A Christmas Affair (13 page)

“Actually, sir, I am afraid that I —”

“I must own that at first I was shocked at the notion of a gently bred young lady selling herself to the highest bidder,” he interrupted, anxious to make his offer before she had the chance to say she had already accepted another man. “But now that I have had the time to consider the matter, I have decided that you were right.”

She blinked at that. “I am?”

“Yes.” He nodded his head gravely, a heavy lock of dark hair falling across his forehead. “A marriage of convenience would solve all of your family’s financial difficulties, and I can understand your desire to contract one.”

She could only stare at him, piqued that he should decide to sell her off just as she was removing herself from the market . . . so to speak. There was no way she could admit her falsehood now, she realized glumly. Knowing her luck, the cursed man would either take out an advertisement in the
Times
seeking an eligible
parti,
or worse still, offer for her himself. Determined to avoid this ignominious fate, she flashed him a hasty smile.

“That is very kind of you, Justin. I must write Mr.
Harper a note and tell him you have given us your blessing. He will be very pleased, I am sure.”

“I haven’t given you my blessing!” Justin protested in obvious horror.

“But you just said —”

“I said I understood your desire to provide for your family’s security,” he said, his brows gathering in a familiar frown as he rose to tower over her. “And so I do. But if you think I’m going to allow you to sacrifice yourself by marrying some jug-bitten fishmonger, you are sadly mistaken!”

“Mr. Harper isn’t a fishmonger!” she exclaimed, feeling rather like a character in one of those French farces Papa used to read. “He’s a wine merchant, and he didn’t —”

“I don’t care if he’s one of the Royal Dukes, you aren’t marrying him!” Justin made this pronouncement with every ounce of command he possessed. “You are marrying me.”

Amanda’s jaw dropped. Although she’d fully expected him to propose, she’d been foolish enough to think he would have the courtesy to couch his offer in polite terms. That he should
order
her to become his bride was completely unacceptable, and she stumbled to her feet.

“How dare you!” she gasped her eyes bright with indignation. “I am not one of your junior officers to jump at your command! I will not marry you!”

“Yes, you will,” Justin replied, crossing his arms over his chest and meeting her glare. He was well aware that he had erred badly in barking out his proposal like that, but he was not about to compound that error by apologizing for it. His safest course was to continue with the battle plan he had meticulously worked out and, if need be, call in the cavalry he had held in reserve.

“Oh, will I?” she snapped, tossing him her most defiant look. “And pray, Colonel, why do you think that?”

“Because if you don’t, I shall offer for Amelia in your stead.”

Amanda sat back down with an unladylike
plop
. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said, feeling pleased he had anticipated her reaction so correctly. He’d known she would reject his offer — if only out of sheer spite — and he’d taken the appropriate steps to circumvent her. It may not have been the most honorable tactic he could have employed; but if her pale cheeks were any indication, it was a successful one, and that was all any commander could expect.

“But . . . but you can’t be serious,” Amanda managed at last, raising a shaking hand to her forehead. “You don’t love Amelia . . . do you?” She shot him an anxious look as if fearing the worst.

“Of course not.” His wry denial made her shoulders slump in relief until he added, “I don’t love
you
either, although that is neither here nor there. Most married couples of my acquaintance can’t abide the sight of each other.”

“Then, why are you so determined to marry me?” she cried, clenching her hands in her lap and glaring up at him in impotent fury. “Surely not even you can mean to carry your sense of duty to such ridiculous extremes!”

“Why not?” He eyed her coldly. “That is what you intend to do, is it not? Or do you expect me to believe you would welcome Mr. Harper’s suit?”

“But marriage is such a serious step, and such a final one,” she said, wisely ignoring his rhetorical question. “There must be some other way.”

“Such as?”

“You could establish a trust for the children,” Amanda began, eager to accept that which she would have proudly rejected only moments before. “See that the boys receive a proper education and are established in the world. I-I know Stephen has hopes of becoming a physician.”

Justin pretended to consider her offer. “What of you and the girls?” he asked, making no move to return to his chair. “I believe you said you used your bridal portion to purchase Daniel’s commission?”

“Yes, but you needn’t concern yourself with me. And as for Amelia and Belinda, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if you were to provide them with a dowry,” she said, swallowing her pride with the greatest difficulty.

“Perhaps,” Justin agreed after a thoughtful pause. “But how do I know you won’t dash off with your suitor the moment my back is turned? You seem rather anxious to become his bride.” He shot her a cutting smile.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“I’m not being ridiculous; I am merely being prudent, the hallmark of a good officer. Your suggestions, while they may have some merit, still won’t serve as they fail to address the key issue.”

“What key issue?”

“Survival” Justin replied bluntly, deciding he’d had enough of this verbal fencing. “You can not survive without assistance, Amanda, and it is obvious you know it. Why else would you have agreed to marry Harper?”

“I didn’t agree to marry him!” It took all of Amanda’s willpower not to run shrieking from the room like a mad-woman.

“Perhaps not.” He shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “But you’re considering his offer, aren’t you? Very well,
then, you can consider mine as well. God knows I couldn’t make you a worse husband than a broken-down Cit.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, there was no offer! I made the entire thing up!” She met his startled gaze with a sullen stare. “There, I hope you are satisfied.”

Justin snapped to attention, his golden eyes darkening with anger. “Why you little. . . .” He could think of no epithet suitable for a lady’s ears but still strong enough to convey his sentiments. “Why the devil would you do such a thing?”

“To keep you from offering me your charity, for all the good it has done me,” she replied with a heavy sigh, wishing for a glass of strong brandy. Lord knew she could use something to soothe her poor nerves.

“It’s not charity, damn it!” Justin shouted, bending to grasp her shoulders with his strong hands and drawing her out of her chair. “It’s called duty, curse you, and I will do my duty by your family, no matter how hard you may fight me! The choice is yours, Amanda, will you become my bride, or must I offer for Amelia?”

For a moment Amanda almost said yes, if only to spare her sister from Justin’s insulting proposal. Then another thought occurred to her.

“What . . . what if Amelia will not have you?”

“What?” His forehead puckered in confusion.

“What if Amelia will not have you?” she repeated, a plan forming swiftly in her mind. She knew Amelia was wildly in love with Charles and would never entertain Justin’s offer. Therefore, she reasoned, she would have little to risk should he approach her. She tilted her head back and met his burning gaze. “Would you force her to accept?”

“Of course not,” Justin said, his frown increasing at her bold challenge. He had been so certain of Amanda’s capitulation that it never occurred to him that he might actually have to offer for Amelia, or that if he did offer, the chit would refuse him.

“But what if she does?” Amanda persisted, her confidence increasing with each passing second. “I have already made it clear that
I
don’t want you; how will you do your precious duty then?”

“Blast it, Amanda, I won’t leave you and your family to starve!” Justin administered a small shake. He should have known better than to think the hellcat would make it easy on him, he thought furiously. She was more adept than Wellington for slipping in and out of tight spots.

“You won’t have to” Amanda almost crowed with delight at the look of frustration on his handsome face. “For I have a counter-proposal to offer you.”

He pulled his head back and regarded her through narrowed eyes. “What is it?” he asked, making no attempt to mask his skepticism.

“If Amelia refuses to become your wife, I will accept any financial arrangements you decide to settle upon us,” she said, giving him her most magnanimous smile. “I will even allow you to act as the younger children’s guardian if that is your wish.”

“And if she accepts?” Justin asked, surprised by her offer. He thought he’d have to threaten to marry Belinda next and could scarcely believe she was being so reasonable.

“Then the same conditions would apply, I suppose, except that you would be Amelia’s husband,” Amanda said, dismissing the matter with an easy smile. “Have we an agreement?”

Justin weighed her offer, then said, “Not quite. When Amelia becomes my wife, then I will become responsible for all of you. Not just financially responsible,” he added when she opened her mouth to agree, “but physically responsible as well. You and the others would come and live with us in our house, and I would become your guardian.
All
of you; is it agreed?”

“Really, sir, I am six and twenty, and —”

“Is it agreed?”

Amanda capitulated with an impatient sigh. “Oh, very well,” she said, pulling free of his hold and offering him a slender hand. “It is agreed.” She knew she should feel some guilt for the shameless way she had cozened him, but she didn’t. The haughty devil deserved to be gulled for his arrogant assumption that any female was his for the asking. She only wished she might be there to see his expression when Amelia sweetly rejected his proposal.

Amelia was busy tying together the last of her sachets when something made her glance up toward the door. Her dark blue eyes widened at the sight of Colonel Stockton standing in the doorway of the dining room, his handsome face set in stern lines. When she realized he was moving forward to join her, she felt a warm wave of embarrassment wash over her.

“Good-good evening, Colonel,” she stammered, wishing Amanda would hurry back from the kitchen where she had gone to fetch some more spices. This was the first time she had ever been alone with the colonel, and her usual shyness was compounded by maidenly reticence.

“Good evening, Miss Amelia.” Justin gave the lovely blonde an appreciative smile. Since storming out of the
parlor some two hours earlier, he had had a great deal of time to consider the bargain he had struck with Amanda, and the more he considered it, the more determined he became to carry out his end of it.

Amelia might be years too young for a man with his jaded tastes, but he didn’t see that he had any other choice. To win the control he considered vital, he would have to marry her. She was not his first choice but as he had never expected to marry for love, he supposed it really didn’t signify. At least with her there would be no doubt as to who was in control, he thought, walking forward to stand beside her chair.

“What are you making?” he asked, reaching out a tanned hand to pick up one of the tiny bundles. He raised it to his nose, his eyes closing as he inhaled the enticing fragrance of a gentle May morning. He could detect the softness of lavender, mixed with the sweet smell of grass, and the heady aroma of a newly opened rose. In his mind he could feel the warmth of the sun on his face and hear the melodic chirping of a lark in a willow tree.

“Sachets,” Amelia replied shyly, wondering at his intense expression. “They are gifts for the maids.”

The images in Justin’s mind dissolved at the sound of Amelia’s voice, and he gave a convulsive start. “They’re lovely,” he said, his voice gruff as he returned the sachet to the pile on the table.

“Amelia,” he began, feeling an awkwardness he hadn’t known with Amanda, “there is something of import I need to ask you.”

“Certainly, Colonel,” she replied, dimples appearing in her cheeks as she gave him another smile. Poor man, she thought with a flash of sympathy which came easily to one of her gentle nature. It was easy to see something was
distressing him. “What is it?”

“Before I begin, I should tell you that I have already discussed this with your sister,” he said, deciding to be as brief and as blunt as possible. Considering the mess he had made of it with Amanda, he thought it best to keep matters as clear as possible without prevarication. “I have explained to her that I am aware of your family’s . . . precarious financial position, and that as it is more or less my fault, I am determined to set things right for all of you.”

“Oh, you mustn’t think that, dearest sir!” Amelia exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears at the thought of the colonel holding himself to blame for Daniel’s death. “What happened was God’s will, and we must accept it as such and rely on His goodness to offer us succor. We don’t blame you for what happened.”

“That is what your sister said,” Justin murmured, his mouth lifting in a slight smile, “but as I told her, it doesn’t matter what you feel.
I
hold myself to blame, and I mean to set things right. But to do that I will need your help.”

“My help?” She appeared genuinely confused.

“Yes.” He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and realized this was going to be harder than he thought. What made it worse was that he wasn’t afraid she would say no; he was terrified she would say yes. But there was nothing he could do about that now. He had committed himself to a specific course of action, and he would achieve the objective he had set for himself, regardless of the cost. Setting his troubling doubts aside, he straightened his shoulders and met her shy blue eyes.

“Amelia, will you marry me?”

She paled, staring at him as if he had run mad. “I-I
beg your pardon, Colonel,” she stammered, casting a nervous glance toward the door and estimating her odds of reaching it safely.