The Six Month Marriage Read Online Free PDF

any respectable family in need of a governess —’
    ‘Kindness?’ he
interrupted.
    She looked
startled; and before she could reply he said, ‘When you know me better you will
realise that I am not in the habit of being kind. I rescued you, as you put it,
because I wanted to. And before you talk any more nonsense about becoming a
governess, you will do me the courtesy of sitting down and listening to the
proposal I have to put to you.’
    ‘That is just
it,’ said Madeline, ‘I can’t. I’m not that kind of person.’ She straightened
her shoulders and lifted her chin. ‘I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me,
but I cannot accept carte blanche .’
    His eyes lit with amusement, and he threw
back his head and laughed. ‘ Carte blanche ! My dear Miss Delaware , that is just as well, as I would
not dream of offering it.’
    ‘You wouldn’t?’ She was bewildered. ‘But . .
. ’ She remembered the feel of his lips on hers and the way his body had
pressed close to her own. A strange weakness came over her at the memory, and
before her legs could give way she sank into one of the chairs.
    ‘Ah,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘The kiss. I
behaved unforgivably. At the time I thought you were . . . something else . . .
and kissing you seemed the simplest way of convincing the drunks you were under
my protection and therefore not worth the trouble of molesting. I could have
knocked them down, of course, but it seemed preferable to solve the problem without
resorting to violence.’ He sat down opposite her in the other chair. ‘No. My
proposition is of a different kind.’
    Madeline, recovering a little, was curious
to hear what he had to say.
    He stretched his legs out in front of him
and frowned, as if finding it difficult to know where to begin. ‘You know that
if your uncle comes here I will have no authority to keep you from him –’
    He got no
further. Madeline, leaping to her feet, declared, ‘I will not go back to him.’
    She faced him
determinedly, steeling herself for the angry shouts she expected would follow.
Whenever she had stood up to her uncle, either shouts or threats had always
followed. But to her surprise, none came. Disconcerted, she warily resumed her
seat. ‘I can’t go back,’ she said more quietly. ‘If you would help me, give me
a reference, I could find myself employment as a governess, perhaps, or a
companion. I could go right away from London , somewhere my uncle will never find me. I know it is a lot
to ask but —’
    ‘That won’t be necessary,’ he said. ‘There
is another way.’ He paused, as though choosing his words carefully. ‘Miss Delaware , I am faced with a dilemma. If
you agree to help me it will solve your problem as well as my own.’
    She was
interested now. ‘Go on.’
    ‘Very well. My
dilemma concerns the subject of my inheritance.’ He paused, frowned, and then
continued. ‘My father died just over a year ago but, because of one of the
clauses in his will, I did not immediately inherit the Rochdale fortune. I will not be able to
inherit it until I have been married for six months. That in itself does not
present a problem. I fully intend to marry, but unfortunately my father did not
like my choice of bride. So that, if I marry Letitia, I will lose the fortune
for ever.’
    ‘I’m sorry,’
she said.
    He smiled; a
warm smile. It brought his face to life and she found it strangely attractive.
    ‘However,
there is a solution to the problem,’ he said. ‘If I arrange a temporary
marriage with another young lady – any young lady, so long as she is not
Letitia - and take her home to my Yorkshire estate, I can claim my fortune once I have been
married for six months. I can then have the marriage annulled and I can go on
to marry Miss Bligh with the fortune already in my hands.’
    ‘Ah! I see.’ Madeline was beginning to
understand the nature of his proposal. ‘And you want me to be that other young
lady?’
    ‘I do.’
    ‘But how will
that solve