“Tell me, what is he like as a person?” Millie asked, handing back the empty glass.
“I don’t really know.”
Millie’s eyes rounded, and a smile tugged at a corner of her lips. “You mean, you haven’t spent any time in his company?”
Taylor was suddenly interested in the pattern of the rug at her feet.
“I would have thought this strong opinion of yours, this outright rejection of the man, would be based on personal observation, along with what you’ve learned. Are you telling me it’s not?”
Taylor slipped a hand into the pocket of her dress, touching his handkerchief. Foolishly, she considered it a gift. A keepsake of the man that she dreamed of at night and ran away from by day.
“We exchanged a few polite words the day of the carriage accident.”
They’d exchanged more than a few words. He was gallant, charming, handsome. He was every woman’s dream and Taylor’s ultimate fantasy. Her father’s assertion that the duke was going to call made her the happiest of women. It was only later, when she found out that he was impoverished, that Taylor realized her mistake and started running.
“Since our first meeting,” she continued, “I’ve evaded the meetings my family has engineered. When he was invited to dinner in Edinburgh, I dashed off to the Borders. When a messenger from my father arrived to tell me they were coming and to remain where I was, I bribed the man and fled to Fife to visit your sister Phoebe. And there were other occasions that I narrowly escaped. Still, the earl has managed to keep the duke on the hook. Last word was that he hasn’t given up on me.”
Millie rested her palms on her round belly and gazed critically at Taylor.
“So, you’ve avoided him. You don’t know him, but you’re dead set against him. Do you truly believe this man has nothing to offer? There’s nothing about him that interests you?”
Millie the peacemaker. Millie the organizer. Millie, who was known for her wisdom and ability to set any wrong to right and formulate remarkable suggestions, was frowning at her.
“It’s not that Bamberg has nothing to his credit.” Taylor considered how to answer. How could she convey, without sounding like an idiot, that the mere thought of the man was enough to make her insides flutter like a country lass at her first ceilidh? That this was a nobleman with unexpected compassion. A man who was not afraid to get down in the mud to help others. A man with the face and body of a god. Even now, she still felt herself growing warm deep in her belly at the recollection of their bodies pressed against each other as he helped her after the fall. “He certainly has qualities that would make him attractive to some.”
“Such as?”
This was also the Millie she knew. Line up the positive virtues. Then line up the negative traits. Then decide.
“In terms of his looks, he is striking, I’d say. Impressively tall. His voice…well, I never knew how charming an accent could sound. And we must credit him for his integrity. He’s announced publicly his financial hardship. No woman who marries Bamberg can accuse him of having an ulterior motive for the marriage. His Grace is not searching for love. He’s looking for an economic arrangement.”
Perhaps if they’d met somewhere else, without her family present. Maybe if he’d come to her rescue when she’d been traveling alone. Or if there were no coercion by her father involved. And he had no knowledge of her wealth. Maybe then, Taylor would have been receptive to…no, excited about his pursuit. She shook her head and turned her attention back to her friend.
“A union with him does seem to offer something,” Millie said quietly. “Even if it’s not a love match.”
“Your union has far more. Your marriage has it all.”
“Mine has.” She smiled, patting her belly absently.
Since marrying, Millie and Dermot had settled here in the Highlands. And Taylor knew how important this baby was to her friend. She’d survived the trauma of surgery and recovered as quickly as one could expect after having a breast removed because of cancer. This child would be proof that she could live a normal life. No one wanted that for her more than Taylor.
“The prickly relationship you have with your family should be considered, don’t you think? They constantly chastise you for everything, regardless of all you do for them. That hasn’t changed, has it?”
Millie had witnessed some of that treatment over the years, in London and in Edinburgh and at their estate in Fife. Millie’s family presented a far different picture. Taylor never knew such affection and respect could exist between siblings…and now between their respective families. And she knew the Pennington family values could all be traced directly to Lord and Lady Aytoun.
“My father and brother will never change. How is that relevant?”
“I can’t help but think that snaring this duke might be the relief you need from your family. Imagine if you never had to live with them again. Unless there are real points against the duke. Are there?”
Not to have to hear her family’s daily complaining or be mortified by their self-interest was a dream, but there was a reality about the situation that Taylor had to face.
“Bamberg is a world traveler. An adventurer. I have no interest in marrying, only to be stuck in some cold, empty castle in Bavaria—knowing no one and having nothing to do—while he traipses about the world.”
That was important, she told herself. A point her friend could understand. Millie and Dermot were here together, building a future. One was not off in the wilds while the other sat at home doing nothing.
She strode to the window and gazed out at the golden fields spreading east. Beyond the stables, a series of fish ponds descended in the direction of the River Don, and cottages and farm buildings snuggled between heather-covered knolls. She loved it here. What would life be like in the forests of Bavaria?
Also, there was Taylor’s own insecurity about how she compared with all the women who must constantly be throwing themselves at someone with his looks, his title. She would never stand for infidelity. She didn’t want the pain that was unavoidable with such a husband. She wouldn’t be made to play the fool. No, even when she’d been young and gullible enough to hope for marriage, she’d wanted it to be for love. Not for some tawdry financial arrangement. Not for some empty title. What could Bamberg possibly offer her in return for her hand in a marriage of convenience such as this?
She looked over her shoulder at Millie. “I can’t do it. I can’t marry him.”
Her friend sat in silence for a moment. “Then say no to him, Taylor. But speak to your father first. He’s the one that started all this.”
“But that’s the problem! I can’t openly defy him. I can’t tell the duke no when my father is hounding me to say yes. He’ll make my life miserable. He’ll remind me at every opportunity how I ruined a connection for him.” She wrung her hands. “The answer lies in Bamberg backing away and withdrawing his offer. I still believe if I continue to hold him off, refuse to see him, he’ll grow tired of the chase. He’ll find another heiress. Please allow me to stay here.”
A pained look creased Millie’s face, and Taylor rushed to her, wondering if the moment had come. “Shall I run for your husband? Is it time?”
Her friend shook her head. “He…he’s coming.”
“Who is coming?”
“The Duke of Bamberg.” She took Taylor’s hand, stopping her from running to the door. “Dermot received a letter from His Grace this morning. He mentioned you by name. His message said he would need to impose on our hospitality for a short visit.”
Her father knew that she was coming to the Abbey, but Taylor never imagined he would be so indiscreet as to send the duke this way.
“When will he be here?”
Millie shrugged and shook her head. “A few weeks? A few days? Today? I honestly don’t know.”