Married to a Stranger by Louise Allen

wait until we see what a normal pattern of expenditure is and extrapolate from that.’
    ‘I am not one of your counting-house clerks, Mr Chatterton. Extrapolate indeed!’
    ‘If you can think of a better method, Mrs Chatterton, then please, let us employ it.’ There was a long silence while he watched her face and then Callum remarked, ‘You may not be one of the clerks, Sophia, but I would wager a significant sum that you are counting.’
    ‘In French, backwards,’ she agreed. His lips twitched, just a fraction, but the laughter he was suppressing was plain to see in his eyes. It was shocking in the lean, dark, controlled face. Shocking and irresistible. She smiled back. ‘You are teasing me again.’
    ‘I did not intend to. Really, there is no need to worry about such things yet.’ Almost imperceptibly Callum relaxed into the corner and it was only as he did so that Sophia realised that he had been wound as tight as a spring, as tense as she was, if not more so. However many things there were in this marriage to worry about, for her it was the answer to a problem. For him it meant a profound change in his way of life, undertaken out of duty.
    ‘I might be a spendthrift and squander all your money,’ she warned him, keeping her tone light, but with serious intent.
    ‘You would have to work quite hard at it and, in my estimation, you are too prudent for that.’
    Sophia wrinkled her nose, not entirely certain she liked being described as prudent . There were so many other adjectives that one’s husband of less than a day might more flatteringly apply. ‘Are you wealthy, then?’
    ‘Were you paying no attention to the settlements?’
    ‘No.’ The smile was still there, so she added, ‘I did not marry you for your money.’
    One eyebrow lifted and the smile became quizzical and less amused.
    ‘Not like that. Yes, of course I was so grateful we could pay off the debts and that Mama will be comfortable. I did not want to become a governess! There were other things—it is a relief that Mark will have influential connections when he finishes his studies and is looking for a parish. If he can establish himself well, then he will be able to support Mama. But I did not seek a life of luxury.’
    ‘Will your brother make a good clergyman, do you think?’ Callum asked. As he had when she told him about the debts, he did not refer to them again.
    ‘I am sure he will,’ Sophia said loyally, trying to repress the truth, which was that she thought Mark was becoming insufferably pompous. Her brother had descended for the wedding, patronised the amiable and unassuming vicar, lectured her on her own good fortune and announced his intention of pleasing their mother with a week’s visit at no notice. Sophia, her nerves on edge, had never been so out of sympathy with him.
    ‘He favoured me with a most enlightening lecture on the Christian duties of marriage yesterday evening,’ Callum said, straight-faced.
    ‘Oh no!’ Sophia stared at him, aghast. ‘Of all the preposterous things to do—Mark isn’t even ordained yet, and he’s so much younger than you and—’
    But Callum was laughing now, a deep, wicked chuckle that made her smile back, even as she cringed at Mark’s effrontery. ‘What did you say? You snubbed him, I hope.’
    ‘I listened with great attention and then asked him a number of very frank questions about a husband’s duties in the marital bed. How I kept a straight face I will never know. It was very wrong of me, considering that I was about to marry his sister and I suspect he is a virgin.’ Sophia clapped her hand over her mouth to suppress the gasp of shocked laughter. ‘He became mired in the procreation of children, at which point I thanked him earnestly and told him he had given me a great deal to think about.’
    ‘That was very wicked. I’m surprised at you.’ But the reproof was ruined by the unladylike snort of laugher that escaped her. Thank goodness, he does have a sense of