Page 9 of The Secret Word (Twist Upon a Regency Tale #10)

“We had a little chat. I promised to keep her secrets from my father if she kept mine from him. We are getting along well now. I should have put my foot down with her weeks ago.” She smiled at him, though he wouldn’t see it, for he had his eyes on the horses.

“I owe you my thanks for bringing to my attention how to deal with her.”

“I’m glad I could be of service.”

“Again. I have not forgotten you saved me from the Brown brothers.”

Chris shot her one of his cheerful grins. “Again, then. And whenever you need me, really. Have you thought any more about what we discussed yesterday? Do you have any further questions for me?”

Clem had thought about little else. “Why me?” she asked. “Why do you want to marry me? Is it just…”

He had put up a hand to stop her, and she would rather that he kept both his hands firmly on the reins. “It is not just your dowry. And I am not delighted at the prospect of the ongoing battle with your father to keep my soul intact and to protect you. But I think it will be worth it.”

“Protect me?” What on earth did he mean by that? Who did he think she needed to be protected from?

“Clem,” he said, and somehow the fact that he sounded exasperated made him all the more convincing.

“Clem, if we marry, if you become my wife, it will be my duty and my honor to put you at the center of my life. I haven’t seen that many successful marriages, and heaven knows my own parents’ marriage was a primer in what not to do, but I have seen enough to know that a man and a woman who want to be happy together must each put the other first. It will be my job, my privilege, and my honor to protect and defend you from any threats.

That includes your father. I will not allow him to bully or manipulate you, and I fully expect explosions over the matter. ”

The warm feeling spreading through her had to be ignored. “I shall not be your property, whatever the law says,” she warned him.

“I should hope not, except in so far as I shall be yours. In fact, it could be said I was more your property than you are mine, since you are, in effect, paying for me. Or at least for my bloodlines.”

That was certainly a different way of looking at it, but it led neatly to the next question. “Why do you want to marry for money?”

Again, he didn’t hesitate. “Money is nice to have. I could afford to marry if the lady to favor me with her hand in marriage had less money than I have myself. I am well paid for the work I do, and I have been able to save. But grateful though I am to Billy, I’d like to leave his employ, Clem.

If I married a poor woman, I could not afford to do that.

Still, I would not be contemplating this course if I had not met you.

In all truth, I like you, Clem. I think we could be good for one another. ”

He was convincing, she’d give him that. But then, by his own account, he’d been raised by one rogue after another.

Of course, he was convincing. On the other hand, none of the other suitors for her hand had bothered to court her at all.

They had all applied their efforts to wooing her father, and if they spoke to her at all it was to talk about themselves.

Since none of them had won over her father, she did not have to consider them—though who else was Father considering?

“If you left your position with Mr. O’Hara, what would you do, Chris?

Do you contemplate a life of leisure?” She did her best to keep her feelings about such a life out of her voice.

Gambling, the endless social round, womanizing, foolish pursuits involving horses, overindulgence in alcohol and overspending on clothing.

Those were the entertainments of the gentlemen she knew.

“I can hear your sneer, you know,” Chris said.

“You despise the kinds of gentlemen who have made Billy rich, and so do I.

No, I cannot see myself as a gentleman of leisure, though I doubt successful gentlemen have as much leisure as we think, since they have investments to manage and estates to run.

“But those are not for me. I have an idea—a dream, if you will. But we are already within sight of the gate. Can we leave discussion of that for tomorrow? I’d like to talk about your lady lessons. I have an idea about what sort of worm your father has in his brain box. May I tell you?”

A worm in his brain box . Clem, who had begun to bristle at the mere thought that Chris could teach her how to be a lady, giggled.

“Do tell,” she said, wondering if she really wanted to know.

“Your father, I am thinking, is not acquainted with many ladies of the ton, and so his opinion of ladylike behavior is formed from impressions he gained from others. He has paid for you to be raised as a lady—by which he means he has paid for a governess, I assume?”

“A series of them, and music teachers, dance tutors, painting instructors. I have mastered all the lessons I had a scrap of talent at, but please do not ask me to sing.”

One of Clem’s music teachers had suggested voice training, but the voice teacher resigned after two lessons, telling her father she was musical enough, as evidenced by her piano playing, but she had the voice of a crow, and should on no account be permitted to sing in public.

“So, you were as well-prepared for your come out as any other damsel, but I’m guessing that your father cannot attend events with you, and that he doesn’t know any suitable lady, so he hired one. Am I right so far?”

“Yes, Mrs. Bellowes. She was recommended by another mine owner, whose daughter she sponsored. The daughter married a baron.”

“And did the daughter meet the baron through Mrs. Bellowes? I am guessing not. I believe she has few contacts in the circles your father wants you to enter, and has been unable to attract invitations to the premier events or to introduce you to suitable gentlemen. I surmise she has told your father that her failure to find you a husband is your fault.”

Clem jaw had dropped open again. How had she not realized that?

“You are right. Now that you’ve pointed it out, it’s obvious to me.

The lords and ladies the newspapers write about are never at the events I attend, and I have never been to any of the events that appear in the newspapers.

She is the one who says I am not ladylike! ”

“That is my guess,” Chris said. “Also, those suitors your father has negotiated with—I am assuming there are some?” At her nod, he continued. “I imagine they were critical of you as a negotiating tactic. The swine. ‘Plain’ and ‘no lady’.” He snorted. “You! They were either lying or blind.”

He sounded aggrieved, and Clem warmed to him still further. If this was all a strategy on his part, she would never forgive him.

“We are nearly back to Bagshaw, Clem. Please note that I have not overturned you! Will you come out with me tomorrow?”

“I will, Chris.”

He had been keeping his eyes fixed religiously on the horses, but at that, he turned to beam another smile at her. As he did, a dog rushed out of a small stand of shrubs and ran across almost under the horses’ hooves. Naturally, they startled.

In a blink, Chris had his attention back on them again, his hands firm on the reins, his voice, assuring the beasts in a calm soothing tone.

In a moment, he had them back under control. They shook their heads and snorted but trotted the last twenty yards to where Mr. Bagshaw waited as if nothing had happened.

“Well done, Satterthwaite,” he called. “Miss Wright, I told you, you would be safe.”

Would Chris keep Clem safe? She was increasingly convinced she could rely on him physically, but could she trust him with her heart?