her gaze steady. As if she had rehearsed this speech. “They have been for some time. My grandmother insisted on very costly treatments for my mother, private practitioners, trips to spas and institutions throughout Europe. The charges drained my father’s funds.”
She took a breath and continued. “My mathematics career has not been lucrative in terms of income. And my grandmother’s husband left her with little. So in recent years we have existed in a state of flux with regard to our finances. Lately, the situation has been deteriorating.”
Alexander frowned. “And that is why you refused my proposal?”
“Yes.”
“That makes no sense.”
“My lord, you have proven yourself to be a man of… of generous spirit, and I knew that if we married, I would have to reveal our financial difficulties. Just as I knew you would offer whatever assistance you could. And I… I did not wish for you to think I was marrying you for your money. That is why I declined your initial proposal.”
She paused, lifting her chin, a faint relief appearing in her eyes as if convinced her explanation was more than adequate.
For Alexander, however, it was not even passable. His brain worked to recall their conversation on the terrace at Floreston Manor.
“Then why did you tell me you would never marry anyone?” he asked.
“Because my grandmother would not allow a union in which my family did not gain financially,” Lydia said. “And I did not wish to impose upon any man in such a manner.”
“So what has changed now?”
“As I said, I accept your proposal so that we both might avoid scandal. And I must rely on your… belief in me when I tell you that my acceptance is quite honestly not an effort to better my family’s financial situation or social ranking.”
“Though both of those will be an inevitable consequence of our union.”
“And welcomed by my grandmother, I must confess.”
“But not by you.”
She didn’t respond. Apprehension plagued Alexander. Lydia’s reasoning made intellectual sense—he knew well that her pride would never allow her to reveal her family’s weakness—but there was more to it. Something that festered behind her discourse and explanations. Something she wasn’t telling him.
He pushed against the door away from her, putting half the room’s length between them—though for her sake or his own, he didn’t know. After dragging a hand through his hair, he turned back to face her.
She hadn’t moved, a rigid, quiet bird with eyes that flashed all the colors of the sea, a mind as complex as celestial navigation, and an unbridled sensuality that would make him ache with desire for the rest of his life.
“Very well,” he said. “We will be married before the month is over.”
“You’ve made a good match.”
Alexander turned to find Talia beside him, looking like a combination of sea and sky in a dark blue dress with pearls woven through her hair. He searched her face for some hint of irony, of smugness, but there was only approval. Acceptance.
He followed her gaze to where Lydia sat with Jane at a table beside the window. Jane was poring over the eight-volume collection of John Curtis’s British Entomology he’d given her as a gift after the announcement of the engagement.
“Not a match I expected when I first met her,” he admitted.
“But one you wanted.” It was a statement, not a question. “Sebastian likes her a great deal. So does Papa. I know Darius and Nicholas will too.”
“And you?” Alexander asked.
Talia was quiet for a moment, and in that space of time, a burn of fear lit in Alexander. Her response meant more than he’d anticipated.
“I would wish no other woman for you.” Talia rested her hand on his arm. “You could not do better than Lydia. I know our mother would agree.”
An image of Lady Rushton appeared in Alexander’s mind, followed by a wave of sorrow beneath his heart that almost undid him. He’d spent so long being angry with his mother that he hadn’t realized her desertion and his parents’ divorce had caused him deep sadness. This grief, the sense of loss, must be what made Talia hurt so deeply. What made her so brittle.
He turned to his sister, but she moved away, ducking her head as she hurried back to Rushton’s side. Alexander turned his gaze to Lydia.
Although unease still simmered in him over Lydia’s reason for changing her mind, and although her acceptance hadn’t been as he would have wished, he was thankful for it. He wanted to marry her. He knew to his soul they