Page 17 of Bargaining for the Barrister
“I cannot wait to meet her.” Jemma caught her cousin’s eye.
“Let’s call on her in the morning,” Lisette replied, and Jemma nodded in agreement.
Paul couldn’t deny that Miss Cox was attractive. He recalled the spark he’d felt between them as he’d stepped far nearer to her than he should have the night before. But he would not be moved. “Ian has painted a rather bleak picture, but I’ve no thoughts of giving in. I am not in the position to marry, and I thought my parents understood this. Truly, the whole business is unwarranted and absurd.”
Miles chuckled. “Marriage cannot be all that bad. I mean, the Rebels were founded by playing matchmaker. Don’t you remember?”
What Miles spoke of had occurred years ago, and Paul had almost forgotten. Their motivation at the time had been less about marriage than it had been about preventing Miles’s entire family from being forced from their home after his father died.
“It feels like yesterday to me.” Lisette’s gaze softened, the love she had for Miles so clearly reflected in her eyes. Why Miles hadn’t married her yet was beyond Paul, but then again, he had his own problems to worry about. “From that one experience, we helped a great deal of people.”
“I agree.” Miles scanned the room and each of their faces. “Where would we all be today if not for a little matchmaking of our own? I might have been sent to work in the mills with my siblings, and instead, I am in a position to offer assistance to others in need.”
Ian sank back against his throne and folded his arms across his chest. “I concede your point. However, this is different. Then we were helping along a love match. Now we are talking about arranged marriages. The chance for happiness is drastically lower. And Paul isn’t about to be tossed out of his home.”
Paul need not guess why Ian’s voice hardened and his eyes glowered. Lord and Lady Kellen’s marriage had been a burden their son could not escape. His reasons against marriage in general were deeply personal.
“So what is the plan?” Tom’s question floated around the silent room.
Miles pulled one leg onto his lap. “We can’t simply scare the poor girl away. What if she is in love with Paul already?”
Jemma nodded. “Lisette and I will assess the situation when we call on Miss Cox.”
“I was with them last night,” Ian said. “And I think there are only two solutions. First, Paul must avoid Miss Cox so she does not get any ideas of his feeling more for her than he really does. Second, we must all agree to stand together. No one folds to our mothers. If we desire to marry, we will choose our spouses for ourselves.”
“I have to agree with Ian,” Jemma said decisively. “All of England is a veritable boiling pot, and change is on the horizon. The traditions of the past are stifling every class, and we must protect our freedoms.”
Paul had been surprised the first few times he’d heard Jemma speak like this, but he was used to her outspoken ways now. She was a bluestocking through and through and reminded him a little of Miss Cox, though she did not unsettle him like Miss Cox did.
Miles, on the other hand, never ceased to challenge Jemma. “You reference the riots and radicals, but the Rebels promote peaceful change. That was part of our founding principles.”
Jemma smiled coyly. “Then, we will peacefully declare our refusal to marry.”
“Hear, hear!” Ian spouted, raising a pretend glass.
“I will do no such thing,” Miles said, his annoyance clear. “I have every intention of marrying. Am I the only one here who wants a spouse and children? Family is everything to me.”
“What about us?” Ian said.
“We’re family too,” Paul assured him. He’d learned that long ago. Not all family was blood.
“Then, let’s make our objective clear,” Miles said. “I cannot support an anti-marriage movement. But I can support the right to have a say in our respective marriages.”
“Agreed,” Tom added. “Mr. Romantic has spoken.” Tom’s nickname for Miles was especially fitting today.
Jemma folded her arms as if Miles’s saintly ways were getting under her skin. Finally, she muttered her response. “Agreed.”
Paul looked at his loyal friends and nodded. “Agreed.”
They might not all see eye to eye on everything, but in a matter of seconds, their vocalized answers brought them to a unified decision. They would all do whatever they could to help protect each other’s right to marry by choice.
Paul stood. “I must return. Lisette and Jemma, when you come in the morning, try to figure out whether Miss Cox is colluding with my mother. We might be able to use her as leverage if we can persuade her of our cause.” They nodded. “Ian, could you use your connections to look into Logan Cox’s business dealings?”
“Certainly.” Ian picked a thread off the throne of putrid. “I was thinking along the same lines after the man drilled me about Brookeside’s economy. I thought the conversation contrived at the time, but it did make me curious.”
Paul raised his brow. “Let me know what you discover. Tom and Miles, it would serve you both well if you did a little prying in your own situations. If I were you, I’d make my feelings on the subject known before you’re in a mess as deep as mine.”
Chapter 8
