With His Ring (Brides of Bath Book 2) (4 page)

Patty gingerly placed the green velvet hat
askance on Glee's swept-back hair, then plunged in a hat pin to
secure it. She stood back to appraise her charge. "The master's
friend is sure to swoon when he takes a look at you."

Glee's brows lowered. "What makes you think
I care a fig about what Mr. Blankenship thinks?"

"'Cause I know you too well."

"Is it that obvious?" Glee asked, her lips
puckered into a pout.

"To a woman, yes. But men don't think of the
same things we do. I'm sure your Mr. Blankenship will never notice
any change in you."

Glee sighed with relief, then dabbed rose
water on the soft side of her wrists. She cast a glance in her
looking glass, satisfied with her reflection. Riding habits
revealed her trim waist far better than the dresses dictated by
fashion. She smiled mischievously at Patty. "I should like it
excessively if Mr. Blankenship swooned over me."

With a wink, she disappeared through the
door.

* * *

They had not spoken as they rode through the
thicket, Blanks considerately lifting low-hanging tree branches to
clear her path. When they entered the glen still bleak from
winter's cold, he spoke. "I return to Bath tomorrow."

Her heart stampeded. When it stilled enough
for her to speak, her voice was low and not without disappointment.
"So soon?"

He smiled and nodded. "George is much too
busy to entertain me in the ways he once did."

While George's new responsibilities
diminished the pleasure he had once given Blanks, Glee took pride
in her brother's transformation from reckless rake to happy family
man. But obviously, he was not a man Blanks wanted to emulate. If
Gregory Blankenship did not know his own heart, Glee most certainly
thought she did. With the right woman, he, too, could put to
pasture his irrepressible quest for amusement. He, too, could
become the son his father had wanted him to become. He could settle
at Sutton Hall, have children, and continue to steer the thriving
estates as his disciplined father had done before him. Glee was
convinced she knew Blanks' heart better than he. In time, she could
bring about the changes in him. With true love to bolster him, his
smiles could be windows to his soul, not screens covering his
torture.

For she instinctively knew Blanks was
tortured, but she knew not why. George said Blanks had been the
most popular lad at Eton. He excelled in sport. He grew bigger and
stronger than his classmates—and far more handsome. His income was
enormous, and as the first son, promised to be extravagant. What in
his life could have caused him to shun love and commitment?

"George had to meet with his steward this
morning," Blanks continued. "He plans to work me in this afternoon.
We had decided on billiards if it were raining, but now that's it's
sunny, we'll shoot."

"I confess I've enjoyed having you all to
myself, but I suppose it's been far too tedious for you—since you
obviously think of me as a silly chit."

He scowled at her. "A lady does not use the
word
chit
."

"Then you think of me as a lady—and not a
little girl?"

"Of course. I realize, too, that were we in
Bath, you and I would be prohibited from riding alone
together."

"Thanks heavens we're not in Bath!"

Once they had ridden through the glen and
came upon a small pond she asked if they could stop for their
picnic.

They rode to the edge of the shimmering
green water, then Gregory dismounted and helped her from her horse
before unloading his saddlebags of their luncheon fare. There were
hard eggs and newly churned cheese and bread that had been still
hot from the oven when Cook packed it. Gregory had seen to it that
a bottle of Bordeaux had been stashed in the saddlebag, too. As he
tethered the horses, Glee spread out their repast.

He watched as she gracefully sat beside the
food and removed her hat. Her magnificent tresses had come loose
and twirled along the slender marble column of her neck. His breath
caught, and he had to remind himself Glee was no temptress but
George's little sister.

It was difficult. With her fragile porcelain
beauty and that glorious head of hair, she was quite possibly the
most beautiful creature he had ever beheld. And though she was
small, he noted that her figure curved pleasantly in the right
places.

She poured his wine and silently handed it
to him as he sat down. His fingers brushed across her delicate
hands, and he fought the urge to envelop her hand in his, to settle
his lips on her rosebud mouth. Good lord, what had he been thinking
to steal her away without benefit of a chaperon? A moron could
determine that Glee Pembroke was a lovely young woman whom no man
could resist.

And Gregory was indeed a man. Despite that
he had vowed to never sully a lady. For George's sake—and for
Glee's—Gregory would honor that vow.

He watched as Glee spread soft cheese on a
chunk of bread. When she finished, she looked up at him, dazzling
him with deep green eyes framed with long, dark lashes. Had the
scamp colored them?

"Is anything as good as fresh country
cheese?" she asked, offering him the bread in her hand.

He took it, bit in and agreed heartily with
her as she prepared another piece for herself. They ate all they
had brought and languidly finished the wine.

His belly full, Gregory dug his dusty
Hessians into the brittle grass, leaned back on his elbows and
allowed the sun to warm the length of him.

"You know, Blanks, I've been thinking about
your problem," Glee began. "Your father was a positive ogre to
raise you to vast expectations, then withdraw them once you've had
a quarter of a century to grow accustomed to them."

"My thoughts exactly."

"You could never manage as your brother
does. You must have a valet and tailoring by Weston. You must have
the purse to allow the deep play you enjoy so dearly, and the
fencing and boxing with the best masters and the finest mounts
Tattersall's has to offer." She placed her willowy hands on her
waist. "You simply must get married."

He grinned and let out a harrumph. "That
would be as detestable to me as being poor."

Her face grew serious. "Of course, you're
right, but I wasn't thinking of a real marriage. I think you should
have a marriage in name only. You'd be free to cavort as you always
have. In fact, I've given it considerable thought, and I've decided
we should suit each other's needs admirably."

He choked and jerked up, casting a
suspicious glance at Glee. "We?"

Her lovely eyes round, she nodded. "I am
precisely what you need, Gregory Blankenship."

"Thank you for your generous offer, but I
must refuse. I have no desire to marry—even to one as
perfect
for my situation as you."

"Now don't be so hasty," she said, lifting
her chin petulantly. "You don't want a real wife, and I don't want
a real husband. However, I should like excessively to be a married
woman, especially to a man of means. I could have my own house in
Bath—well, it would actually be our house—and I could buy new gowns
whenever I wanted. I could even keep a carriage."

He started to protest, but she shooed him to
silence.

"Just think, Blanks, we've known each other
forever. I find nothing at all offensive in you, and I hope you
will be able to tolerate me."

He merely nodded as he listened to her
lunacy. After all, he couldn't hurt the girl's feelings.

She babbled on. "Since I discovered that I
could not seem to fall in love, I have determined it is far better
to unite myself to someone whom I enjoy being with. And I've always
loved being with you." She stopped long enough to take a breath.
"So there you have it."

Good lord, she was serious
! He saw it
in the earnestness of her lovely face. He would have to let her
down with consideration. "It's most kind of you to sacrifice
yourself for me, but I cannot allow it," he said. "You deserve a
man who will cherish you as George cherishes Diana."

"Fie," she said. "I'd far rather link my
life to one who enjoys a rollicking good time, not a stuffed shirt
like George has become. We'd have great fun, Blanks, and I promise
not to tie you down."

He began to pick up the leavings of their
lunch, avoiding contact with her spectacular eyes. "You have done
me a great honor, Miss Pembroke, but, nonetheless, I must
decline."

Now he allowed himself a glimpse into her
face. Her eyes moistened. Poor lass, she really had been serious.
Marrying him had actually appealed to her. He hated like the devil
to hurt her. Tossing aside his bundle, he scooted to her side and
took her slender hand into his brown one. Like the rich texture of
the thick velvet she wore, Glee was softness and beauty and sweet
smells of rose petals.

She swallowed hard and began to speak, her
voice quivering. "'Twould be a marriage in name only. You could. .
." she gulped, "keep your mistresses."

He muttered a curse under his breath and let
go of her hand. "You're not supposed to know of such things."

She looked up at him, her face sorrowful. "I
am a woman."

"Precisely why I cannot marry you. I don't
want a wife, and I don't want children. To deny you the love of a
husband and the satisfaction of bearing fat babes would be a
heinous offense."

She sat up straight and ran her fingers
through her wind-blown curls.
He doesn't want children.
How
very odd. "I knew you didn't want a wife, but no children?"

His dark eyes piercing into hers, he
nodded.

"I thought all men wanted an heir."

"Not me. Never have."

It had not occurred to Glee that Blanks did
not want children. She had never imagined she would not give birth
to a bevy of babes. Now, she must rethink what it was she wanted
from life. Blanks, most assuredly. But no babes? If that was the
only way she could have him, she might have to settle for being
childless, but Glee had every confidence she could change Blanks's
ideas on the subject once they were married. The trick was to get
him to marry her.

She smiled and spoke lightly. "Diana's
birthing was unmistakably the most horrid experience of my life. I
daresay I'll not be disappointed to be spared such torture."

She had been unable to look him in the eye
as she spoke, for she had lied when she said she did not want
children. Actually, she hadn't lied. She had not said she didn't
want children; she said she didn't crave the birthing
experience.

Glee stood up and tried to be flippant. "If
you won't marry me, I'll have to throw myself away on someone
else." Then she strode to untie her horse.

He got to his feet, cursing under his
breath. He silently gave her a leg up, then mounted his own bay.
They rode back through the glen, and he cleared her way through the
thicket, but they did not speak.

Even when they rode up to the manor house,
and a footman took charge of their mounts, no words passed between
them.

* * *

During the afternoon, Gregory hunted with
George, and they nearly rekindled their former intimacy. They
wagered on whether it would take twelve minutes or fifteen to reach
the wood. They wagered on which of the two would be the first to
bag a dove. They wagered on which dove would weigh the most. And
they tipped a flask of Scotch whiskey to ward off the gathering
chill.

Despite the ease with which the two men
conversed on trivialities, Gregory could not apprise George of his
sister's unusual offer.
'Twould be a marriage in name
only
...It was a proposal which dominated Gregory's every
thought.

I'll have to throw myself away on someone
else
kept ringing in his ear like a death knell.

Chapter 4

When she heard the servants stirring early
the next morning, Glee rose from her rumpled bed and began to dress
herself. After she pulled her soft muslin dress over her head, she
shot a glance into her looking glass. Though the chamber was dimly
lit at this early hour, she saw well enough to plunge into a foul
temper. Lack of sleep embedded itself on her face. Her last hope of
ensnaring Blanks had been to dazzle him with her beauty today. She
stomped her bare foot, cursing the fact she had lain awake all
night and cursing the man who caused her lack of sleep.

She flung herself on the cushioned bench
before her Venetian dressing table and propped her face on her
fists, her thoughts once more flitting to Blanks. Throughout the
wee hours of the morning, lying in the darkness of her room, Glee
had planned to the last detail what she would wear this morning and
how Patty would arrange her hair. Now, with the puffiness around
her eyes, Glee would never attract Blanks.

During the night, each tick from the ormolu
clock on her mantel had painfully reminded her that Blanks would be
leaving today. With each passing second, he slipped further from
her grasp. He would return to Bath, her clever plot to ensnare him
a failure.

She had but a few hours in which to capture
him before he departed, and she meant to do everything in her power
to convince him to marry her. She did not regret any of her
actions, only their failure. Was there something else she could
have done or said that might have persuaded him to marry her? She
had turned this question over and over in her mind, but no better
plan presented itself.

Glee was sliding on her kid slippers when
Patty quietly entered her chamber. "My, but you're up early, Miss
Glee." She walked to her mistress's dressing table and took up
Glee's brush. "Is it because Mr. Blankenship leaves today?"

Glee nodded solemnly, then shot a hopeful
look at her abigail. "Patty, it's imperative that you fashion my
hair lovelier than you've ever done before. This is my last hope
with Mr. Blankenship. I have a terrible feeling he will find
someone else when he returns to Bath."