Never Marry a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath Page B

unbelievable as the one I had with him earlier? Interesting, how he broke the news to me before he told you.”
    â€œI swear to you, Kit, I did not know he was going to arrange a marriage between me and Clarisse.”
    Kit scoffed. “For the good of Ravenleigh…or some such. I am having some success at forgetting his exact wording.” He sipped the brandy.
    â€œHer father would not allow her to marry a man who is not titled.”
    Kit grinned crookedly. “Don’t suppose you’d do me the great service of dying?”
    Christopher sat in the chair beside him, planted his elbows on his thighs, and leaned forward, his face incredibly serious. “If she does not marry me, she will go to someone else. She can never be yours.”
    â€œYou make her sound like a mare on a bloody bidding block.”
    â€œShe has been raised expecting to marry a man with a title. She deserves one.”
    â€œShe deserves love.”
    â€œAs my wife, she will have that…in abundance.”
    Dumbfounded Kit stared at his brother. “You love her?”
    â€œYou attend so few balls, Kit. In the beginning, even though I believed your hopes unrealistic, knowing how you felt about her, I was merely trying to ensure that no one else captured her fancy—”
    â€œDoes she love you?”
    â€œI believe she has a fondness for me. I was not actively pursuing her—or anyone else, for that matter—which is the reason Father took the action that he did. He grew impatient waiting on me to choose a wife.”
    â€œBloody hell, Christopher.” He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “I knew I could never have her. What has a second son to offer any woman of distinction?” He opened his eyes and met and held his brother’s gaze. “Give me your solemn vow that if she is not in favor of the match, you’ll find a way to get out of the marriage that will not cause gossip.”
    â€œI swear it.”
    Â 
    A promise his brother had never had to fulfill, and that knowledge had hurt even more.
    Kit could not pinpoint the exact moment when he’d become aware of his unhappiness, but it seemed as though it had always hovered nearby. Never having the ability to meet his father’s expectations had not helped, nor had loving his brother but coveting his acquisitions. He wondered if he’d ever been truly happy. He certainly was unhappy now. If he did not marry Ashton, nothing would change. If he did, still nothing would change. He would continue to wallow in a past he could not alter, but she might know another moment of joy.
    David was right. Her dream was an incredibly small request. It would not change Kit’s life, but it might ease Ashton’s dying.
    He strode from his office into the night, leaving his common sense locked behind iron bars.
    He neared the boardinghouse. Light shone from one lone window, and within its glow he saw the silhouette of a woman gazing at the stars. He wondered if she was making a wish.
    She sought no pity for her condition but seemed intent on appreciating each moment that remained. Perhaps through her he could again learn to appreciate what life had given him, instead of longing for what it had denied him.
    He leapt onto the porch, grabbed the beam, and hoisted his way up to the top of the eves. Bracing her hands on the sill, she leaned out the window.
    â€œMr. Montgomery, what are you doing?” she asked, concern clearly etched in her voice.
    â€œComing to see you, Miss Robertson.”
    â€œAre you insane? You could break your neck.”
    â€œIt would be no loss, I assure you.” Balancing precariously, he cautiously made his way across the slanted roof over the porch until he reached the area that was even with her window. He held out his hand. “Come and join me.”
    Her eyes became as round as the moon. “And risk breaking my neck?”
    â€œI swear to you that I will not let you