To Marry an Heiress by Lorraine Heath

with the memories of walking across the fields with his father. “Huntingdon has seen better days. The manor is grand, the land beautiful. I have two thousand acres. The tenants pay a pound per acre yearly, but few tenants are left to work the fields. Most have moved to the cities in search of employment in the various industries, work which will put more money in their pockets. The old life must give way to the new, I suppose. Therefore much of the land lies fallow. I want to restore Huntingdon to its former grandeur and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that end.”
    “Except work.”
    He clenched his jaw. How did he explain to someone who came from a new nation what it was to have his roots buried in centuries of history?
    “Huntingdon defines who I am, who my familyhas been. Certain expectations abound, which I’m determined to follow.”
    “The easy way is not always the best way.”
    “Believe me, Miss Pierce, no aspect of this predicament is remotely easy for me.”
    She turned away, and anger roiled through him. He’d come close to baring his soul, and for what? He needed neither her respect nor her kind regard. He only required her father’s money to put to rights what his father had torn asunder.
    “I’ll agree to marry you but only on one condition,” she said quietly before turning to face him.
    Devon cursed the stars. Weren’t enough conditions attached to this marriage? “What would your solitary condition entail, Miss Pierce?”
    She tilted her chin up ever so slightly. “You must never lie to me. You must never tell me I am beautiful when I am not. You must never tell me you love me when you cannot.”
    “Never is a long time, Miss Pierce.”
    “So is until death do us part, my lord.”
    “Indeed it is. I accept your condition.”
    She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then she lifted her chin up as though about to challenge him once again. “I assume my father isn’t going to part with his money until we’re married. How soon do you wish to wed?”
    No lies, she’d said. Well, then, he’d give her no lies. “The sooner the better.”
    “When would sooner be?”
    “I can obtain a special license. We could be married by the end of the week. There will of course be talk.”
    “It’ll be scandalous, won’t it?” She gave him a small smile. He knew it was a trick of the moonlight and that moonbeams were gentle, but for a moment she almost appeared a vision of loveliness. “I’ve never had my name associated with a scandal before. I think it might be quite fun.”
    Quite fun? Dear Lord, but he’d spent his life ensuring no scandals were associated with him. Now a hasty marriage to a foreigner would taint his efforts.
    “May I call on you the day after tomorrow to apprise you of my success in obtaining our license?” he asked.
    “The day after tomorrow will be fine.”
    She held out her small hand, and he wrapped his larger one around it, absorbing the slight tremors in hers. Theirs was a business arrangement. He needed financing. She desired a child and the respectability his title offered. A business arrangement was agreed upon with a handshake.
    And if her hand hadn’t been trembling, that’s all he would have given her, all he’d planned to give her. Instead he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a light kiss against her gloved fingertips. “Until the day after tomorrow, Miss Pierce.”
    He released her hand and began to walk away.
    “My lord?”
    He turned back, and she was once again watching the lawn. “Sometimes things look different in themorning. I’ll understand if you have a change of heart and don’t call on me.”
    “I’ll be there,” he vowed quietly.
     
    With his velvet promise lingering on the slight breeze, Georgina watched the shadows play over the lawn while clouds waltzed across the moon.
    Originally she had not intended to accept his offer. In truth she had not even planned to encourage his suit with conversation. And yet she’d