Page 98 of Three Weeks with a Princess
“Very well,” she said, cutting him off. “Does this mean you’ve decided to accept Dominic and Leverton as investors in the mining scheme?”
“Who told you about that?”
“Gillian. She said they’re quite keen on it but that you’re dragging your heels.”
He cursed under his breath, wanting to throttle Gillian, along with his sister and mother for good measure. They were all making what should be a simple situation needlessly difficult.
“While I’m grateful for their support,” he said, “it’s not yet clear that the mine will yield enough profit to justify their investments. As you can imagine, I do not wish to find myself deeper in debt if it does not.”
“Gillian seems to think the mining venture is viable.”
“She doesn’t know everything,” he said.
“I thought she was being too optimistic,” she said with grim satisfaction.
Confound it.He’d backed right into that one. “It will likely be very profitable at some point, but these things take time. That’s all I’m saying.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Time Stonefell does not have, as we both know. You can’t possibly afford to marry me, Jack, and what you said just proves it. You need a rich wife and you need one soon.”
The determination in her voice raised the hairs on the back of his neck. “It’s truly not that bad,” he said firmly.
“It is that bad and you know it. We all know it. Marrying me will simply make the situation worse. And I refuse to be the cause of Stonefell’s ruin.”
He plunked his foot to the ground. Looming over her, he mustered up his most forbidding scowl. “Because you are no longer on the stage, I would remind you that such dramatic utterances are no longer necessary.”
She snorted. “I’ll determine what’s necessary when it comes to my life, Jack. You cannot force me to marry you. And I feel quite confident that your mother and your sister will support me in my decision.”
“Lia—”
“There are only two options here. You either take me as your mistress or you agree to help me find a protector. If you fail to choose either, I will simply proceed as planned and find my own protector.”
She’d very ably cornered him again. Lia had always wanted the best for him, and if that meant sacrificing her own happiness, she would do it. She loved him and she also loved Stonefell, possibly more than she loved him. It was a thought he chose not to dwell on at the moment.
In her mind, she’d made the entirely rational decision that marriage wouldn’t solve any of his problems. But when it came to Lia, Jack felt anything but rational. She was his. She’d alwaysbeenhis, he realized, as he’d always been hers. The notion of not having her in his life was simply unthinkable.
As for taking her as his mistress, that was no option at all. He wasn’t his father or his uncle. To take her in that way would dishonor and eventually destroy them both.
So play along and buy some time.
“Very well,” he said. “Let’s say I agree to your mad scheme. What would that entail exactly?”
Her mouth sagged slightly open. “Uh, are you saying you might actually take me as your mistress?”
“We’ll see.” He could draw a hard line, too. “I need to know your terms first. And I need time to make a decision. This isn’t something a man should rush in to blindly.”
“Perhaps, but don’t think I’ll let you drag this out forever, Jack Easton,” she said suspiciously. “I won’t let you manage me.”
“I wouldn’t even try. Now, your terms?”
She eyed him warily before holding up three fingers. “You have three weeks. If you have not made a decision in that time, I will proceed on my own.”
It was more than enough time for him, but it was an odd qualification. “What’s so special about three weeks?”
She blushed, shifting on her seat. “It’s just a nice, round number, that’s all,” she said.
He decided to let it pass for now. “Very well, I accept that condition. What else?”
“If you decidenotto become my protector, I want you to help me devise some tests.”
