Mr. Adams. But you must realize that there is always some risk for a lady when it comes to marriage.”
Honoria gave her a quizzical look. “Risk?”
“I have done my best to make certain that Mr. Adams is not a drunkard. He is not given to outrageous wagers. He does not frequent brothels. He has a reliable income and he appears to possess a stable, calm temperament.”
Honoria glowed. “All in all, a wonderful gentleman.”
“Yes. But you do realize that I cannot absolutely guarantee that Mr. Adams will remain such a model of masculine perfection after the wedding.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Charlotte leaned forward impulsively. “He could decide to abandon you and his children next year in order to go off in search of adventure in the South Seas. Or he might grow bored with his new life as a husband and take to drinking too much wine. He may suffer a siege of melancholy that will cause him to become extremely unpleasant. There are any number of things that can go wrong in a marriage.”
“Well, yes, I suppose that is true.” Honoria shifted uneasily in her chair. Her gaze became wary. “I realize that there can be no guarantees in a situation such as this.”
“Precisely. Yet you choose to go forth along the path that leads toward marriage.”
Honoria frowned. “You seem a bit agitated of a sudden, Miss Arkendale. Is something wrong?”
“I am merely wondering why you are so set on marrying Mr. Adams. It is not as if there is no alternative.”
“I told you, none of the other gentlemen interested me in the least.”
“That is not what I meant by alternative. Miss Patterson, may I ask you a question that is of a somewhat personal nature?”
Honoria glanced at the door, as if gauging the distance. “What is it you wish to know, Miss Arkendale?”
“Forgive me, but I cannot help wondering why you do not consider the possibility of a discreet liaison with Mr. Adams. Why hazard the dangers of marriage?”
Honoria stared at her. For an instant Charlotte was afraid that she had offended her in an unforgivable fashion. Silently she cursed her impulsiveness. Business was business, after all. She could not afford to go about horrifying her clients.
“Have an affair, do you mean?” Honoria asked with a refreshing candor.
Charlotte flushed. “It would seem to be an obvious solution. Granted, a young lady could not engage in a romantic liaison without bringing scandal down on her head, but a woman of, ah, our mature years has more freedom. So long as she exercises discretion, of course.”
Honoria regarded Charlotte with a thoughtful expression. Then an odd little smile curved her mouth. “Perhaps you have been engaged in your present career a trifle too long, Miss Arkendale.”
“What do you mean?”
“It strikes me that the business of making inquiries into gentlemen’s backgrounds may have given you a rather cynical view of the world and of gentlemen, in particular. Perhaps you have lost sight of the reason why alady would choose to make such inquiries in the first place.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“An affair may do very well for some people.” Honoria adjusted the strings of her bonnet and got to her feet. “But Mr. Adams and I are both looking for a good deal more.”
“I do not understand.”
“It is difficult to put into words, Miss Arkendale. If you do not intuitively comprehend the answer to your own question, I doubt that I can explain it to you. Suffice it to say that one enters marriage with hope.”
“Hope?”
“And trust. And a vision of the future.” Honoria gave her a pitying glance. “An affair cannot offer any of that, can it? By its very nature it is an extremely limited connection. If you will excuse me, I must be on my way. I thank you again for your services.”
Charlotte jumped to her feet, driven by the questions bubbling forth inside her. She suddenly wanted to know what Honoria Patterson sought in marriage that could possibly make it worth the dreadful
Honoria gave her a quizzical look. “Risk?”
“I have done my best to make certain that Mr. Adams is not a drunkard. He is not given to outrageous wagers. He does not frequent brothels. He has a reliable income and he appears to possess a stable, calm temperament.”
Honoria glowed. “All in all, a wonderful gentleman.”
“Yes. But you do realize that I cannot absolutely guarantee that Mr. Adams will remain such a model of masculine perfection after the wedding.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Charlotte leaned forward impulsively. “He could decide to abandon you and his children next year in order to go off in search of adventure in the South Seas. Or he might grow bored with his new life as a husband and take to drinking too much wine. He may suffer a siege of melancholy that will cause him to become extremely unpleasant. There are any number of things that can go wrong in a marriage.”
“Well, yes, I suppose that is true.” Honoria shifted uneasily in her chair. Her gaze became wary. “I realize that there can be no guarantees in a situation such as this.”
“Precisely. Yet you choose to go forth along the path that leads toward marriage.”
Honoria frowned. “You seem a bit agitated of a sudden, Miss Arkendale. Is something wrong?”
“I am merely wondering why you are so set on marrying Mr. Adams. It is not as if there is no alternative.”
“I told you, none of the other gentlemen interested me in the least.”
“That is not what I meant by alternative. Miss Patterson, may I ask you a question that is of a somewhat personal nature?”
Honoria glanced at the door, as if gauging the distance. “What is it you wish to know, Miss Arkendale?”
“Forgive me, but I cannot help wondering why you do not consider the possibility of a discreet liaison with Mr. Adams. Why hazard the dangers of marriage?”
Honoria stared at her. For an instant Charlotte was afraid that she had offended her in an unforgivable fashion. Silently she cursed her impulsiveness. Business was business, after all. She could not afford to go about horrifying her clients.
“Have an affair, do you mean?” Honoria asked with a refreshing candor.
Charlotte flushed. “It would seem to be an obvious solution. Granted, a young lady could not engage in a romantic liaison without bringing scandal down on her head, but a woman of, ah, our mature years has more freedom. So long as she exercises discretion, of course.”
Honoria regarded Charlotte with a thoughtful expression. Then an odd little smile curved her mouth. “Perhaps you have been engaged in your present career a trifle too long, Miss Arkendale.”
“What do you mean?”
“It strikes me that the business of making inquiries into gentlemen’s backgrounds may have given you a rather cynical view of the world and of gentlemen, in particular. Perhaps you have lost sight of the reason why alady would choose to make such inquiries in the first place.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“An affair may do very well for some people.” Honoria adjusted the strings of her bonnet and got to her feet. “But Mr. Adams and I are both looking for a good deal more.”
“I do not understand.”
“It is difficult to put into words, Miss Arkendale. If you do not intuitively comprehend the answer to your own question, I doubt that I can explain it to you. Suffice it to say that one enters marriage with hope.”
“Hope?”
“And trust. And a vision of the future.” Honoria gave her a pitying glance. “An affair cannot offer any of that, can it? By its very nature it is an extremely limited connection. If you will excuse me, I must be on my way. I thank you again for your services.”
Charlotte jumped to her feet, driven by the questions bubbling forth inside her. She suddenly wanted to know what Honoria Patterson sought in marriage that could possibly make it worth the dreadful
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