by Tia Siren
“Were you?” He asked curiously.
“Yes. I am also in somewhat of a predicament myself.”
“Please inform me.”
Cynthia took in a quiet breath in an attempt to calm her pounding heart. “I…When my late husband died, he left me a fortune. It is enough to live on for many more years, and the house, and lands belong to me. However, he was in debt to several businesses to an amount that would reduce my accounts to nothing and leave me with nothing to live on.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. How long ago did your husband die?”
“It was over four years ago.”
“The debt has continued to accumulate, or the collectors are waiting?”
“They have been very kind.”
“To say the least.” He sounded surprised.
“You sound surprised,” She remarked.
“I don’t know many businessmen who will put off the repayment of a large debt for so many years.”
“You have no family to fall back on?”
“No, unfortunately not.”
“That is a bad situation.” Daniel admitted, nodding. “What will you do?”
“I was wondering if…we might be able to…have an agreement between us? One that might be profitable for us both?”
Daniel looked down at her with his eyebrows raised. He was stunned that they had been thinking the same thing. “We might,” He responded. “I must inform you that it is not just the marriage that I must produce for my parents. They will also expect an heir. Are you…” he didn’t know how to finish the question, but she caught on to the implication. She and her husband had never conceived, but it had not been because she was incapable.
“I can still have children, my lord. I just didn’t have any with my late husband. He was gone quite a lot. He was in the military.”
“I understand. You are in need of the money to pay off the debts, and I am in need of a wife. Is this what you propose?”
She pulled in another deep breath, nervous with a thumping heart. When he put it that way, it certainly sounded like an affront to the sanctity of marriage. Marriage was supposed to be about love and unity and togetherness. Not signing on the dotted line so that debts would be paid and inheritances wouldn’t be lost.
“Yes, my lord.” She squeaked out.
He was quiet. She wondered what he was thinking, daring to take a quick glance at his profile. His face did not look unpleasant. He didn’t look angry or judgmental. He looked handsome and thoughtful.
“Here’s what I propose,” he said, and she steeled herself in case he came down on her for her apparent greed. “We will court for two months and a week. We must have time to get to know each other better and decide if this is truly something we want to do. At the end of that time, we will make a final decision on a marriage.”
“But if it doesn’t work out, will you not be out of time? You will not be able to find someone in that amount of time.”
“This is true,” He admitted. “But I believe that my parents will think differently if I have spent these last few months taking things seriously and truly courting a woman to marry.”
“Will they approve of me as your prospective wife?”
He grinned, giving her an amused look. “Lady Cynthia, you are a beautiful, intelligent woman. I don’t see why they would not approve. They don’t need to know about my dealings. They only need to know what they see, which is me with a woman on my arm, attending the balls and dances and social gatherings.”
“Then I suppose we have a deal? When will you be able to pay the collectors?”
“I will pay them right away.”
“Are you sure? That would not give you much of an advantage over me.”
“I don’t need an advantage over you, my lady. I don’t want you to go through the next nine weeks thinking that you have to spend time with me because I won’t follow through otherwise. I would like for us both to enjoy our time together without pressures of repercussions.”
“That is very noble, my lord.”
He just smiled.
Chapter Four
The first month of courting went by quickly. They attended two balls a week. Daniel visited her home, and she visited his. They went on numerous walks and short carriage rides together. They became the talk of the town almost immediately, as no one had expected the playboy to pluck the widow out of the shadows and start parading around town with her.
“A mismatched couple, that’s what they’re saying.” Alexander settled himself into the chair he always occupied when Cynthia was sitting outside enjoying the sun. It was getting hotter as the summer moved in. She was dressed in a full body bathing suit with a robe and had shed the robe in the heat. There was little more she enjoyed than the feel of the sun on her bare skin. Daniel had assured her that he would not prevent her from laying out in the sun, going out to swim or doing any of the things she always enjoyed doing. He promised her that she would not be obligated to do anything that made her uncomfortable.
“I know what they’re saying, Alex.” She murmured, not opening her eyes. She could hear so much more around her when she kept her eyes closed and concentrated on the sounds. The birds and frogs, even the trees with their leaves blowing softly in the breeze made unique and wonderful sounds.
“He’s a rake, Cynthia. What do you see in him to love when you know what he is, what he’s done to so many other women in town? Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
She opened one eye and looked at him. His face showed genuine concern. The frown lines were deep in his young features.
She pushed herself up into a sitting position and tilted her head when she spoke. “Alex, do you want to know why I’m going to marry Sir Daniel? The real reason?”
Alexander frowned. “What do you mean ‘the real reason.’ Don’t you love the man?”
Cynthia thought about the question for a moment. She was beginning to think that Daniel was indeed a man she could love. He was the charmer the women always thought he was. He didn’t have a brutal temper and did not drink heavily. She hadn’t even seen him lose his temper, as a matter of fact. He was always polite and kind to her and never made her feel less than her value.
Still she had trouble separating the fact that he was doing a business deal with her, had never mentioned love and at times, she felt like he was just going through the motions so that his outward appearance would be validated and people would talk about him in a way that he wanted them to. He didn’t want to leave them guessing and making up stories, so he set the tone of any stories they told.
“I may love him in time.” She finally replied. “But there is another reason, Alex. Daniel has a great deal of money. He is set to be disinherited on his 30th birthday if he is not wed and in a position to supply an heir.”
“Yes, I heard about that.” Alexander nodded, a look of disapproval on his face. She didn’t know whether that frown was caused by the disinheritance or the fact that Daniel had not already taken care of the situation long ago. “I admit I wondered if he approached you because he’s…”
He stopped abruptly before saying the word “desperate.” It was terribly impolite to put Cynthia in the category that a desperate man would choose from.
Cynthia grinned. “You were wise to stop before saying that, my friend.”
They both laughed.
“He is in a desperate situation, but he and I came to an agreement at the outset of our courtship. As you know, John’s death left me with enormous debts to the creditors, and I would surely lose everything if I tried to pay them back what John owed them. I would be left destitute. They have been waiting these long years for their money. Now, they are no longer waiting for their money.”
“The Duke paid the collectors for you?”
“He did.”
Alexander blinked in surprised silence. He felt at a loss for words. He knew the Duke had much more money than Cynthia but could not fathom the man handing out so much money just to win the hand of a woman…even his good friend.<
br />
“I…I am surprised by this information.” Alexander scratched his head. “I have heard many negative things about the Duke. This does not seem in character for him.”
“I have heard the stories. They all came from ladies he had rejected, though, have you ever noticed that?”
“Have there been any ladies pursuing him?” Alexander asked and then went on without waiting for an answer. “No, there haven’t been, and that’s because he garnered such a bad reputation with them. Were you ever warned off?”
Cynthia shook her head. “No. I have not participated very much in the social scene, even when I did attend the balls with you.”
“So what do you think of him now that you’ve spent time with him? Should I be worried about you, my dear?”
Cynthia turned her head to look out over the long green lawn, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “You’ve no need to be worried about me, Alex. Daniel has been only a gentleman since we made our deal.”
“But do you want to live in a business deal? Is that really what will make you happy, being married to someone you don’t truly care for? I suppose you could stay on here if he would allow it. Then you wouldn’t have to leave the familiar, and you will still be yourself.”
“He has said that I will be able to retain my freedom to come and go as I please. I will continue to do that, but I will also act as Duchess when he requires it of me. I can’t imagine I would have any responsibilities, though. In the beginning, we will need to keep up the appearance of a happy couple. So I will not be able to stay here at the house. Perhaps I will come back and stay during holidays or when I want a vacation.”
“Won’t you miss it?”
“Of course, I will. But life goes on, doesn’t it? And we must ebb and flow with it.”
He nodded. “This is true, my dear. This is true.”
That weekend, Daniel picked her up for another dance, arriving early enough for them to leave the carriage away from the mansion in which the ball was being held and walk the remaining distance. There was no threat of rain. The weather was holding out to be a pleasant late spring, with sunshine and warmth late into the evening.
That night, however, just as they arrived at the mansion and stepped up under the deck roof, it began to sprinkle. He gave her an apologetic look as they watched it come down. “I did not know it was supposed to rain this evening,” He said.
“It’s quite all right. Do you think it will still be raining when we leave?”
“If so, I will get a ride from someone else to take us to the carriage.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
Once inside, they mixed with the crowd, Daniel heading in one direction and her in another. She met with a few ladies she enjoyed talking to and watched him from across the room. The ladies always questioned her sanity, but it amused her. She and Alex had figured out why Daniel’s reputation had been exceptionally poor. He was an independent thinker who had been looking for a woman with a mind of her own, as well. When he rejected the ladies he courted for whatever reason, they had retaliated by spreading rumors and lies about his treatment of them while dating.
Since he felt free to do what he wanted, he was never discourteous to Cynthia, showed her respect and was kind to her on a daily basis.
She saw him from across the room, chatting with some friends. He threw his head back and laughed heartily. She liked the sound of it as it traveled across the room. He had laughed like that with her a few times. It made her want to make him laugh more.
He glanced over in her direction and their eyes locked. He smiled at her, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She smiled back.
Alexander had asked her if she thought she could marry without being in love. She had already decided she didn’t have to worry about that part. She was nervous still, and a bit worried that he might not really be who he said he was. But her doubts were decreasing steadily. She wondered if he could feel about her the way she was beginning to feel about him.
It surprised her when she saw Daniel excuse himself from his friends and make his way through the crowd to where she was standing.
“How is your evening going, my lady?” He asked, leaning close to her.
“I’m having a good time, thank you, Daniel. How about you?”
He stood up straight and looked around him. “It’s another dance.”
He chuckled, and she smiled up at him.
“Would you care to go for a walk on the grounds with me?” He asked, holding out his arm, crooked at the elbow, for her to take.
“I would love to; my lord but is it not raining out there?”
“Let’s go and see.”
She slipped her hand through his arm and walked next to him as they went through the large double doors that were left open to allow extra ventilation in the crowded room.
The night sky had cleared, and the two of them followed the stone pathway around the garden, avoiding the small puddles that had gathered.
“Have you given any more thought to our arrangement?” Daniel asked. She noticed his voice was low and smooth. It was filled with emotion. She wondered why.
“In what way?” She looked up at him, enjoying the way he looked in the moonlight and in the glow of the lamps burning around them.
“You are not wanting to back out of the deal, are you?”
“Not at all, my lord. Are…are you?”
Daniel shook his head quickly. “No. I am…quite happy with things the way they are going.”
“I feel the same way.”
He stopped and turned to face her. She scanned his handsome features, resisting the urge to reach up and touch his face. When he looked at her, she saw something different in his eyes than she had seen before. She remembered the way he had stared at her over the table when they first met. His eyes had seemed so cold, so distant. Now they were warm and inviting. She found herself drawing closer to him instinctively so that there were only a few inches between them.
“Lady Cynthia, I…my…my feelings for you have changed in the last month. I see the way you treat your servants as friends, how you talk to the children, how you manage your life so well. I am impressed with you. I only wish you had not held yourself back in the shadows for so long.”
“I was not expecting to…” She hesitated. “To find love again, my lord.”
“Have you?” His voice dropped even lower, and he breathed the question out. “Have you found love again?”
Her breath became rapid as she sensed how close he was to her. He lowered his head so that they were nose to nose and asked the question again.
“Have you found love again, Lady Cynthia?”
She felt his breath on her lips, and it sent shivers down her spine.
“I have, my lord. I love you.”
She saw him smile just before he moved close enough to touch his lips to hers. He pulled back after only a moment and whispered, “I have fallen in love with you, too, Cynthia.”
When he kissed her again, she knew she had made the best deal of her life and would finally be truly happy again.
*****
THE END
CLEAN REGENCY Romance - A Time for Love
Eve Downing looked up at the portrait with loving eyes. She took a step back and sat on the red velvet cushioned bench, crossing her ankles and gazing. It was her favorite of all the paintings. It was titled “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. It was painted by Georges-Pierre Seurat in 1886. She wished she could go back to those days. The hustle and bustle of modern day life was annoying. She was in a loveless relationship, hated her job and had only a handful of friends she felt she could trust.
She told herself she wasn’t feeling this way because she’d just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and every time she read Jane Austin, she knew she was living in the wrong time. She was so unhappy with her life. She would give anything to go to the late 1800’s and live like they did.
Her phone buzzing brought her out of h
er thoughts. She was holding it between her hands which were resting in her lap. She turned the phone to face her and read the message on the front.
“Call me.” From her boyfriend. She felt a rush of annoyance. He probably didn’t have anything good to say. He was such a negative person, always bringing people down and seeing the bad side to everything. He never saw the bright side, never opened his eyes to the beauty around him.
She hesitated for a moment, looking up at the painting again. Her favorite. She sighed.
She dialed the number and slowly put the phone to her ear, sighing again.
“Hey,” he said when he answered.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“Did you pay extra for those carpet cleaners the other day?”
“Did I what?” She was immediately confused.
“There’s more money out of the account than what was supposed to be used.”
Eve remembered the carpet cleaners. Two guys that came in, cleaned the carpets, gave her papers to sign and left. She wasn’t impressed with either one of them while they had been there but the carpets looked really clean afterward.
“I don’t know. I didn’t spend anything extra. Haven’t been anywhere or done anything.”
“Uh huh.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristling. She could hear the contempt in his voice through the phone.
“I just said uh huh. We need to make sure we’re telling each other when we spend extra money somewhere.”
“If I had, then I would have told you. But I didn’t so I had nothing to tell.”
“Okay.”
She could hear it so plainly. He didn’t believe her. He never believed anything she said. Why was she still going through this? They hadn’t been in love for months, long, miserable months. No physical intimacy at all. She could barely get a hug and a kiss from him.
“Look, I’ll be home later, and we can talk about this okay?” She whispered hastily in the phone, not wanting anyone else in the museum to hear how upset she was. She was going to break up with him. She couldn’t take it anymore. Without another word, she hung up on him.