To Save a Love - Alexa Aston Page 0,1
her sobs breaking his heart. He held her trembling body close, aching for the pain she now experienced. If it was some rake who had broken her heart, Dez would call him out. Her pain was his and he would do whatever it took to soothe her.
He didn’t say a word, just stroked her hair and her back and let her cry. His focus was to bring her comfort and she would tell him whatever was wrong in her own time. Eventually, her sobs ended and she gazed up at him, her clear, sky-blue eyes full of anguish.
“Would you like to sit?” he asked quietly.
Anna nodded and he led her to a settee, sitting beside her, his arm going around her shoulders. She reached for his free hand and pulled it into her lap, both her hands clutching it as if it were a lifeline that could keep her from drowning in sorrow.
Dalinda sat in a chair nearby and she nodded to Anna. “Tell him.”
“What good will it do?” Anna asked, her tone laced with bitterness. Then she sighed and Dez heard the resignation in it.
She began to speak, gazing across the room, her voice a monotone.
“Papa called Mama and me into his study an hour ago. I have had several suitors and thought one of them might have spoken to him about asking for my hand in marriage.”
His gut tightened as he prepared himself to hear the man’s name.
“Papa told us that he knew I was one of the more sought after girls this Season and since so many gentlemen seemed interested in me, it was obvious he didn’t need to waste a dowry upon me.”
Dez frowned. Custom, which the ton clung to, always dictated that a woman bring a dowry into the marriage. It was a huge part of the negotiation of the marriage contracts. If Lord Shelton pulled Anna’s dowry, her chances of marriage would evaporate, despite her beauty and charm.
Her hand tightened around his. “He said I had always been a worthless girl and that Mama was incapable of giving him sons and an heir. That I shouldn’t have to cost him anything to be taken off his hands. That he should be compensated instead.” She swallowed. “He told me he had sold me to the highest bidder. Viscount Needham.”
He looked to Dalinda. Anger sparked in her eyes. Without words, they communicated that Dez, not having been a part of the Season, had no idea who this viscount was.
His twin said, “Lord Needham is at least seventy if not older.”
“What? He sold you to a dried up prune of a man?”
Anna nodded, still averting her gaze from his. “Papa said Lord Needham was taken by my strawberry blond hair and trim figure. That he needs an heir and will get one off me as soon as possible.”
“No,” Dez whispered. “No. This cannot be.”
Finally, she faced him and Dez saw the misery filling her face. “Though Mama begged him not to do so, he is determined. He said he will announce our betrothal at tomorrow night’s ball being held in my honor.”
“You cannot allow this, Anna,” Dalinda said, determination filling her face.
“What can I do? We are mere pawns, Dalinda. Our fathers have total control over our lives. We wed whom they tell us to wed. Sometimes, it is a gentleman of our own choosing but you know as well as I do that oftentimes it is not.”
“It’s so blasted unfair,” Dalinda declared. She looked to Dez, who felt helpless.
Then he said, “You can marry me.”
“What?” both women cried.
He swallowed. “I cannot let you be sold into slavery with this man. You can wed me.”
“How?” Anna demanded. “England’s marriage laws say we must be twenty-one to wed. We can be younger if our parents give us their permission and the banns are read for three weeks. There is absolutely no way your father or mine would allow a match between us.” She shook her head forcefully. “No, it is hopeless, Dez. I will be chained to bony Lord Needham. He will be my jailor and I will live in his prison. There is nothing that can be done.”
“Actually, there is,” Dalinda said, looking at him, knowing Dez’s mind as clearly as her own. “Are you serious about wanting to wed Anna?”
“You know I am.” He looked at Anna. “I have loved you for years,” he said tenderly. “I would go to the ends of the earth for you.”
“It won’t require that,” Dalinda said, a grim smile on