make her his wife. More guilt knifed through her. Of course, she had no wish for Decker to be forced into an unwanted situation either.
But if Julian was hell-bent upon forcing her into marriage, there was no other man she would prefer.
She cleared her throat. “You cannot force me into marriage, you know.”
“Yes I bloody well can force you to do what is right,” Julian said, his voice vibrating with fury.
Jo would have offered further argument, but the carriage came to a halt.
“This discussion is not at an end,” her brother warned her.
“I dare say it is not,” she agreed.
Still, there had to be a better solution.
She just had to find it.
Chapter Ten
Decker’s headache did not show any sign of lessening the next afternoon as he waited in the foyer of the Earl of Ravenscroft’s townhome.
“I regret to inform you that his lordship is not at home,” the butler announced with staid dignity.
That old bloody trick.
Decker shook his head slowly. “Kindly convey to his lordship that I will not leave without an audience.”
Not that he wanted to have this particular audience, mind you.
Not long ago, Decker would have wagered his entire fortune and every last one of his fucking teeth that he would never be in the position where he currently found himself unhappily mired: calling upon a lady’s guardian to ask for her hand in marriage.
Until last night, he would have sworn it would never happen. Marriage was not for him, not since his long-ago folly with Nora. He had never wanted a wife since. By God, he certainly did not want mutts of his own. The very notion of spawning, furthering the Earl of Graham’s detestable bloodline, made him want to retch. He had spent his entire life since reaching manhood doing his utmost to keep such a travesty from occurring.
The butler bowed and disappeared, his expression unreadable.
Part of Decker expected the Earl of Ravenscroft to appear, ready to go another round, fists raised. But part of him was not at all surprised he was on the receiving end of such stinging refusal to gain an audience.
He was a bastard, after all. Everyone knew that. He was a mere mister as well. And wealthy or no, he was an unashamed voluptuary, a man who lived his life as he saw fit and to hell with anyone who did not approve. No man would welcome him as the husband of his young, innocent sister.
Hell, Decker could not blame Ravenscroft.
But that did not mean he was going to allow the earl to marry Jo off to some pale-faced, small-minded lordling who was not fit to lick the soles of her boots. To the devil with born-in-the-purple aristocrats. Jo deserved better.
A sudden flurry of steps and swish of silken skirts heralded the arrival of a female rather than the butler just before Jo rounded the corner and bustled into the entrance hall.
“Decker!” she said, sotto voce. “Come with me. We have not long before Osgood returns.”
She held out her hand to him.
He had a moment to ponder the wisdom of taking her hand and going wherever she would lead him. But worry was rather a moot point after her irate brother had caught her in his lap the night before, was it not?
Decker went, wishing he was not still wearing his gloves so he could feel her bare skin against his. Also an unwise feeling, he reminded himself. Deuced poor timing. He had arrived here today on a mission.
To obtain her as his wife, not to ruin her.
Even if taking a bride would ruin him in the process.
They disappeared into a library, the door closing behind them.
“You do not have to marry me,” she blurted.
He took a moment to drink in the sight of her. She was wearing a lavender-colored day gown trimmed with blonde lace, her dark hair captured in a simple chignon at her crown. Damn, but she made his heart pound faster. He could not deny his reaction to her any more than he could deny he was going to have to make her his wife.
Mrs. Elijah Decker.
Those three words made his gut cramp. They hit him in the chest. After Nora, he had vowed he would never marry. And now, before him, stood the deliciously feminine destruction of that vow.
“I do have to marry you, Josie,” he countered, watching as her golden cat’s gaze flitted over his face, lingering on his eye.
Ah, how could he forget his welcome-to-the-family gift from his future brother-in-law?