Page 12 of The Moonstone Hero
She picked up the gossip rag that had just arrived this morning. “Oh…”
Caden leaned forward. “What is it, Ella?”
“We can strike Brodick from the list.” She knew she ought to feel some disappointment, but she mostly felt mild curiosity about the young lady he had chosen. “He is now betrothed to a duke’s daughter.”
Caden regarded her with unexpected kindness. “I’m sorry, Ella. Who’s the girl?”
“Lady Jane Grimsby, eldest daughter of the Duke of Hawes.”
He shook his head. “A money match, for certain. That girl’s name suits her. She is a grim one. Poor Brodick. I had no idea he needed to marry a fortune.”
“I suppose that is all he wanted of me, as well. But I was slow to come around, so he moved on.” She was not disappointed in losing the man, but did not know why the notion still overset her. In truth, she was never going to fall in love with Lord Brodick. But she had been fooled by his affection for her. She thought he sincerely liked her, and confided as much to Caden.
“He probably did care for you, Ella. Very much. I’m sure he hoped you and he would be a match. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and he did not have time to wait around to win your hand. Nor were there any guarantees he would come out the victor, since you had three other suitors already in the game.”
“Love shouldn’t be a game.”
“No, it should not be. But the Marriage Mart is not about love. It is about securing futures and gaining fortunes.”
She nodded. “I know, but I still don’t care for it.”
“Nor do I.” He took the gossip sheet from her hands. “Let’s see what other dirt is revealed. Ah, Lady Melinda Wycliff is betrothed to Lord Jeremy Flint. Poor Flint.”
“Who is she? I thought I knew most of the young ladies making their debuts.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t met her or at least heard of her. She is the young lady my grandfather hoped to match with me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Seems we’ve each lost a potential mate.” She did not know why the thought of Caden betrothed was wreaking havoc on her heart. It should have come as no surprise that his grandfather had arranged a wife for him. The agreement might have been reached between the families years ago, when Caden and Lady Melinda were just children.
“Don’t be. This is the best news I could receive. Although I do feel sorry for poor Flint. He’ll be stuck with her now.”
“Is she that odious? You don’t have much regard for women, do you? First you disparage Jane Grimbsy, and now Lady Melinda.”
“I like women well enough, just not those two. Do not weep for them, Ella. They are not particularly nice. Nor is Flint any prize himself. I’m sure he’s arranged to take Melinda’s money, set her up in a fine house in London, and then take himself off to Pembrokeshire with his mistress and two children.”
Ella gasped. “What a wretched thing to do! Lord Flint has children? With his mistress?”
“Yes, although they’ll never inherit his title. He’ll do right by them. As for Melinda, do not cry for her. She will enjoy herself quite nicely.”
“As his abandoned spouse? Living without her husband?”
Caden shook his head. “Ella, stop being so innocent. Yes, without her husband. She does not want him around to interfere with her and her fast friends. Why do you think I am cheering? My grandfather and I heartily disagree on matters of matrimony. He refused to see beyond her wealth and royal connections. I saw her as a spoiled, ill-tempered shrew who was going to cuckold me at every turn.”
“So, you want a wife in more than name only,” she remarked, somewhat surprised that he cared at all about matters of the heart.
He grunted again. “Why shouldn’t I be selective? She will be the mother of my children. I would like to know they are mine and not some other man’s offspring. I would also like to see them grow up with intelligence, common sense, and an understanding that wealth is not the end-all and be-all. How much wealth does a man need to accumulate in his lifetime? At what point does the damage caused to others by his greed become intolerable?”
“I think you would like my father and Uncle Cormac very much. They think very much as you do. Not every venture is worth the investment, even if it is a sure thing. But they are also firm believers in a love match, having made such matches for themselves. They are so happy. Even as the world presses down upon their shoulders, the burden is easier to bear because it is shared with the wives they love.”
“Well, it makes sense for you to make such a match, because you take things very much to heart. You need someone who will love you and make you happy. Marrying merely for wealth or a title is out of the question for you.”
“And yet that perfect person is not so easy to find,” she admitted. “Who do you think would suit me best, Lord Harvey or Lord Eckleston?”
“Neither.”
“Neither?”
Caden shook his head. “There’s no sparkle in your eyes when you mention them. Ella, you are not the sort who can give herself to a man you do not love. And before you huff in indignation and suggest you could grow to love one of them, forget it.”
