Love With the Proper Husband by Victoria Alexander

be asked rather than issued a command.
    “Miss Townsend?”
    “I fear you have me at a disadvantage, my lord.” She fixed him with a steady stare, the kind she’d perfected to intimidate children even if it had never especially worked. “I cannot be certain from your words but is this a proposal of marriage?”
    “A proposal?” Confusion colored his face, then his expression cleared. “Of course. How could I have been so thoughtless? You would expect that. Any woman would, regardless of the circumstances. I simply assumed…Well, it scarcely matters now, I suppose, but I do apologize. Allow me to start over.”
    He took her hands in his and looked slightly ill at ease. “I suppose I didn’t think of it because, well, I am not especially polished at this sort of thing. I have never been in this position before. This is my first offer of marriage.”
    “How delightful to know you do not suggest marriage to every stranger you bump into.”
    “Indeed I do not.” His eyes twinkled with amusement. “My dear Miss Townsend.” He cleared his throat and met her gaze. “Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
    His eyes were the darkest shade of green, cool and inviting like the depths of an endless garden pool, and for the briefest fraction of a moment, Gwen wanted nothing more than to fall into the promise they offered. Nothing more than to stare into those eyes forever. An odd fluttering settled in her stomach, as unsettling as the feel of his warm fingers wrapped around hers.
    “Thank you.” She drew a deep breath and pulled her hands from his. “But I must regretfully decline.”
    “Decline?” He stared as if she were speaking in a foreign tongue. “What do mean, decline?”
    “I mean”—she clasped her hands together primly—“unless I am mistaken about the definition of the word, what I mean is, well, no.”
    “No?”
    “No.” She cast him her most pleasant smile. “But I do appreciate the offer.”
    “You may well appreciate it, Miss Townsend, but perhaps you do not fully understand it.” His eyes narrowed, and a shiver of apprehension skated down her spine. Between his intense expression and the way he towered over her, he appeared just a bit dangerous and surprisingly more attractive. “I am not proposing an illicit arrangement, nor am I suggesting some temporary liaison. I am offering you my name, my title, my fortune, and my property. In truth, I am offering you a future.”
    “Why?” she said without thinking.
    “Because of the arrangement between our fathers, that’s why. Promises were made and should be kept. My father gave his word, and I have no recourse but to honor and abide by it.”
    “How very flattering.” Her tone was dry.
    “Obviously I did not phrase that well. It seems I am not phrasing much of anything well today.” He drew a deep breath. “I wish to abide by it. Very much so.”
    “Really? You wish to wed a woman you don’t know? How unusual.”
    He ignored her. “Nonetheless—”
    “Your sense of honor is impressive, my lord. But regardless of your feelings, I feel under no obligation to abide by an agreement that was made without my consent. However, I do applaud your willingness to do so.” She smiled dismissively. “Now then, you may consider your responsibility to your father and mine discharged, and you may resume your life without guilt. Good day.”
    Gwen nodded and started toward the door, at once relieved and a bit deflated. Not that she wanted to marry him, of course. She’d never even met the man. Still, aside from that guilt-spurred request from Albert, she’d never had an offer of marriage before either and suspected she would never have another. Besides, in spite of his arrogance, the earl was rather more pleasant, in manner and appearance, than she’d anticipated. And not at all what she’d expected in a man who could not find his own bride.
    She reached the door and turned. He stood exactly where she had left him.
    “My