Chapter 20
“Wherein Miss Morton agrees to play with fire.”
Henri looked at Lawrence’s brother across the imposing oak desk and sighed.
Why Lawrence, after spending the last decade cultivating a fine reputation as a thief and a rogue, now - at this particular moment - felt inclined to be honourable and self-sacrificial was beyond her.
It was very bad timing and most irksome, especially when such a simple and effective plan was quite within his grasp.
“So what do we do?” she asked the earl who was sitting with a thoughtful expression, long fingers steepled together. She watched as he pursed his lips, as though contemplating something rather distasteful, before turning back to her.
“Can you act, Miss Morton?”
Henri raised her eyebrows. “Not to my knowledge, though in truth I have never had cause to discover the talent lacking. Why?”
The cool grey eyes looked her over, curious and apparently considering.” Because I feel we must indulge in a little play acting, a deception, to convince Lawrence that he would be far better off doing as we wish.”
Intrigued, Henri leaned forward over the desk, her arms folded over the polished top. It seemed a most unlikely suggestion from the Earl of Falmouth, and she was eager to discover what exactly he was considering. “What manner of deception did you have in mind, my lord?”
“In the circumstances I think you may call me Alex,” he replied, though his voice didn’t imply that he enjoyed giving her the familiarity of his name.
“In what circumstances?” she asked with apprehension, believing she had a vague idea where this was going.
“In the circumstances of our engagement and the wedding that will take place on our return to England.”
“B-but ...”
Alex waved a hand to silence her and glaring, she ground to a halt.
“Miss Morton, Henrietta ... if you will allow the familiarity?” Those grey eyes looked at her as though he was bored to death and wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.
“I prefer Henri,” she replied equally stiff and still glaring at him.
“Henri, you were quite right in what you said to Lawrence. He doesn’t know me anymore.
I am not the man I was when he left.” She realised Lawrence must have told him her previous description of the earl’s infamous behaviour.
A shadow fell over his expression, and she could see the weight of guilt that the past years had left upon him.
“In truth, I’m not sure I ever was that man, though I did try to be everything I believed was right and proper for the son of an earl.
But his death changed everything, it changed me.
Before he ... died, I was ever conscious of honour and propriety, and nothing stood more important in my mind than the family name.
” He snorted, looking on her with amusement.
“And I can see from your incredulous expression how far I have fallen from those lofty heights and just how tarnished that name has become.”
Henri felt her cheeks burn and tried to school her face into something less expressive, but tales of the wicked Earl of Falmouth, his gambling and his legion of petticoats were too numerous to hear such confessions without a little scepticism.
“However, you have planted the seed of truth which he will discover is all too real soon enough, and so he will see that I am indeed, as you supposed, the kind of husband it would be better to escape via a pirate ship, rather than face marrying.”
“My lord!” she whispered, mortified.
“Come, come, Henri,” he said, his mouth twisted into something resembling a smile. “I am not the least bit offended by the truth, and it should play to our advantage, if, as I suspect, my brother has feelings for you himself. He does I take it?”
Henri opened and closed her mouth, quite at a loss for what to say. Alex sighed and looked to the heavens with annoyance.
“If we are to proceed at all, I must insist that you are frank with me. I really have no patience for coy or coquettish behaviour.”
Henri huffed but found she still didn’t have an answer. Hesitating, she looked down and took a moment to carefully smooth the drapes of her skirts while she tried to formulate an answer.
“I-I believe that he is a little fond of me, yes, but after all we have known each other such a short time and ... And he went to great pains to make me understand that he would never marry me.”
She dared look up and found the grey eyes scrutinising her. “Because he did not wish to or because he was in no position to do so?”
Henri plucked an imaginary piece of lint from her sleeve and wished heartily that she could move the conversation to safer ground. This man really was the limit, to have to discuss such matters as she hardly understood in her own mind in such terms was appalling, and quite improper.
“I do not know,” she snapped, quite out of patience with him.
“I only know that he believed he would be an outlaw and that the addition of a wife would hinder him such that he would likely be caught again soon enough. Whether that implies that he would like to offer for me if the circumstances were otherwise, or if he sought to let me down gently, I know not.”
She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms wishing she had the nerve to throw something at him, for she felt he deserved it far more than Lawrence had.
Whatever it was she had said it seemed to resolve something in the earl’s mind.
“Very well then. You will go to Lawrence, and I will make sure you have the privacy to do so. He will likely endeavour, as he did with me, to extract a promise from you to marry me so that your future is secure, and because for some fool notion he believes we will be happy together.” They shared a look of equal incredulity and distaste.
“Quite,” Alex added with an appalled expression which was really most insulting.
“So, at first you will protest, and I would suggest, if you do indeed love him, you take the opportunity to tell him so.”
Henri blushed scarlet and looked anywhere but at Alex. She had hardly admitted the idea to herself, and even though she suspected it was likely true ... well really. She felt his amused grey gaze hover over her but refused to look up, so he continued.
“In the end, however, you will accept his argument and agree, and it might be an idea at this moment to make a point in my favour in front of him.” Henri looked up at that and was met with the faintest lift of one eyebrow. “Well, surely you can think of one?” he said, with a dry tone.
Henri gritted her teeth. She knew as well as he did that he was an extremely handsome man, and such a remark should not be hard to find. The idea of deliberately trying to make Lawrence jealous however made her slightly nauseated.
“It’s for his own good,” he snapped with impatience.
She let out a huff of anger at the ill-mannered, odious man! “Very well,” she said with an equally sharp reply.
“Good. Once that is settled we will give him ample opportunity to observe us together. At first it will seem all is quite well between us, with luck just a little jealousy might be enough to shake him from his moral high ground, but if, as I suspect, Lawrence is made of sterner stuff, we may be forced to move onto rather darker tactics.”
Henri looked up, alarmed. “Whatever do you mean?”
Alex shrugged. “Simply that we illustrate that I will be an appalling, tyrannical and cold husband who will never love you as you deserve and eventually make your life such a misery you will be condemned to die of a broken heart or shame or ...” He waved his hand, looking faintly disgusted.
“Some other mystery illness as tends to happen to ladies of that romantic ilk. Though I hope we will not need to take things quite so far as to endanger your health,” he added with a smirk.
Scowling at him, Henri wondered how the devil he knew anything about romance, the man clearly didn’t have a romantic bone in his body.
“You’re all kindness,” she remarked with asperity.
He chuckled at her obvious annoyance. “Well then, you know what to do.” She tutted at him as he made a shooing motion and got to her feet, only pausing as his voice followed her to the door.
“I take it you do have at least a vague idea of how to make love to a man?” he asked her with all the mocking arrogance of a confirmed rake.
She refused to dignify his shocking question with any other answer than a forceful slam of the door, but she heard his laughter follow her quite clearly, nonetheless.