Page 33 of Lady Controversial
And everything to do with it.
She was sensual, sensible and unintentionally provocative in her dealings with him. Highly unusual traits that implied the urgent need of a strong man to keep her in line. Marcus found himself surprisingly enthusiastic to fulfil that particular role. The fact that she neither liked nor trusted him and would even consider turning him down only added to the challenge. He was unaccustomed to failure when it came to the fairer sex, and was not about to admit defeat when it came to this annoyingly independent miss.
‘But you have not proposed to Jane?’ Lady Bellingham raised an impertinent brow but did not wait for an answer to her question. ‘One cannot help wondering why not. It would be a good match for her, and would resolve your problems too. I am perfectly sure that she will accept you and that will be that.’
Her sister would raise objections.‘I was under the impression that you relished the prospect of seeing Jane through her presentation. I know that the child herself is giddy with anticipation. It would be cruel to deny her the opportunity to be admired.’ Marcus leaned back in his chair and adopted a dismissive attitude. ‘I know how much stock you ladies set by such opportunities and would not deprive you of the pleasure, particularly since you do not have a daughter of your own to launch.’ Marcus hid a smile when his words struck a barb and Lady Bellingham winced.Take that, you vicious old sow!‘Jane is very fortunate to have such an accommodating aunt.’
‘Jane will be a sensation and you might miss your opportunity.’
It was Marcus’s turn to execute a dismissive flip of a wrist, setting his lace cuff dancing. ‘She has no dowry worth speaking of. That, combined with the fact that her father took his own life, will make her unacceptable to the majority of men who don’t need to marry for money.’
Lady Bellingham sniffed. ‘Crawley always was a weak man.’
‘It would improve Jane’s chances considerably if she were to live here with you. Anyone calling here cannot help but be impressed.’
Lady Bellingham narrowed her eyes in evident suspicion. ‘If I did not know better, I might feel inclined to believe that you’re attempting to palm the chit off onto someone else. We had an agreement, Brooke, and I expect you to keep your side of the bargain.’
Marcus stiffened. ‘I have never reneged on an agreement in my entire life.’
Lady Bellingham sent him an arch look. ‘Perhaps not intentionally.’
‘Don’t forget that if I am exposed, then you will be too. It was at your suggestion that I swindled Crawley.’
‘Do you always do what others suggest?’ she asked provocatively.
‘We both had our reasons, but I cannot allow the allegations of cheating to go uncontested, otherwise everyone will assume that I am guilty.’
Lady Bellingham flashed a cruel smile. ‘Quite so.’
‘I fully intend to bring my detractors before a court of law to disprove the rumours they deliberately started in an effort to blacken my name. They have no evidence since none exists. They cannot win their case and I will be vindicated.’ Marcus stifled a yawn. ‘Jealousy is an ugly trait.’
‘I neither know nor care about your travails. I only care that the rumours abound. I cannot, as a responsible chaperone, possibly permit my charge to be courted by you if there is a whiff of scandal attaching to your name, but we are agreed that you will marry her. I don’t know how these rumours started but I do know that they have come at a most inconvenient time.’
‘And yet you still want me to marry her, despite the shadow cast over my character.’
‘We are talking in circles.’ Lady Bellingham sat forward and fixed Marcus with a look of deep suspicion, her small eyes crinkling in disapproval. ‘Why did you really call today?’ she asked.
‘Because we need one another. Your intention is to separate Jane from her sister, leaving Isolda with no means of support.’
She flapped a negligent hand. ‘I would not put it quite like that.’
Marcus set aside all efforts at restraint. ‘Then how would you put it? Crawley confided in me as to Isolda’s true parentage, and we both know that you have still not recovered from the indignity all these years later.’
‘How dare you!’
Marcus chuckled. ‘The truth is sometimes distasteful, madam. Unsubstantiated rumours even more so, as I have just reason to know. However, let’s not argue about semantics. We both want the same thing, albeit for different reasons. Invite your nieces here for the Christmas season and it will make sense for Jane to remain once the festivities end. By then, Isolda will have grown accustomed to the luxury and will not relish the prospect of returning to that damp and uninviting hovel.’
‘I don’t want Isolda here for one night, let alone weeks on end. Besides, I doubt whether she will agree to stay for more than a few days, despite what you think. She can be uncommonly stubborn, and ungrateful too.’
‘The circumstances of her conception are not her fault.’
Lady Bellingham sent Marcus a frigid look and rippled her stiff shoulders indignantly. ‘There is no necessity for crudity.’
Marcus somehow resisted the desire to laugh. ‘I need Isolda out of that cottage. It would be better if she resided with you for the duration of her sister’s season but I know you will not agree to that arrangement any more than she will, so a week will have to suffice.’ He allowed a reflective pause. ‘A lot can be achieved in a week.’
‘You do me a disservice,’ Lady Bellingham replied archly. ‘Despite my disapproval of Isolda, I generously offered to fit her out for the season so that she could watch her sister shine. However, she declined—quite rudely, I might add. She will not even permit me to pay for the majority of Jane’s attire. I cannot think why when it is clear that she doesn’t have two pennies to rub together. Pride is all very well, but in her case it is misplaced. It is not as though I have done her any harm.’
‘She has no taste for society. That’s unusual, I’ll grant you, but it’s no reason to take umbrage. She has doubtless saved you a small fortune. I am fully acquainted with the cost of ball gowns.’ Marcus doubted whether the offer had actually been voiced but saw no profit in challenging an assertion that he could not disprove.
