Page 12 of A Spinster's Unexpected Marriage
Lord Radford tilted his head. “Why?”
Confusion lifted James’ eyebrows. “Why should I take my engagement seriously? Because it leads to marriage, because it means that I must have this lady as my wife… as much as I do not wish it.”
“But that does not mean that you have to give up all that you enjoy,” Lord Radford told him. “There is many a gentleman who continues to be just as much a rake as he ever was, even after he has become engaged – if not wed!”
James considered this for a few moments, finding himself a little surprised at the suggestion. Then came the confusion as to why he had not eventhoughtabout such a thing before. Ofcoursehe could continue on as he was! There was no reason for him to become sullen and disinclined towards any sort of company, was there? He could just do as he pleased, albeit with his engagement looped around his neck.
“There now, that is better!” Lord Radford chuckled, slapping James on the shoulder. “Yes, you will make the announcement this evening and yes, there will be much surprise and confusion but you can make itveryclear to those around you – your friends and to any ladies you wish – that nothing will change. That is what you must do this evening, do you understand?”
James nodded slowly, aware of a slight weight of guilt going to rest on his heart, though he quickly tried to push it away. “Your suggestion does make a great deal of sense,” he said slowly, still thinking it through. “Though I may be troubled with the company of the young lady in question. After all, if the announcement is to be made, then I will have to stand beside her and mayhap, together take the congratulations from those around us.”
“Leave that to me,” Lord Radford told him. “I will make certain that you are separated, though it will not look as though you are.”
Chuckling, James grinned and took a glass of whisky from a passing footman. “Capital,” he beamed, shaking Lord Radford’s hand firmly. “What an excellent friend you are, Lord Radford.”
“But of course.” With a smile, Lord Radford swept into a mock bow only for his smile to fade. “Ah, here she comes, my friend. Excuse me, won’t you?” Without another word, he melted away into the grasping arms of the other ladies and gentlemen at the ball, leaving James alone as he made to greet the young lady he was to marry.
Turning, he forced a smile as he bowed. “Good evening, Lord and Lady Hampshire,” he said, lifting his head to look into the eyes of Lady Newton. “And good evening to you, Lady Newton.”
Martha did not even attempt a curtsy. Instead, she simply folded her arms over her chest and looked back at him, her face pale and her green eyes steady. James frowned, wondering at the slight redness at her eyes. Had she been crying? He paused for a moment, considering, only to shrug such a thought away. Why should he give even a moment to wondering about the young lady’s present state of mind? Whether or not she was glad to marry him, that was what would take place. Crying about it – or complaining about it, as he had done – would do neither of them any good.
“I do not approve of this engagement, Lord Granton.” Lady Hampshire stepped forward, the sharp edge of her tongue again sending daggers towards him. “I think that you are a rogue; a scoundrel who is entirely unworthy of my daughter.”
James’ jaw tightened but he merely inclined his head again, choosing to say nothing. The truth was, he considered, as he looked to Lord Hampshire – who quickly looked away – hewasentirely unworthy of any innocent young lady given all that he had done and all that he was. The problem for James was that he simply did not care.
“Might I present my daughter, Lord Granton?” Lord Hampshire finally spoke up after clearing his throat, gesturing to the young lady beside him. “I believe you require a proper introduction, yes?” He put one hand to his daughter’s back, encouraging her to step closer. “The Marquess of Granton, my dear.” His tone was gentle though Lady Newton did not so much as lift her gaze to James. “Lord Granton, might I present my youngest daughter, Lady Martha Newton.”
“A pleasure.” James did not mean those words at all but it was required, he supposed. He again dropped into a bow but Martha did not even twitch. She stood, stony-faced, her head turned a little away from him and kept her arms folded across her chest.
“The announcement should be made soon, I think.” Not even attempting to force his daughter to curtsy or even greet James, Lord Hampshire looked towards him, a questioning look in his eyes. “What say you? Are you quite prepared?”
James jutted his jaw forward. “If I must do it, then I shall.”
“You shall have to do it with more enthusiasm than that!” Lady Hampshire exclaimed, her eyes now shards of glass. “I willnothave my daughter shamed. There is already a great burden upon her shoulders given the sort of gentleman she is marrying, but I will not have her bearing any more weight. I do hope I make myself clear there, Lord Granton?”
Lady Newton put one hand on her mother’s arm. For a moment, James thought that she was about to tell her that all was well, that she did not need to be so concerned but, after a moment, the young lady merely smiled rather sadly and whispered a ‘thank you’. Evidently, neither she nor her mother thought well of this engagement, though clearly Lady Newton herself had no choice as to whether she was wed or not. That had all been arranged by her father and, just as he was, she was now tied into it despite her own lack of inclination towards it.
Heaving a sigh, James spread out his hands. “I suppose it could be done within a few minutes? We should probably promenade around the ballroom first, Lady Newton. It will mean that every eye will be on us and the engagement announcement can then be made.”
Lady Newton shook her head. “I do not – ”
“A capital idea!” Lord Hampshire ushered his daughter forward, practically forcing her to take steps towards James. “Now, your mother and I will walk a few steps behind you both for the sake of propriety.”
“And you must smile, my dear,” Lady Hampshire continued, looking with sad, sympathetic eyes at her daughter. “I know that this is very difficult for you but it must be done. Society will talk a great deal about this already and we do not want to add to their fodder by making it obvious that you have no inclination towards each other.”
Gritting his teeth, James turned and offered his arm to Martha. This was not the sort of gentleman he was! This was not at all the sort of thing he did at balls such as this. He was normally seeing which young ladies he might pursue, which of them he could chase after and which he might be able to pull into his arms for a few minutes; enjoying the flirtation, the giggles from the young ladies and the pleasure their nearness brought him.
This, however, was entirely new to him and he did not much like the sensation. When Martha set her hand to his arm, James flinched and looked away, not wanting to gaze into her eyes and certainly having no interest in conversing with her. With a clearing of his throat, he stepped forward and, with Martha by his side, began to make his way around the ballroom.
He thought that she might make an attempt to speak with him, might find something that she wished to say, but as the seconds ticked by and she remained silent, James quickly realised that their walk together would be without a single word shared between them. For some reason, that unsettled him a little but he pushed away the urge to find something to say to her. If she was not about to make any sort of effort to speak, then neither would he.
“I should tell you that I am most displeased with this situation, Lord Granton.”
James frowned, a little surprised that she had decided to speak rather than linger in silence as he had expected. “I beg your pardon?”
“I have heard about how you came to find yourself engaged to me,” Martha continued, turning her head to look up at him, her green eyes flashing though there was still a hint of redness around them. “I do not like being given away as a betting prize, Lord Granton. Unfortunately, I do not have any choice in the matter so therefore, this marriage must go ahead.”
“Then I am surprised that you think to complain to me about it, given that I am clearly just as disinclined as you. I think it would be best if you returned to the silence that you were so inclined to before. That suited me a good deal better than this.”
