Page 18 of In Want of a Wife
All three women gasped at once and drew back as if he had just pulled out a saber and threatened to decapitate them over the fineAubusson rug. Really, he thought as he scanned the room, the house was immaculate.
The duchess clasped her hands tightly together. “I was afraid of this. I think we must talk, sir. I will not stand for someone taking advantage of Miss Abrams. She is like a sister.”
“But she is not your sister,” he replied.
The third woman stepped forward and broke the awkwardness that descended upon them all. “One moment,” she said, turning to the duchess. “This could all be solved easily if we could take a moment and continue with the proper introductions. If you are not to be her husband, then what is your business here today?”
“Miss Abrams has agreed to marry my brother, Earl Devlin.”
None of this made sense. He’d set off to fetch his brother's wife and would return with her as agreed upon. There was nothing complicated about that arrangement.
Miss Abrams narrowed her eyes, drawing over his figure in a careful study. He had the sudden desire to draw out her magnificent wit, but he withheld.
Instead, she filled in the silence. “And this is Miss Katherine Bancroft.” It was a quick bumble of words before she pressed on, “And now that introductions have concluded, we should continue on to the reason why you are here, sir.”
“I’ve come to fetch you,” Rafe replied.
“Fetch me? I am no dog, sir.”
Ah, there it was. He could spar if that was what she was after. It was his very favorite part of her letters.
“Certainly not. I wouldn’t have traveled here directly for a dog, either. I have agreed to accompany you to Cliffstone Manor myself, as my brother is overseeing important business concerns.”
He swore for a moment that the side of her lush smile kicked up. But if it had happened, and it wasn’t some wicked mirage that suddenly made him desperately thirsty, then he wasn’t comfortable with the way his mind became occupied with thoughts of her mouth.
They stared at each other, the other two women falling away to the background until the duchess interjected.
“I apologize, but I cannot allow Miss Abrams to leave with you today. I was only made aware of her impending nuptials”—at this, she turned and glared at Miss Abrams—“moments before you arrived.”
“It was a long journey.” He didn't add more. It would be unnecessary to do so. One did not travel from the Isle of Wight to Cumbria on a whim.
“I am sure of that,” Miss Abrams supplied. “I look forward to the journey myself.”
“We can’t allow it,” Miss Bancroft whispered. Except it wasn’t a whisper per se, rather just a softened hush of words that might have been shouted if he were not standing across from them all.
“I apologize,” Rafe said, though he was not sorry at all. There was nothing to be sorry for, but in his experience with women, he had garnered they often enjoyed being apologized to. “I am here to return you on my brother’s behalf as agreed upon in your correspondence. You have been corresponding with him, have you not?”
It was a lie because she had not been writing to his brother. He had been writing to her, and it had been enjoyable.
“Yes, I have, and it has been agreed upon.” She turned back to her companions, stressing her next words. “And I do not back out of an agreement.”
“Then we must go along with you,” Miss Bancroft insisted.
Miss Abrams grew red and shook her head. “No, that won’t be necessary.”
The duchess reached for her friend. “I’m afraid it is.” She turned from Miss Abrams to address him directly. “It would only be proper, Mr. Davies. We cannot allow her to be in your company unchaperoned.”
She spoke to him as if he were daft. Of all the men in the history of men, Rafe knew the rules well. One must if you meant to break them. And he excelled at breaking them, which is perhaps why his superiors hadn’t promoted him beyond lieutenant after eighteen years of service.
“We must first travel to my family’s home in Wales to retrieve the ring. If you all insist on coming, then you should know it will be along journey before she is introduced to my brother. By my calculations, almost six hundred miles.”
“I don’t care if we have to detour to China, Mr. Davies, I cannot agree to let her accompany you without another woman present.”
“Your brother is in need of a wife,” Miss Abrams said, breaking the growing tension in the room. “And I have agreed to fill that role.” She spun to address her friends. “I am not seeking approval or permission. If you two insist on coming, the carriage leaves in an hour. Please excuse us, Mr. Davies.”
She didn't wait for his answer, instead tugging her friends out of the room in a hasty exit, and he was left to wonder what kind of storm he was sailing into.
CHAPTER 5
