When Love Is Enough Read Online Free PDF

you here that my manners escaped me."
    Her cheeks warmed. It had been so long since anyone had noticed how she looked. It had been even longer that she’d cared. "Thank you."
    "If I had known you were going to attend tonight, I would have asked permission to escort you." He turned his head and looked at her. "Would that have been agreeable?"
    She knew his question included more than escorting her here tonight. It meant being her escort from here on. She took a deep breath and smiled.
    "I would have been delighted."
    "I’m glad." The marquess rose. "I don’t know if anyone told you, but I came to see you shortly before your father’s accident. I’d just discovered your father and mine had planned our futures. I thought it might be prudent to see if their plans met with your approval."
    "I appreciate your concern."
    The marquess paced a small area in front of her. "I wanted you to know that I had no part in their matchmaking."
    She sensed the marquess’s unease. "Would you have rejected the arrangement if you had known about it?"
    He stopped and looked at her. "I would have made sure you were open to such an arrangement before any details were discussed. As I remember, all of Society thought there would be a match between you and Talbot. Even your brothers seemed certain there would."
    "Well, they were wrong."
    "May I ask what happened?"
    "That was a long time ago. I’ve forgotten."
    Culbertson arched his brows. "Have you?"
    Lydia saw the open question on his face. He deserved an explanation. "Anything that might have been between Captain Talbot and myself was finished the day he left."
    "Talbot’s a major now. Did you know?"
    Her heart tripped. "If I did, I’d forgotten. Thankfully, my father saw Major Talbot’s true nature and exposed him. I’m grateful to have escaped marriage to him before it was too late."
    Culbertson clasped his hands behind his back. "Then I see no reason to avoid pursuing our relationship. My father is quite insistent on a match between us, and I certainly have no objections. You are beautiful beyond measure and you come from a very prestigious family. Your brother, Lord Etherington, has a reputation for being an astute man of business with a keen intelligence. The improvements he’s made to the Landwell holdings in the last year are remarkable."
    Lydia realized she hadn’t paid the slightest attention to the condition of their estates. Before her father’s accident, she’d thought they might be in financial difficulties, but since money was never a topic that was discussed, she had no way of actually knowing.
    "And your younger brother," Culbertson continued, "is already a captain in Her Majesty’s Army. He’s received acclaims too numerous to mention. Is it any wonder, then, that only the bravest of men would dare to compete for the sister of not one, but two brothers with such amazing attributes? Not to mention the fact that your name was closely linked with Major Gabriel Talbot’s. The standards he set are quite daunting."
    "I wouldn’t know," Lydia interrupted with a little more sarcasm than necessary.
    She didn’t want to hear of Gabriel’s bravery, or his accomplishments. She didn’t want to hear anything that would remind her of him. She only wanted to get on with her life. A life that would never include him again.
    "You haven’t heard the tales of his heroism?"
    "I’m hardly interested in anything Major Talbot does." She lifted her gaze and stared at Culbertson. "You sound as if you’re intimidated by the major. You needn’t be."
    "I’m not intimidated. Perhaps a little in awe, though."
    "In awe?"
    "Who wouldn’t be?" He sat down beside her again. "The major is already rumored to have saved hundreds of lives. His valor on the battlefield is renowned, as if he defies death with the risks he takes. Who wouldn’t wish to be half so brave?"
    "Then you wish to be part of the military?"
    He sighed. "Taking a post in the military was never an option for me. I’m the only