Page 16

" S it down," James suggested, walking with Victoria into the sitting room.

She was still shaking. He had his hands on her shoulders and he could feel it. He didn't blame her a bit. The things Lord Blackburn had been saying… James was shocked. He couldn't believe he had invited that man into his home.

Victoria sank into a chair, her eyes fixed on the fire.

"I'm so sorry about all of that," James said, sinking into a chair opposite her. He did his best to meet her gaze, but she didn't look away from the fire. "I wish I had never invited him here. I had no idea he would behave in such horrible manner."

Victoria shook her head slowly and said nothing.

An unwelcome thought occurred to James. "He didn't try anything, did he? He didn't put his hands on you while I was out of the room? I thought it was safe to leave the two of you on your own… I was sure one of the footmen would step in if something untoward was happening."

"No," Victoria murmured, her voice low and hoarse. "He didn't do anything."

That was a relief. But even so, it was clear that Victoria was deeply upset over what had happened.

James leaned toward her. "You won't have to see him again," he assured her.

"He will never be invited here again. I won't be pursuing any sort of marriage with him. He has proven himself deeply unworthy."

Victoria looked up slowly. She made eye contact with James only briefly before looking down again.

"I wouldn't have believed that you had any standards at all when it came to who I should marry," she whispered.

"I thought the most important thing was simply to find me a husband, regardless of who he was. "

James was staggered. "You thought I would marry you to someone like that?"

"You were going to," Victoria pointed out. "If he hadn't revealed himself today the way he did, you would still be considering him for me."

"I would never have considered him once I saw him for what he was," James said firmly. "You must have no doubt of that."

Victoria said nothing.

"You did doubt it," James realized.

"I thought it didn't matter to you," Victoria replied.

"Everything you've said to me since we met has been all about how important it is to you that I marry as quickly as possible.

You seem to believe it's the only way to restore my reputation.

And the restoration of my reputation is what matters most to you.

You say that your business practices have been tainted by the gossip about me, and that the only way you can recover is by linking me to another gentleman. "

She was still trembling. James could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. This had been more upsetting for her than he had realized. He rose to his feet, crossed the small space between them, and sat carefully down on the sofa beside her.

He wasn't sure what to do — how to handle the moment and make her feel better — so after a moment he reached out and gingerly put an arm around her shoulders.

He half expected her to pull away, but to his surprise, she leaned into him instead.

Her shoulders shook slightly, and he understood that she was crying.

James felt awful. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I should have seen what kind of man he was. I should've taken the time to learn more about him before inviting him back here. I should never have promised him anything without speaking to you first."

Victoria looked up at him. "I didn't think you cared what I thought," she said.

"I care," James told her, and realized that it was true.

"I understand that I haven't acted as if I cared.

I do believe I know what's best for you, but I certainly don't want you to be unhappy, and I would never want to abandon you with a man who was abusive or unkind.

I shouldn't have left you on your own with him tonight.

I should have realized that would be unsafe — or, at the very least, that it would have the potential to make you uncomfortable.

That will never happen again. I will never leave you alone with any man. At least, not until you are married."

Victoria laughed through her tears. "Aren't those just empty words? What if the man I marry is dreadful?"

James pondered the question briefly. It was the kind of thing he would have ignored until now, written off as idle complaining.

But after tonight's events, he could see that she had a valid point.

He had thought he had found a promising match for her and he had nearly made a dreadful mistake.

Any young lady would be anxious after such an event.

"What about this," he suggested. "What if we changed the terms of our arrangement?"

Victoria frowned. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean," she admitted. "What terms are you referring to?"

"We agreed that you needed to marry, and that I would be responsible for finding you a husband," James said. "Is that not correct?"

"I wouldn't say that we had agreed on that," Victoria said. "My recollection is that you insisted on it, not that it was an agreement."

"Well, regardless," James said, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the knowledge that she was correct, "what of a different arrangement?"

"What kind of arrangement?" Victoria asked. "Do you mean to suggest that I wouldn't have to marry?"

"I still think you ought to marry," James replied. "But what if I said you could choose the gentleman for yourself? Would that make it more tolerable?"

"You're not afraid that if you allow me to choose, I won't choose anyone at all?" Victoria asked him. "You know I haven't meant to marry. You know that if you hadn't come into my life I would never have attempted it. What makes you think I will make any choice at all?"

"That's part of our deal," James said. "That's part of the deal I'm trying to make with you right now.

If you agree to this, you are agreeing to do all you can to find yourself a husband by the end of the season.

You will agree to stop resisting, to stop being stubborn and putting up a fight.

And in exchange, I will let you have the final say when it comes to the matter of who you marry.

I will not make an arrangement for you, and I will not force you into a marriage with any gentlemen against your will. "

"You would really do this?" Victoria asked, looking up at him.

She still had tears in her eyes, and James noticed that his arm was still around her.

He felt no urge to remove it. It made him feel powerful to hold her close like this, to provide her with comfort after what had happened.

It made him feel important and needed, and it also alleviated some of the guilt he felt over bringing the terrible Lord Blackburn into their lives.

"I will agree if you will agree," he told Victoria.

"Nothing has been gained by the two of us fighting each other at every turn.

Perhaps we will be more useful to one another as allies.

If we can agree to help one another instead of pushing against one another, we can get you married all the more easily, and to someone who is worthy of you.

Will you agree to this new arrangement?"

"I will," Victoria said.

James thought that perhaps he was being foolish to believe her.

After all, she had done so much to vex him in the short time they had known one another.

And yet, even acknowledging that, he couldn't help but feel that this time she was telling the truth.

There was something very sincere in her eyes as she looked at him, and it made him feel as if he was doing the right thing by trusting her.

As he had in the past, he found himself feeling sudden pang of sadness at the thought of what the future would hold for the two of them.

He realized he would miss her antics. He would miss wondering what the next day would bring.

Even though he knew it was for both of their own good that she had agreed to cooperate, he had to admit that he'd enjoyed watching to see the next way she would try to thwart him.

Now that was at an end. And soon enough, she would be married and leaving the house.

He supposed he would see her again from time to time, at balls and other affairs, but she would no longer be a presence in his everyday life before long.

It was hard to believe, as he held her in his arms, that everything between them was temporary — that it was all coming to an end already.

It was hard to believe that he was actually going to miss it when it was all over. How had things reached this point? He had never seen it coming.

Victoria sat up straight pulling free from his arms, pulled out a handkerchief, and dabbed at her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, tucking the handkerchief away. "You'll have to forgive me for losing control like that. It was just that the things he said were very upsetting to me."

"You don't need to apologize for that," James told her.

"What he said was upsetting. I would wonder about you if you hadn't been upset by it.

Nothing that happened was your fault. He was out of line and the way he spoke to you, and I am to blame for having left him alone with you.

You did nothing wrong and you have nothing to apologize for. "

Victoria gave him a weak smile and nodded to show that she understood what he was saying. "Thank you," she said. "It truly means a lot to me to hear you say that. I'm so grateful to know that I have someone on my side."

"I'm sorry you've doubted that," James said.

"In all actuality, I have to admit that I wasn't truly on your side before now.

You were right when you said that what I cared about most was handing off responsibility for you to someone else.

I didn't believe I could restore your reputation on my own — I still don't know if I can do that. "

"You know that I don't need you to do that, don't you?" Victoria asked him. "I know that's something you want. I know my reputation is of vital importance to you. But to me…"

"I know," James said. "You've allowed yourself to believe that your reputation doesn't matter to you.

You've come to the conclusion that what people think of you is unimportant.

I think you believe that because you've decided that you don't have the power to make a difference in the things they think and the things they say.

But I don't think that's true, Victoria.

Just think about it: in the short time you and I have known one another you have made me see you for who you truly are.

If I can see it, everyone else can see it too. "

Victoria pressed her lips together, and James could see that she was unsure. But eventually, she nodded.

Come what may, they had become a team tonight, and they would now work toward a common goal.

The only trouble was, James could no longer say it was a goal he wholeheartedly wanted to reach.