Page 35 of Road Trip With a Rogue (Her Majesty’s Rebels #3)
She huffed out a breath. “We say we were engaged, like you told Letty, but that I changed my mind when we got to Gretna. That’s not much better than the other two options, really, except that people might give me the benefit of the doubt and think I’m still a virgin, despite being unchaperoned with you for several days. ”
“You’re clutching at straws. Society gives women far less leeway than men. You’ll still be seen as soiled goods. But you might still find a man willing to overlook the fact that you’re not a virgin and marry you.”
“I’m not interested, if it still affects my friends and my business.” Daisy took another sip of her coffee. Her nerves were jittery, her thoughts spinning with the ramifications of every possibility.
“Can’t we just agree that marrying me is your best option?” Vaughan said irritably. “If we say we were married at Gretna, there’ll be a bit of scandal, but people will forgive it as the impetuosity of two people in love.”
“Again, straining the bounds of credibility. And we aren’t married,” Daisy said stubbornly. “Are you saying we should pretend that we are?”
“No. How would that work? If we say we’re married, you’ll have to come and live with me at Cranford House. We’ll have to act as man and wife in public.”
“I could do that without actually marrying you,” Daisy said, just to be pedantic.
“No, you couldn’t. Your father is going to demand proof of a wedding. He’ll want to see a copy of the register, and he’ll expect to discuss settlements and negotiate a dowry.”
Daisy bit her lip. He was right, damn it. There was no way she could lie about something so monumental to her father. The truth would come out.
Vaughan placed his cup carefully back into its saucer. “We have to get married. Properly. It’s the only solution that stops you from being an outcast and protects your business and friends. You’ll have all the social and legal benefits of being the Duchess of Cranford.”
And all the heartache of being married to a man who doesn’t love me.
“A marriage of convenience,” she said hollowly.
“Which you’re only suggesting because of what happened all those years ago, with Elaine.
You feel guilty because you didn’t save her by offering to marry her, and now you see a way to redeem yourself.
You can save my reputation by marrying me, and while that’s a very noble sentiment, I don’t want to marry someone because of a sense of duty or guilt. ”
He opened his mouth to argue, but she shook her head. “Have you ever listened to the actual marriage vows? The groom has to promise to ‘forsake all others… as long as ye both shall live.’ Do you honestly think you could be faithful to just one woman for the rest of your life?”
“Is that your only objection?” His brows lifted, as if her answer intrigued him. “That you don’t think I could be faithful?”
“That, and the fact that you don’t love me,” she said, with brutal honesty.
“Interesting.”
She started to ask what he meant by that, but it was his turn to interrupt her.
“You know, the bit I remember is the groom saying, ‘with my body I thee worship.’” His dark gaze bored into hers.
“Just so you know, Hamilton, I am more than willing to worship you with my body at any time of the day or night.” His eyes held hers.
“As many times as you like.” His lips quirked and she ignored the corresponding tug in her belly.
“As hard and as fast, or as soft and as slow as you like.”
Daisy rolled her eyes, banishing the wicked enticements he painted with his words.
“You’ve already ‘worshipped’ me, Vaughan. And as fun as it was, I’m sure the novelty will soon wear off. You’ll lose interest, and then we’ll both be trapped.”
“So you’re refusing me?”
His tone was impossible to decipher. She couldn’t tell if he was angry, frustrated, or simply relieved.
“I am. I’d rather be ruined than tie myself to a man who doesn’t love me. But I appreciate the offer.”
He poured himself a second cup of coffee, and the look on his face gave her a moment of disquiet. He didn’t look like a man who’d been granted a reprieve. He looked… calculating. Which, in her experience of Vaughan, did not bode well.
“Have you seen Violet and Perry this morning?”
He accepted the change of topic with a comical grimace.
“I have. Thankfully, it was before I’d had my breakfast, so I didn’t cast up my accounts at their nauseating display of postnuptial satisfaction.
They’ve gone for a picnic somewhere in the grounds.
We can only pray they don’t fall in the lake or get trampled to death by cows because they’re busy plaiting flowers into each other’s hair and composing sonnets. ”
Daisy bit back a smile. “Will they be coming back to London? I’d like to leave as soon as possible.”
“Yes. Violet wants to explain things to her father, and I’ve said I’d be there to back them up. If you’ll deign to travel with us, we can all leave this afternoon.”
Daisy nodded. “As long as they have their own carriage.”
“Agreed.”
“We can all stay at Wansford Hall again tomorrow night, but we’ll still have to spend tonight on the road. Will we stay at the same inn we were at before?”
The one where she’d watched him bathe.
“Yes. I’ll get you your own room. Jenny can come as your maid.”
“Yes, please. I’ll write to Tess and ask her to meet us at Wansford. She can tell us what rumors are flying round London. If the worst comes to the worst, I suppose I’ll just go and visit my mother in Italy for a few years.”
Vaughan’s eyes narrowed in displeasure. “Are you honestly saying you’d leave the country—leave your job and your life and your friends for a few years —rather than marry me?”
Daisy lifted her chin and lied through her teeth. “Absolutely.”