Page 243 of Historical Hotties
She had to think about that. “Happy?” She snorted softly. “I suppose. I do not know what being happy means. Am I content? I am not un-content if that is what you mean. I have had to make my life any way I can.”
It still wasn’t a straight answer, and Thor continued to watch her. That white hair was a shiny, silky mess, all over her head and face and shoulders as if a tempest had brushed it, and she was pale this morning, indicative of the fact that she didn’t feel very well. He also noticed that when she spoke, she had the slightest lisp, which he found rather sweet. She looked like such an angel.
But she led a devil’s life.
“I have had the night to think about this marriage and I would like to make a proposal to you,” he finally said. “Will you listen?”
She sighed heavily. “Speak, then. It cannot be worse than what I have already endured, so do your worst.”
He leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees and his hands hanging. “I do not know why Robert did not utilize his wife in the proper manner, but that is not a mistake I intend to make,” he said. “I have a few questions before I make the proposal, if you will indulge me. As the Earl of Tamworth and Stafford, I will assume control of Stafford Castle and Edingale Castle. Is that correct?”
She nodded, yawning as she pushed some of that hair away from her face. “You will,” she said. “There is also AmingtonCastle, a small garrison on the northern edge of the Tamworth earldom,” she said. “There is also a London townhome.”
“Is that where you have been staying?”
“Aye,” she said. “It is on Coleman Street, near Moorgate. It is called Basinghall House. It is a de Wylde property that belonged to my father, and when you marry me, it will become yours.”
He motioned to her clothing, which was rumpled and stained. “Is that where I should send for something appropriate for you to wear to our wedding?”
She looked down at herself. She was wearing a surcoat and shift that was sloppy at best, but she liked it that way. “I do not have anything better than what you see,” she said frankly. “I do not like attracting attention to myself. If I wear fine clothing, some might think I have money, and that could lead to unwanted confrontations. I do not travel with guards, so it is best that I appear as if I do not have wealth.”
He pondered that for a moment. “You are one of the wealthiest women in England, yet you travel unnoticed and live like a peasant,” he said. Then he shook his head. “Remarkable.”
“Why?”
“Because someone has done you wrong, my lady. Very wrong.”
She frowned. “Why do you say that?”
He gestured at her dress in general. “I am going to say something, and I hope this does not offend you, but you have been treated poorly your entire life to the point where you do not know how to behave or how to act,” he said. “I assume it started with your father, who favored your brother over you, and then it continued when you wed de Tosni. Has no one ever told you that you deserve to live like a countess?”
Caledonia wasn’t sure how to answer him because it was clear that no one had ever said that to her. “I am what you see,” she said. “What do you want me to say?”
Thor shook his head with regret. “My lady, I am going to tell you how our marriage is going to be and what I say may shock you,” he said. “It may come as a surprise for you to hear that I do not intend to give you coinage and send you on your way.”
That puzzled her thoroughly. “You’re not?”
“Nay,” he said. “Because I will need you.”
Her eyes widened and she leaned away from him. “You… youwhat?” she said, suddenly uncertain. “Why do you need me?”
He lifted his big shoulders. “Because I do not know Tamworth or Stafford,” he said plainly. “You do. You know everything. You will be extremely valuable to me as my wife, as my chatelaine, and as my advisor as I learn about the earldoms. If you think for one moment I want you away from my side, you would be wrong. De Tosni was a fool to discard you the way he did. Mayhap he did not need you in any capacity, but I do. Will you help me?”
That was a question Caledonia had never heard before. Ever. Thor could see the wheels of thought turning in her eyes, those dark eyes that, as he’d discovered last night, weren’t actually brown. They were simply the darkest shade of green he’d ever seen, with brown around the edges. He could see in her expression that this was a woman who had never been told she was wanted in her entire life, and as a man who had a mother he loved and several sisters, Thor found that incredibly cruel.
Had she truly been treated so poorly?
“My lady,” he said quietly when she didn’t answer right away. “Caledonia. May I call you that? I hope I am not being too forward when I tell you that last night, I had some insight into the life you have led and I do not think anyone has ever shown you the respect you deserve. I would like to change that if you will let me. My parents have an excellent marriage, and I had always hoped for the same. I do not want the kind of marriage that you and de Tosni shared. I want a wife who will work withme, who will help me, who will tell me when I’m wrong, who will laugh at me when I stumble, but one who will also reach out a helping hand to pull me to my feet if I do. Does… does anything I’ve said sound appealing so far? Or do you truly want to live a drunken life in the vaults of Gomorrah?”
Caledonia was watching him with an expression he’d never seen on her features before. Her face had always been hard. So very hard. But at the moment, he thought he saw something hopeful there. He saw… warmth? Joy? He couldn’t tell because when she realized that he was studying her, she averted her gaze and looked at the floor.
“It is a fantasy,” she said quietly. “Marriage is not like that.”
“My parents would beg to differ.”
“Then they are an exception to the rule.”
“Would you not want our marriage to be an exception to the rule?”
