moment, and it felt like recalling a dream. He remembered Fiona’s earnestness, and a touch of nervousness, as she proposed a life with him. But what his mind’s eye summoned up most potently was the peach-gold haze of warm sunlight kissing her skin.
Caro snapped her fingers. “Dash, hear me. You must take her seriously. I warn you that if you do not keep your word, you will find yourself alone. Fiona will not go back to the life she had, and she’s proven that she can thrive on her own.”
Alone? No, that had nothing to do with what they’d said to each other at the folly.
“I will give her anything she desires, Caro. Agree to anything. Abide by anything.” He stood because he had to move. “I came here willing to offer anything. I was on the verge of agreeing to never marry if that was the only means of having her in my life. If she only wished to be lovers and nothing more, I would have taken it.”
“What of the earldom?”
Dash’s gut clenched. The duty he owed had been drilled into him, and he would not shirk that responsibility. But there were earls who could not produce heirs, or those who did and then lost that child before they could inherit.
“Julian would inherit if I don’t produce an heir.” Aurelia’s uncle was still a young man, only one year older than she was. But he was the next in line to inherit should Dash die before producing the future Earl of Granford.
“Just like that, you’re fine with the earldom going to your cousin?”
“No,” Dash’s blood was thrumming for a different reason now. Guilt and worry washed over him, dimming a bit of the bliss he’d been feeling for the last hours. “It is not a decision I came to lightly. But a life without Fiona would be no life at all.”
A flicker of a smile curved his sister’s lips. “There,” she said in a satisfied tone. “Now I know you’re taking this quite seriously. The sort of marriage you two are proposing won’t be without its conflicts.”
“Is any marriage?”
“Fair enough.” She agreed with a nod. “But I defer to Gregory in ways Fiona won’t defer to you.”
Dash frowned. “What does that mean?”
Caro shrugged. “She may take an opposing political view, for instance, and do it quite publicly. She’s become quite an advocate for the rights of women. Even the vote for women. Some of your cronies may find that objectionable.”
“You truly think I would value anycronyover Fiona?”
“No, but feeling that way and showing it publicly are two different things.” Caro let out a sigh and tapped her fingers against her knee. “I suppose what I’m saying is that she will make it clear that she’s not a biddable wife, and I’m sure many gentlemen would feel threatened by such a wife.” She looked at him squarely. “Will you?”
