desperately.
He couldn't have Rowena wandering about London asking indiscriminately about
Malcolm.
Rowena turned towards
him. "I am sorry, my lord, but I won't take orders from you. You have no
control over my actions, as you are well aware."
"I'll be damned
if I don't," snapped Alaric. "You will do as I say."
"What right do
you have to order me about?" demanded Rowena.
"I mean to marry
you," Alaric amazed himself by shouting. "That gives me the right."
There was a sudden
stunned silence as Rowena absorbed his words and Alaric stared straight ahead
between his horse's ears, wondering what had come over him to make such an
amazing statement.
"You mean to
marry me?" repeated Rowena, her voice distant.
Alaric turned and
looked at her. Her head was turned away from him, her eyes looking down
nervously at her hands, which were twisted together in her lap. He had a sudden
urge to stop the horses and pull her into his lap, to bring forth the
passionate response of which she knew he was capable. Why shouldn't he marry
her, he wondered. As Mackley had said just days before, it was his duty to
marry in order to provide an heir to the estate, and Rowena was both beautiful
and eligible, and she definitely was not boring. The more he considered it, the
more he felt he'd made a wise, if somewhat unexpected, decision.
"Certainly. That
should have been plain to you after out last encounter," said Alaric
smugly.
"You didn't
mention a word about marriage," protested Rowena.
"Your aunt
interrupted me," Alaric pointed out. "You are surely aware that any
gentleman who puts a lady in such a situation must of course be planning to
offer marriage."
Rowena made a choking
sound. "You are offering me marriage because you have compromised me?"
"You have the
right to expect it of me."
Rowena glared at his
profile. She had felt a great surge of joy at his mention of marriage, but his
reasons for it angered her. Did he think she was some foolish miss attempting
to entrap him? She would rather die than have him marry her for such a reason.
"I thank you for
your kind offer," she said with awful sarcasm. "But as no one is
aware of what transpired besides the two of us, it is entirely unnecessary."
"On the
contrary, my honor demands it, and I find the idea appealing," continued
Alaric stiffly. "You will make me a suitable wife; your birth is good and
I find you very attractive," he continued.
"What a pretty
speech. Next you will tell me that you hold me in high esteem." Rowena
began to feel slightly sick. She had dreamed about what a proposal from Alaric
might be like, but this was hardly the romantic scene of her fantasies.
"Certainly I do.
Mutual esteem is important in a marriage. And we know we are well matched
in--other ways."
"Unfortunately,
that is not enough for me." Rowena looked straight ahead. "I will not
marry where there is no love."
Alaric laughed
softly. "So that is the problem? Don't be nonsensical, Rowena. We shall do
much better without love. It is an uncomfortable emotion that causes only
difficulties."
"Nonetheless, I
will not do without it. And now, my lord, I beg that you drop this subject. I
find it painful."
"We share many
things that are more important than love," persisted Alaric, unwilling to
let the topic alone. He had never offered marriage to any woman before, and it
had not for a moment occurred to him that he might be rejected. "We are
united in our scorn for most of polite Society, we are both intelligent, and we
share a mutual passion that would make our lives interesting."
"There are also
many difficulties," countered Rowena. "My family would be appalled,
and the gossip generated by our union would be almost unbearable. All that
before one even considers that fact that the true murderer of Alfred Ingram
remains unknown. None of this would matter, of course, if we were in love. However,
that is not the case."
Alaric listened to
her with a growing sense of outrage. "Would you marry me if I lavished
tender
He couldn't have Rowena wandering about London asking indiscriminately about
Malcolm.
Rowena turned towards
him. "I am sorry, my lord, but I won't take orders from you. You have no
control over my actions, as you are well aware."
"I'll be damned
if I don't," snapped Alaric. "You will do as I say."
"What right do
you have to order me about?" demanded Rowena.
"I mean to marry
you," Alaric amazed himself by shouting. "That gives me the right."
There was a sudden
stunned silence as Rowena absorbed his words and Alaric stared straight ahead
between his horse's ears, wondering what had come over him to make such an
amazing statement.
"You mean to
marry me?" repeated Rowena, her voice distant.
Alaric turned and
looked at her. Her head was turned away from him, her eyes looking down
nervously at her hands, which were twisted together in her lap. He had a sudden
urge to stop the horses and pull her into his lap, to bring forth the
passionate response of which she knew he was capable. Why shouldn't he marry
her, he wondered. As Mackley had said just days before, it was his duty to
marry in order to provide an heir to the estate, and Rowena was both beautiful
and eligible, and she definitely was not boring. The more he considered it, the
more he felt he'd made a wise, if somewhat unexpected, decision.
"Certainly. That
should have been plain to you after out last encounter," said Alaric
smugly.
"You didn't
mention a word about marriage," protested Rowena.
"Your aunt
interrupted me," Alaric pointed out. "You are surely aware that any
gentleman who puts a lady in such a situation must of course be planning to
offer marriage."
Rowena made a choking
sound. "You are offering me marriage because you have compromised me?"
"You have the
right to expect it of me."
Rowena glared at his
profile. She had felt a great surge of joy at his mention of marriage, but his
reasons for it angered her. Did he think she was some foolish miss attempting
to entrap him? She would rather die than have him marry her for such a reason.
"I thank you for
your kind offer," she said with awful sarcasm. "But as no one is
aware of what transpired besides the two of us, it is entirely unnecessary."
"On the
contrary, my honor demands it, and I find the idea appealing," continued
Alaric stiffly. "You will make me a suitable wife; your birth is good and
I find you very attractive," he continued.
"What a pretty
speech. Next you will tell me that you hold me in high esteem." Rowena
began to feel slightly sick. She had dreamed about what a proposal from Alaric
might be like, but this was hardly the romantic scene of her fantasies.
"Certainly I do.
Mutual esteem is important in a marriage. And we know we are well matched
in--other ways."
"Unfortunately,
that is not enough for me." Rowena looked straight ahead. "I will not
marry where there is no love."
Alaric laughed
softly. "So that is the problem? Don't be nonsensical, Rowena. We shall do
much better without love. It is an uncomfortable emotion that causes only
difficulties."
"Nonetheless, I
will not do without it. And now, my lord, I beg that you drop this subject. I
find it painful."
"We share many
things that are more important than love," persisted Alaric, unwilling to
let the topic alone. He had never offered marriage to any woman before, and it
had not for a moment occurred to him that he might be rejected. "We are
united in our scorn for most of polite Society, we are both intelligent, and we
share a mutual passion that would make our lives interesting."
"There are also
many difficulties," countered Rowena. "My family would be appalled,
and the gossip generated by our union would be almost unbearable. All that
before one even considers that fact that the true murderer of Alfred Ingram
remains unknown. None of this would matter, of course, if we were in love. However,
that is not the case."
Alaric listened to
her with a growing sense of outrage. "Would you marry me if I lavished
tender
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