Chapter Twelve #2
“I should like you to attend various functions as my wife. The major will inform you of such events every Monday. They won’t take more than a few hours of your time, though I should ask for your indulgence from time to time.
My schedule can be unpredictable, however I shall make every effort to ensure that yours is not. ”
She frowned. “That sounds eminently reasonable except for one thing.”
The dreaded “one more thing.” Every diplomat despised those words. Rather than speak, he raised a single brow in query.
“Major Vance doesn’t want us to wed.”
It was unfortunate that Gabe had made his opinion clear to her, but then she was unusually perceptive. Or Gabe was unusually gauche. Whatever the case, Benedict had no intention of delaying their marriage. He needed an heir.
“Aren’t you going to comment?” she pressed. “Do you allow your subordinate to have a say in your matrimonial affairs?”
“Unequivocally, no.”
“But he is, my lord. He is being extraordinarily difficult.”
Interesting. “How, exactly, is he being difficult?”
“He is…” She grimaced. “He questions everything, he tells me my responsibilities, and he phrases things such that no sane woman would choose to wed you. And he told me that we are to wed in three weeks!” She finished that off with another large gulp of wine.
“That is his job, Miss Caddick.”
“To give me a disgust of our marriage before we have had more than one conversation?”
“To ensure the smooth execution of my professional life. Where my wife intersects with my profession, the major must be allowed to direct her actions.”
She set her glass down. “He has made his disapproval of me abundantly clear.”
Benedict shrugged. “That is between you and him. I have known Gabriel for many years, and have never known him to be difficult without reason.” He took another sip of his wine. It really was an excellent vintage. “I suggest you have a frank conversation with him.”
She huffed out a breath. “I am trying to have one with you! I thought I was marrying you, not him.”
She had no idea how wrong she was. “That was your mistake. A wife must fold herself into her husband’s household. Major Vance is the head of my household. I trust him with my life and my career.”
“And your wife?”
“Yes.” He arched a brow at her. “Is that a problem for you? You knew our marriage was a business arrangement. Your settlement was very generous and the requirements abundantly clear. I need children to carry on my name. You are the woman I selected who would most fit into my household—”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why do you think I would fit with you?”
Because she had a secret he could exploit, one told to him by Lord Nate, but unsubstantiated by anyone else. Nate suspected she was midwife Betty Gill, though he had no proof. So Benedict had set Gabriel to investigate without mentioning the exact secret. He did not want to prejudice the man.
“Because you are levelheaded and uninterested in flattery. Because you understand the obligations of my name and you have very little attraction to me.”
“What?”
Really? Did she truly not understand the basics of a successful partnership? He spread his arms wide, allowing her to see the lanky angles of his body and the harsh cut of his face. His was not a body women swooned over. And if they did, he spurned them.
“What could you possibly want with this?” She opened her mouth to say something complimentary, but he cut her off with a shake of his head.
“I do not want attraction, Miss Caddick. A lovelorn miss sets my teeth on edge. I require breeding, and I have every expectation that you can do that to an exemplary degree.”
She stared at him. “Let me guess,” she said dryly.
“You saw that there is no madness in my family. That my father—and his forebearers—have above average intelligence, exhibited good management of our land, and no tendency toward vice. My guess is that you realized my mother’s untimely death was not because of an inability to breed but because of an unfortunate infection after my brother’s birth.
Excepting that, I come from good female stock. ”
“Exactly correct,” he said. “But you forgot one important detail. It was, in fact, the primary reason I decided upon you.”
“And what is that?”
He waited until she drained the last of her glass before answering. “You have an interest of your own that will keep you well occupied and out of my affairs.”
“An interest of my own?”
“I am aware of your passion for medicine.”
“That…that doesn’t upset you?” The surprise in her tone made him smile.
“I applaud it.” That was certainly true. “And I applaud the idea of a busy wife.”
“One who won’t interfere in your affairs,” she said as her gaze drifted upward to the overly loud merriment upstairs.
“Not that kind of affair, I assure you,” he said with a shudder. “Womanizing is not my vice. Neither is gambling nor excessive drink.”
“Then what is your vice?”
That was not up for discussion, so he grabbed the easiest lie. “Peace, Miss Caddick. One that includes a strong England.”
“Peace,” she echoed. “And children.” She picked up the wine bottle and refilled her glass. “I can fit my life to that goal.”
“Then we are agreed,” he said as she topped off his glass.
They clinked glasses and drank a full measure.
Benedict was surprised to realize that it felt like a treaty between two great nations.
Certainly, he had the superior power being the man.
He was also aware of more about her than she realized.
But that was how all his treaties were signed, and they tended to work out well.
“I hope you realize, Miss Caddick, that I hold you in great esteem.”
She looked up from her glass. “No, my lord, I had not realized that.”
“We have just this night shared two glasses of wine while my horses chill themselves on the street waiting for you.”
She nodded as she looked back at her empty glass. “That is rare for you?”
“Extremely. Indeed, I can think of only one person I would happily do as much for.”
“One person?”
“Yes.” He waited while she appeared to think on that. A moment later, she proved how very clever she was.
“Oh my,” she groaned. “You refer to Major Vance, don’t you?”
“I do,” he said with a smile.
“I have to find a way into his good graces, don’t I?”
“You do. And I suggest you do it immediately. The wedding will be in two weeks’ time.”
“Two weeks!” she gasped. “I thought I had three!”
“I will need to depart for Vienna soon after our wedding. We may have a month’s honeymoon—I am having my castle refurbished for our use since my parents reside in the manor house. But I cannot promise we shall have more than a week. Castlereagh would like me to arrange the details of a congress.”
The lady shook her head. “I cannot possibly manage a wedding in that amount of time.”
“Of course, you cannot. You must rely upon the major.”
“But I told you,” she huffed. “He disapproves.”
He waited again and after as much wine as he had consumed, he knew his expression was becoming sloppy. She stared at him, trying to emphasize her point with a hard frown. He raised a brow in response. She glared. He smiled.
Quite a bit of discussion without any words.
Eventually, she gave in. She slumped back in her chair, and he chuckled, which was a surprise. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so easily.
“I’m not going to win in this, am I?” she asked. “You are going to force me to work with him.”
“Unless you wish to cry off our wedding.”
She swallowed as she stared into her last drops of wine. “I do not wish to cry off. I can be a good wife to you.” She looked up. “I respect what you are doing. I respect you. And therefore, I will honor you as a good wife should.”
Excellent.
“So you will negotiate a peace with the major?” he asked.
“You will allow me to wage my…uh…negotiations without interference?”
He snorted. Good God, what a sound! He was drunk. “Miss Caddick, the whole point of this conversation was so that I did not have to interfere in any way whatsoever.”
“Then I shall see it done.”
“And I will honor you as a good husband ought,” he added.
She nodded once, as if she considered that a good bargain. He hoped it was.
“Salut,” she said. Then she drained her glass.
“Salut,” he echoed as he finished his glass. Then he smiled at his future wife. She had just risen to a challenge that no usual wife would know how to handle. And for certain, Gabriel had no idea what was coming.
By God, this was going to be fun to watch. And much more interesting that LeFauvre’s sloppy interest in Malta.