Tabitha gasped. As much as she wanted Andrew for herself, she could not allow her great-uncle to force him into marriage in order to obtain the land he wanted. “No.”
Both Danby and Andrew jerked toward her
“This is coercion and I’ll not have it.”
“You’ve no say,” Danby dismissed her and turned to Andrew. “What say you? Marry my great-niece and the property is yours. If not, it will go to someone else, as it happens to be Tabitha’s dowry.”
“Dowry? Benjamin never mentioned such to me.”
“Has he discussed your dowry with you?” Danby demanded.
Tabitha’s face heated. “No. He hasn’t. I just assumed…”
“Never assume anything.”
Tabitha gulped. Andrew wanted that land. She could tell by the way he talked of it with love and the plans he had for building their stud farm further. Horses in Ireland and in England. They’d have an equestrian empire. But it was more than that. He loved Ireland. If he did not marry her, then he’d never get the neighboring land. Worse, one day she’d live there and he’d inherit the ancestral home and be married to someone else.
Danby trod to the sidebar and splashed liquid into a glass then handed it to her. “Drink this before you faint.”
“I’m not going to faint.” Though she accepted the glass. “What you are asking of Lord Straffan is unfair. If it is my dowry then I gift it to him.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Andrew reminded her.
Oh, she knew that, but what else could she do. It wasn’t as if he had asked for her hand. His was being forced.
“I am happy to accept your terms, but only if Lady Tabitha is in agreement.”
“I knew you’d make the wise decision.”
“Wait!” Tabitha cried.
“It’s settled,” Danby announced. “You will marry Straffan and he will get more than he bargained for when he rode here.”
“Did it ever occur to you that he might not want to marry me?” she cried. “I’ll not be the bartering chip so he can finally gain what he really wants.”
While his kisses were heavenly and they got on well, and she was already in love with him, that didn’t mean he felt the same. She’d not be married to a gentleman who did not choose her free of duress.
“Of course he does,” Danby dismissed her.
Oh, she wished her great-uncle would quit making decisions for both of them. “Might I please have a word with Straffan, alone?” Only then would she learn the truth.
Danby blew out a heavy sigh. “This is what is best for you and Straffan, Tabitha, you just need to learn to accept it.”
“Please, Uncle Danby, a word with Lord Straffan before you decide the remainder of our lives.”
He set his glass down on the desk. “Talk sense into her Straffan. A lot is riding on this.” With that Danby quit the room.
“You can’t want to marry me.” In her heart of hearts she wished he did, but he would have mentioned it before now.
Andrew stared at her. Was the very idea of marrying him so unpalatable? While he might be in love with her, he knew it was possible she didn’t feel the same. Just because they’d shared heated kisses, passion and got on well, didn’t mean she thought of him as anything more than a holiday distraction.
“I do want to marry you,” he finally said and set his glass aside then took hers and put it beside his own.
“You want your land and I understand, but it’s unfair of him to saddle you with me as well.”
Andrew couldn’t help it and chuckled. “Tabitha, I want you. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you in Hyde Park. Since I’ve come to know you, I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“You have?” The astonishment on her face was verification that she had had no idea how he felt.
“I can only hope that you care for me half as much as I care for you.” If she didn’t then he’d walk away from her and the land and pray that she and her future husband never moved to the neighboring estate because Andrew was quite certain he’d not do well seeing her happy with someone else.
“You aren’t just saying that because you want the land?”
“I’d walk away, if I needed to. I will not marry you unless it’s what you wish.”
“You love me?”
Why did she find it so difficult to understand? “Yes. I only wished you loved me as well.”
Slowly the smile pulled at her lips and before he knew what was happening, Tabitha reached up and pulled his head down and kissed him.
She was a rather forward miss, but he could certainly get used to that in a wife.
But, he didn’t have her answer yet and broke the kiss.
“So, you could come to care for me?”
“Oh, Andrew. I already love you but I didn’t dare hope that you’d feel the same for me.”
His heart swelled with relief. He’d have not only the land but Tabitha as well.
“I am always right! If people would just accept that fact, life would be easier for everyone.”
The two jerked apart to find Danby standing just inside the door.
“Had your grandfather and father listened to me in the first place, the two of you could have married two or three years ago.”
He shook his head and returned to the desk. “When you see your father next, Straffan, please relay a message for me.”
“What would that be, Your Grace.”
“I told you so.” Then he grinned and opened a drawer before he pulled out a sheet of paper. “I’ll ring for the vicar.”
“What is that?” Andrew asked.
“A special license, of course.”
“You were so certain of my answer?”
“Not as much as I was in Tabitha’s, but I knew you’d come around for the right incentive. I knew the time was right when you finally put Snowflake up for auction. Tabitha needed a horse. She needed to ride again, and you needed a wife.”
Tabitha pulled away and walked to the side of the desk, trying to look in the drawer but Danby slammed it shut.
“You really do have a stack of special licenses?”
He’d heard the rumors, but had difficulty believing that Danby would be that prepared, or take the planning to such depths, but if he had set the match with Tabitha in motion seven months ago, who knew what else His Grace was capable of? And with those thoughts, Andrew knew that in all future dealings with Danby, he’d need to be especially careful.