Page 20 of A Marriage Most Convenient

“Now?” Charlotte asked.

Her mother’s head tilted. “I don’t believe we have a moment to waste. If he is not home, then you return straight away. Go and change into something more appropriate, and I’ll get a carriage ready.”

Charlotte did as her mother instructed, doing her best to ignore the pounding of her heart. He could very well tell her no, and send her away with a slam of the door. That was a risk. But she couldn’t help wondering if the greater risk was Edmond’s increasing appeal, and the fact that she could easily love him, though she doubted very much if he could ever love her.

“There is a lady here to see you,” his housekeeper said from the door of his study.

Edmond looked up from his ledger book and peered over his spectacles to see Mrs. Jones better. His glasses made the tedious work of numbers easier, but for not seeing a across a room. “A lady?” He then glanced at the mantle clock, noting it was well past midnight. “At this hour?”

“Yes, sir. A Miss Charlotte Reed.”

He inwardly cursed his heart that sped at the mere mention of her name. Why would she be here?

“Very well, send her in. And a tea tray to follow, please, Mrs. Jones.”

“Of course.” She bobbed, then left the room, only to return shortly, with Charlotte in tow.

The woman in question stepped into his study, her eyes going wide at the room and all the books lining the walls. She bit down on her lip and stepped in farther.

He didn’t bother rising from behind his desk. It was rude, ungentlemanly, he knew that. But they were beyond formalities, he and Charlotte. Two rejected proposals had to be some kind of record in London. Perhaps he could win a wager on that, make some extra money at the expense of his own folly.

“Charlotte,” he said, giving her a nod. He motioned to the chairs in front of him. She moved forward and lowered herself, but perched as if primed to jump to her feet a moment’s notice.

“Thank you for seeing me.” She smiled at him. “I didn’t realize you wore spectacles, like Willow.”

He pulled the metal frames off his face and set them on the desk. “I suppose our poor eyesight for reading small print is a family trait.”

She exhaled slowly.

“What do you want, Charlotte? It is rather late for a woman to be visiting a bachelor in his private residence, even if she is already ruined.”

She looked away from him, and he could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. His gut tightened at the thought of her in pain, but when she turned back to face him, her eyes were clear.

She exhaled slowly, as if preparing herself for something unpleasant. “I wanted to revisit our conversation from earlier today. I was hasty and foolish in my answer.” She bit down on her lip again. “I didn’t want you to have to clean up after my mistake.” She met his gaze, her beautiful blue eyes unwaveringly locked with his own. “You shouldn’t have to do that, Edmond. You’re an honorable man, a good man, and I only wanted to save you from my mess.” She looked down at her hands, twisted them in her lap. This time when she glanced up, her tears were evident. “I’m sorry, Edmond. I should have said yes.” She sat straighter, steeling herself. “If you’ll still have me, I would be honored to be your wife.”

God, he wanted to say no. Wanted to reject her in kind, the way she’d done to him. Twice now. But the truth was, this problem she had was still his doing, still his responsibility. He’d ruined her, it was his duty to marry her, to salvage what he could of her reputation. Even if she didn’t know that. Even if she believed she’d been trying to save him from her mistake. It was all him. He could tell her that now. Tell her everything.

But she was already crying. Damned if he couldn’t handle a woman in tears.

“Please marry me.” She sat forward even more, and he was surprised she didn’t fall to the floor.

“What changed?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Between you saying no this afternoon and you deciding to come over here tonight. What is different?”

She eyed him carefully, a myriad of emotions flitting through her pretty eyes, hinting at depths he could only imagine. “My mother talked sense into me. I feared saddling you with my plight. And frankly I believed you indifferent to me, but the truth is, if you’ll have me, it doesn’t even matter. None of those things matter.

“The family’s coffers go to other expenses. I have no dowry to offer you. Evidently my poor excuse for a dowry had already been transferred to Frannie’s. I’m not sure what that even gives Frannie, since I don’t believe my amount was anything significant. With my name in tatters, she will be ruined by association, and without a solid dowry, no man will care how beautiful and accomplished she is.”

“That is true.” She believed him indifferent to her? That was nearly laughable. But tonight was not the time to discuss that. He wanted to ask more. What had happened to their money? Poor investments? He knew they weren’t spending any funds on frivolous things such as clothing and hair ribbons. Charlotte and Frannie did an admirable job of working with the gowns they had, keeping them mended and whatnot to make them look new and fashionable. So who was spending the family fortune?

She released a watery laugh. “I know that doesn’t really sweeten the pot, as it were. I don’t have anything to offer. But I will promise you, though my reputation might be tarnished, my virtue remains intact. You need not worry about anything of that sort.” She leaned forward and placed her hands on his desk. “I would endeavor to be a good wife for you, Edmond.”

“Despite being bossy and fussy, as you put it?”

A ghost of a smile played at her lips. “Yes. I do know all there is to know about running a household. I’m not particularly accomplished at playing music or drawing, but I am quite useful with a needle and thread.”

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